Professor Nigel Scrutton, who heads up the EPSRC-funded UK Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub and the BBSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre "SYNBIOCHEM", has been appointed to the UKRI-BBSRC council for a term of three years.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) which invests in biosciences research and training to support the economy, job creation, and to improve quality of life not only in the UK but on a global level.

The BBSRC council is responsible for advising and making decisions across its key discipline areas including budgeting and delivering plans for research and innovation; ensuring there are future generations of skilled specialists and scientists to support the UK research and innovation sector; engaging with communities and disseminating information; and encouraging collaborative work across the nine UKRI councils.

Speaking about the appointment, Professor Scrutton said:

Professor Scrutton brings a wide range of biochemistry and senior leadership skills to the BBSRC. Most recently he was the Director of the 91直播 Institute of Biotechnology, for which he and the Institute were recognised for their work with a Queen's Anniversary Prize. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2020 and has held a professorship at the University since 2005, previously holding the position of Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health (formerly the Faculty of Life Sciences).

Through his directorship of the University Centres of Excellence - SYNBIOCHEM and FutureBRH - and spin-out company C3 BioTechnologies Ltd, his work spans areas such as enzyme chemistry, biophysical methods, and structural and synthetic biology, that contribute to understanding the chemistry of life. Through the world-leading infrastructure for biophysical chemistry and synthetic biology at the University, Professor Scrutton's work takes an interdisciplinary approach to solving some of today's grand challenges.

Industrial biotechnology is one of the five research beacons at The University of Manchester, which are examples of interdisciplinary and pioneering research that are finding solutions to global problems. #ResearchBeacons.

That’s according to a group of researchers and scientists who have contributed to a new  released today (Wednesday, 30 September) by The University of Manchester.

However, the academics also say that investing in local innovation, harnessing the green sector, and combating the climate emergency must remain key priorities for the government, despite the ongoing pandemic and impending second wave.  have been identified by 91直播 experts across five overarching universal subject matters (health, economic recovery, inequality, growth of the green sector and innovation).

On our economic recovery, Professor Bart van Ark, Managing Director of the newly-founded Productivity Institute at Alliance 91直播 Business School, says: “As we are mitigating the impact from a second wave of new cases on public health, it is also critical to safeguard people's living standards. First, we need to limit the number of job losses as a direct result of the crisis and then we need to find a path to economic recovery that creates new jobs and raises their incomes.” 

That includes key workers and the roles they have in society adds Professor Miguel Martinez Lucio from the Work and Equalities Institute: “There's been a lot of applause for NHS workers. There's been a lot of symbolic support. But amongst many work and employment academics, what we begin to realise, is that the real issue is that these workers have to be financially rewarded.”

James Baker, CEO of Graphene@91直播, says another pathway to economic recovery is the “devolution of innovation”. He explains: “The 91直播 model of innovation – design, make and validate – is core to what we do here in 91直播. We often refer to it as ‘make-or-break', accelerating from the initial discovery through to applications and bringing products rapidly to market.

“As we move towards a post-COVID world, we're now seeing new factors are increasingly important for customers and industry. For example, the need for local supply chains for the manufacture of things like personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used locally.”

 sees world-renowned experts offer thought leadership and suggestions on how the global response to COVID-19 could also act as a catalyst to combat other major challenges. Some of the ideas are a complete shift in the way society currently looks at a range of global situations and solutions.

Professor David Hulme, Executive Director of the Global Development Institute, says: “COVID-19 has brought many issues into a very sharp focus. It's a health crisis, and at the same, time it's an economic crisis. But it may also be an opportunity to start to rethink some of the ways in which the world is governed and think about the strategies that countries and organisations have been pursuing.”

When it comes to combating climate change, Professor Alice Larkin from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and Head of the School of Engineering, says: “There are two important lessons that we've learnt so far from the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, that our priorities can be different. And secondly, that change can happen quickly.

“These observations can also be harnessed to tackle the climate emergency because with everything going on in the world right now, you'd be forgiven for forgetting that we're in one.”

To tackle the roots of inequality, especially for ethnic minority communities who have been disproportionately hit hardest by the pandemic, Professor James Nazroo, says: “The outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic points to the need to establish a wide independent inquiry into ethnic inequalities in health, and one that moves to focus on recommendations to address the fundamental causes of these long-standing and profound inequalities.”

For more information and to view all the lectures visit manchester.ac.uk/covid-catalysts

World-leading 91直播 researchers are working towards developing a test for COVID-19 that could be used at home like a domestic pregnancy test.

This prototype test is based on the fact sugars coat all human cells and could be used in the fight to detect infectious agents like coronavirus.

This new screening new approach can help identify the COVID-19 virus - not by its genetic code, which can mutate, but by using its reliance on chains of sugars on human cells, which are constant.

Sugars coat all cells in the human body and they are the first layer a bacteria or virus encounters. Professor Rob Field and his team are interested in how to use the sugars to identify and even block a virus from penetrating the cell – and so preventing further infection.

The simple-to-use testing device has the potential to be used in 'hotspot' communities like frontline NHS staff allowing doctors and nurses to easily test at home to see if they have COVID-19 symptoms or not before going to work.

Communities associated with a building or geographical location which require increased safeguarding such as, hospitals, care homes or workplaces, can quickly test visitors.

Professor Field and his team at The University of Manchester are now working at pace with spin-out company to get their new test ready and officially validated ready for the autumn. An autumn launch this year is key, as the application of this screening kit can support diagnoses of 'flu vs coronavirus', given the typical trend of flu season which can initially present similar symptoms.

The tester would be very useful to ensure people with seasonal flu aren't confused with people having suspected COVID-19 and the consequences of having to self-isolate and create a new round of disruption to society and the economy.

Prof Field said: “Our existing prototype product for influenza can detect the virus in less than 20 minutes and could be adapted to identify other pathogens such as coronavirus.

“Respiratory viruses invade the body through cells in the airways and lungs. These cells are covered in a coat of sugar chains, known as glycans, which are used for normal function of human tissues. Viruses can utilise these glycans as part of the infection process.”

This process can also be used in reverse to identify the virus in saliva or nasal fluids, said Professor Field, a world expert in glycoscience at the (MIB) - and his specialist company has developed this diagnostic technique that uses an artificial glycan receptor to capture a virus.

Professor Field added: “Right now, everybody is talking about a vaccine for coronavirus but vaccine development, validation, safety-testing, manufacture, regulatory approval and deployment is a time-consuming process.

“A low-cost, easy to use screening test that can be performed at the point of care would be an ideal way to limit initial disease transmission in the community and at points of entry to hospitals, or at national borders, for instance.

“Current COVID-19 tests are largely based on PCR (polymerase chain reaction) that requires a laboratory setting for analysis and relies on prior knowledge of the viral genetic code. This code can change as the virus evolves, potentially limiting the effectiveness of the test.

“The Iceni Diagnostics approach uses glycan recognition, which is unaffected by seasonal variation in the genetic code, and can be offered as a handheld home or field-based test.”

Professor Field and his dedicated team have already developed a series of prototype products that can specifically detect pathogens such as Norovirus and different strains of influenza in less than 20 minutes. The team based at MIB will be working with Iceni Diagnostics to further develop these tests in the coming months.

The hand-held device currently under development uses lateral flow – like a home pregnancy test – to give a simple yes/no answer. It requires no refrigeration and no training, meaning the test is usable in any location, by any person, in order to detect flu or other pathogens.

“The current Iceni Diagnostics products detect a single virus. However, the next generation of diagnostics will enable the detection and discrimination of a series of pathogens that give rise to similar symptoms.

“This would enable, for example, a distinction between flu and COVID-19 in a single sample which increases the versatility and robustness of the diagnosis. Additionally, the way the virus interacts with its glycan receptor makes it seasonally consistent, so, even if the virus genetic code mutates, it will still be detected – meaning the Iceni Diagnostics’ test should remain effective in the longer term.”

Professor Field says that the device under development holds huge promise for changing the way we manage global disease: “This new approach, which is based on host-pathogen glycan recognition could potentially result in a more universal detection technique, crucial in early diagnostics of outbreaks.”

The University of Manchester has a growing list of scientists and academics who are either working on aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak or can make a valuable contribution to the national discourse. Please checkout our p. 

Our people are also  and with partners from across society to understand coronavirus (COVID-19) and its wide-ranging impacts on our lives.  to support the University’s response to coronavirus or visit the University’s  to lend a helping hand.

Two prominent biotechnology scientists from The University of Manchester have been confirmed as Fellows among more than 60 of their peers across the world.

Professor Nigel Scrutton and Professor Nicholas Turner from the have been awarded the prestigious Fellowships thanks to their pioneering contributions to scientific discovery in the field of industrial biotechnology – one of the key research beacons for The University of Manchester.

The 51 new Fellows, 10 Foreign Members and one Honorary Fellow have been selected for their outstanding contributions to scientific understanding. With discoveries ranging from the first planets outside our solar system, to the creation of the world’s smallest molecular engine, new mathematical proofs and treatments for debilitating global disease.

The new Fellows embody the global nature of science, with representation from Sweden, Israel, Germany, Australia, Canada, UK-born scientists working in Europe and beyond, and researchers from around the world enriching Britain’s own research and innovation sector. Their ranks include six Nobel laureates, as well as internationally recognised leaders in industry and science policy.

Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, said: “At this time of global crisis, the importance of scientific thinking, and the medicines, technologies and insights it delivers, has never been clearer. Our Fellows and Foreign Members are central to the mission of the Royal Society, to use science for the benefit of humanity.

“While election to the Fellowship is a recognition of exceptional individual contributions to the sciences, it is also a network of expertise that can be drawn on to address issues of societal, and global significance. This year’s Fellows and Foreign Members have helped shape the 21st century through their work at the cutting-edge of fields from human genomics, to climate science and machine learning.

“It gives me great pleasure to celebrate these achievements, and those yet to come, and welcome them into the ranks of the Royal Society.”

, Director of UK Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub and SYNBIOCHEM Centre said: “I am very honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. I am delighted that my work and that of my group past and present has been recognised by the Royal Society in this way. Science is a team effort – this recognition is also for the group and I thank them.”

undertakes research focussed on creating new enzymes for application as biocatalysts for chemical synthesis. His group combine enzyme discovery with protein engineering and directed evolution methods in order to develop biocatalysts with tailored properties including high (stereo)selectivity, improved activity and enhanced stability.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and delighted to have the opportunity to publicly thank all of the research students and postdoctoral coworkers in my group who together have enabled this achievement. Their contributions, both intellectual and experimental, have been outstanding.

Professor Rob Field has been appointed Director of the (MIB), a world-leading centre for industry focussed biotechnology research based at The University of Manchester.

Professor Field, currently a group leader at the , will join the MIB on 1 January 2020. He has spent his career operating across chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, and plant science. When he joins, he will bring to the MIB extensive experience of interdisciplinary science and the resourcing, management, and commercialisation of results.

Professor Field said: "My appointment as Director of MIB presents an exciting opportunity to join a leading international University that has the strongest commitment to science, technology and its interface with industry, while also championing social responsibility.

"The MIB provides an ideal setting for scientists, technologists and innovators, and we need to ensure that it is recognised internationally as the go-to place for biotechnology research, training and commercialisation.

He added; "The challenges and opportunities presented by the global need for bio-based economies are manifold. Working across traditional discipline boundaries and along the length of the discovery-to-application pipeline are key.

"The MIB provides an ideal setting for scientists, technologists and innovators, and we need to ensure that it is recognised internationally as the go-to place for biotechnology research, training and commercialisation. I look forward to refreshing and extending the fantastic programs that [outgoing Director] Professor Scrutton and colleagues have developed over the past ten years."

Professor Martin Schroder, Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, commented: "I am thrilled and delighted that Rob Field is joining us as Director of MIB, and as Professor in the .

"As well as being an internationally-recognised research leader, [Prof Field] has a wealth of leadership experience that will be invaluable in promoting and expanding our activities across biotechnology, and ensuring strong impact and translation of our research."

Industrial biotechnology

is one of The University of Manchester’s - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

A team from The University of Manchester have engineered a common gut bacterium to produce a new class of antibiotics by using robotics. These antibiotics, known as class II polyketides, are also naturally produced by soil bacteria and have antimicrobial properties which are vital in the modern pharmaceutical industry to combat infectious diseases and cancer.

The naturally produced Escherichia coli bacteria are difficult to work with as they grow in dense clumps that are incompatible with the automated robotic systems used for modern biotechnology research. By transferring the production machinery from the soil bacteria into E. coli, the 91直播 team is now making this class of antibiotics accessible for much more rapid exploration.

This breakthrough could be vital for the ongoing combat against antimicrobial resistance, as recently developed automated robotics systems can now be used to create new antibiotics in a fast and efficient way.

In this work, published in the journal , the group led by Professor Takano at The University of Manchester show the potential of this approach. By combining the bacterial production machinery with enzymes from plants and fungi, it was possible to produce new chemical compounds not previously seen in nature. Using this plug-and-play platform, it will now be possible to explore and engineer polyketides using robotic systems to develop new and diversified polyketides in an automated, rapid and versatile fashion.

Eriko Takano, Professor of Synthetic Biology said: “Nature is a huge treasure trove for powerful chemical compounds to treat a wide range of diseases. However, the most interesting chemicals often come from organisms that are difficult to work with in the laboratory.

“This has been a major bottleneck for our work on type II polyketides, a group of important chemicals, which are mostly produced by soil bacteria and other microorganisms that are challenging to grow. By successfully moving the production machinery for these compounds into the “laboratory workhorse” bacterium E. coli, we can finally produce and engineer type II polyketides in our rapid robotic systems.

“This not only allows us to trial new polyketides in an automated manner, but we will also be able to quickly rewrite the DNA sequences of the antibiotic biosynthesis pathways and combine them with new components from other organisms, such as medicinal plants and fungi, to produce variations on the antibiotic theme – including compounds that are not produced by the natural pathways, but may have enhanced or novel activities in the treatment of important diseases.”

It could take a person a whole year to make and test ten new potential antibiotics, but this automated robotic system can make thousands in that time. This would hugely decrease the time it takes for new antibiotics to reach patients, and provide the necessary agility to react to new pathogen strains and outbreaks.

 is one of The University of Manchester’s  - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

The University of Manchester has been awarded £10million to launch a UK-wide biomanufacturing research hub that could pave the way for easier and quicker ways to make new medicines and sustainable energy solutions.

The Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub (FBRH), which will be led by Professor Nigel Scrutton and based at the , with “spokes” at other UK leading institutions, will develop new biotechnologies that will speed up bio-based manufacturing in three key sectors – pharmaceuticals, chemicals and engineering materials.

Industrial biotechnology is the use of biological resources such as plants, algae, fungi, marine life and micro-organisms, combined with the emerging science of synthetic biology to transform the manufacture chemicals and materials. It can also provide a source of renewable energy.

Accelerating the delivery of such technologies, by making the manufacturing processes more commercially viable, means industry partners will be able to meet the societal needs of ‘clean growth’ more efficiently and on more a scalable, global level.

Professor Scrutton, Director of the 91直播 Institute of Biotechnology, explains: “With the 91直播 Institute of Biotechnology (MIB), the University already has one of Europe’s leading industry-interfaced institutes, with world-leading capabilities in bio-based chemicals synthesis and manufacture.

“Now, with the addition of the Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, it will take it to an even higher level. The fact MIB in partnership with other leading UK centres has secured such a high-priority government research and manufacturing initiative is a testament to the outstanding work we undertake here every day and it will keep us at the vanguard of industrial biotechnology.”

The FBRH is part of the £30million government investment into the UK’s research and manufacturing sector. It will be one of three manufacturing hubs that, in total, bring together 67 partners from industry, the public sector and seven universities from across the country.

The funding comes from the and the , both part of UK .

Industry Minister Richard Harrington said: “This investment brings together world-class researchers and leading manufacturing firms to help revolutionise how key industries like steel operate in the future.

“These developments will help us build a smarter, greener and more efficient manufacturing sector in the UK which is a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy to harness the opportunities of clean growth creating more high-skilled jobs.

“We are determined to ensure the UK sets the global best standard for making our energy intensive industries competitive in the new clean economy.”

The FBRH brings together complementary research expertise across the UK with “Spoke” partner institutions at Imperial College London; the University of Nottingham; University College London; the UK Catalysis Hub; the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC); and the Centre for Process Integration (CPI). Together, they will work with industrial partners on ‘co-created research programmes’ to drive the wider adoption of sustainable biomanufacturing.

Professor Lynn Gladden, EPSRC’s Executive Chair, said: “There’s a real need to mesh fundamental research with our manufacturing industries. By doing so we can ensure that research is relevant to industrial need but also that UK businesses can be in touch with the latest developments in their fields. These three new Manufacturing Hubs cover industries that are important to the UK’s future capacity to make products sustainably and improve the country’s prosperity. ”

is one of The University of Manchester’s - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

Scientist and businessman, Dr Gerald Chan delivered The University of Manchester’s prestigious annual Foundation Day lecture yesterday. He was then awarded an honorary doctorate along with scientists Emmanuelle Charpentier and CNR Rao, architect Rachel Haugh and actor Sarah Lancashire.

Dr Chan chose the subject of ‘Biotechnology and the Conflation of Science, Business and Ethics’ for his speech and told the audience in the University’s Whitworth Hall how his work as an investor and scientist has made him reflect on the limitless possibilities of science and medicine and how this interacts with economics and ethics and the ways in which we make decisions about funding our healthcare.

The speech was the centrepiece of the Foundation Day, which the University holds each year to mark the bringing together of the Victoria University of Manchester and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 2004.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, said: "This year's five honorary graduates share with the University a fundamental commitment to improving lives through science, medicine, industry, the built environment and the creative arts.

"Foundation Day marks an important annual milestone in our history and highlights our identity as a global institution anchored in the city of Manchester. We are delighted to award these honorary doctorates to such inspirational individuals on this special day."

This year honorary doctorates were awarded to the following:

Dr Gerald Chan is the co-founder of Morningside, a private investment group with venture capital, private equity and property investments. He has led the start-up of many biotechnology companies, enabling pioneering technologies in oncology, infectious disease and many other areas.

In addition to industrial companies and property, he invested in many of China’s internet companies. Some of these have joined the ranks of the largest companies in China such as the mobile phone company Xiaomi.

Dr Chan is a member of Harvard University’s Global Advisory Council, the Dean's Board of Advisors of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard China Fund. He chairs the Innovation Advisory Committee of the Wellcome Trust in the UK and the Overseers Committee of the Morningside College of Chinese University of Hong Kong.

He received his BS and MS degrees in engineering from UCLA, his Master's degree in medical radiological physics and Doctor of Science degree in radiation biology from Harvard University. He received his post-doctoral training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.

In 2013, he was elected to an honorary fellowship at Wolfson College, Oxford University. In 2017, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Widely recognised for her innovative research that laid the foundation for the ground-breaking CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering technology, Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier is founding and Acting Director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Scientific Director at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology and Honorary Professor at Humboldt University, Berlin.

Previously she was Alexander von Humboldt Professor and Head of Department at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and Professor at the Hannover Medical School, Germany, Associate and Visiting Professor at the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (EMBL Partnership), Umeå University, and Assistant and Associate Professor at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna. She has also held several research associate positions in the US.

Professor Charpentier received her education in microbiology, biochemistry and genetics from the University Pierre and Marie Curie and the Pasteur Institute in Paris. She has received prestigious international awards and distinctions and is an elected member of national and international academies. She is co-founder of CRISPR Therapeutics and ERS Genomics.

After graduating from the University of Bath, architect Rachel Haugh returned to the northwest, co-founding SimpsonHaugh in 1987. Inspired by the belief in the power of high quality design to lead to the regeneration of post-industrial cities and a passionate advocate for her home city, Rachel has played an integral role in building the practice‘s strong portfolio and reputation as leading urban and civic architects.

Having spearheaded the masterplan for the rebuilding of the city centre after the 1996 IRA bomb, notable 91直播 projects include Urbis (The National Football Museum), No 1 Deansgate, Beetham Hilton Tower, the Town Hall Extension, Two St Peter’s Square and No 1 Spinningfields and in London, Battersea Power Station, and One Blackfriars. Internationally, Queen Elisabeth Hall, a new world-class and acoustically exemplary concert hall in Antwerp, has recently completed.

Rachel was a finalist for the AJ Women in Architecture, Architect of the Year Award 2015, is a key representative for the Women in Architecture (WIA) campaign, an Age Friendly 91直播 Ambassador and a member of the London Legacy Development Corporation Quality Review Panel.

Sarah Lancashire was born in 91直播 and trained as an actress at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Sarah was awarded a Guildhall Fellowship in 2010.

She has received numerous industry awards both here and abroad in recognition of her work across television, theatre and film. Her 33 year career has taken her from the Library Theatre in 91直播 via the West End in London, along a certain cobbled ‘Street’ in Weatherfield and onto countless other dramatic landscapes.

Her most recent credits include ‘Last Tango in Halifax’ and the internationally acclaimed ‘Happy Valley’ both of which gained her awards from BAFTA and The Royal Television Society. She was awarded an OBE in 2017 for Services to Drama.

Professor CNR Rao research interests are mainly in the chemistry of materials. He obtained his PhD degree from Purdue University (1958) and DSc degree from the University of Mysore (1961). He is Linus Pauling Research Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scienti铿乧 Research and Honorary Professor at the Indian Institute of Science (both at Bangalore).

He is a fellow of the Royal Society, London, foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences and a member of the Japan, French and Russian as well as other science academies. He is the recipient of the Einstein Gold Medal of UNESCO, the Hughes and Royal Medals of the Royal Society, the August Wilhelm von Hofmann medal of the German Chemical Society, the Dan David Prize and Trieste Science Prize for materials research and the 铿乺st India Science Prize. He was conferred the von Hippel award by the Materials Research Society in 2017. He has published 1,600 research papers; authored and edited 52 books. He is the recipient of Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour of India.

In keeping with Dr Chan's speech, a video about the University's work in Industrial Biotechnology was also shown.

Two initiatives developed by University of Manchester-based entrepreneurs have won £10,000 each from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) at a national awards ceremony.

Dr Neil Gibbs, founder of University of Manchester spin-out Curapel won the Commercial Impact Award and the University’s Ben Dolman and Dr James Winterburn won the Early Career Impact Award in recognition of the development of a more cost efficient process for producing insoluble lipids. The winners received £10,000 each to further their technology businesses.

is a skin healthcare company developing innovative, patent-protected products based on naturally-occurring ingredients under its brand name, . Curapel currently has a portfolio of products undergoing pre-clinical development and dermatological testing.

Curapel’s first product on the market is Pellamex, a dermatologically tested, liquid food supplement containing naturally-occurring ingredients that contribute to the maintenance of normal skin barrier function in those with eczema.

Neil commented: “I am delighted that Curapel has been recognised by this award; the support of UMIP and the BBSRC was crucial to commercialise our academic research and bring safe healthcare products to people with skin conditions.”

Ben Dolman’s and ’s work at 91直播 has enabled the development of a gravity based separation technology which dramatically reduces the cost of production of lipid bioproducts, particularly biosurfactants, which have potential as green replacements for petrochemical products in many applications. Ben has now founded start-up Holiferm as a vehicle to commercialise this technology.

Ben commented: “We are thrilled to have won the Early Career Innovator of the Year award from BBSRC. Our work at The University of Manchester has led to the creation of Holiferm, a company that aims to dramatically reduce industrial production costs through the use of this holistically improved fermentation technology. Huge thanks to UK Research and Innovation for putting on such a great event,and to all of our collaborators whose efforts made this possible!”

The awards, now in their 10th year, were held at The Mermaid London on Wednesday 16 May and were presented by Professor Malcolm Skingle, Director of Academic Liaison, GlaxoSmithKline Ltd and Professor Melanie Welham, Executive Chair of .

Both winners were supported by The University of Manchester Intellectual Property (UMIP) which is a division of , The University of Manchester’s agent for intellectual property commercialisation.

UMIP’s role is to bring as much of the University’s ground-breaking inventions and software, as is relevant, into the commercial world. This is done by attracting entrepreneurs, investors and corporate venture partners to the campus and Innovation Centre and then, through engagement with academic colleagues, licensing or spinning out companies.

Dr Rich Ferrie, Director of Operations at UMIP, added: “I am delighted that Neil, Ben and James’s work has been recognised by the BBSRC in this way. I know just how much work, effort and commitment has been shown by all three in moving their innovations towards commercial success and real world impact, and I feel sure that many more accolades are on the way.

“This was a great evening too for us at UMIP and I thank my UMIP colleagues for supporting these projects on behalf of The University of Manchester.”

Construction work has begun on the 91直播 hub for the Henry Royce Institute, the national body promoting research and applications in advanced materials. The building will be a prominent new landmark on the 91直播 skyline at 46 metres high.

Based at the heart of The University of Manchester’s campus, t will bring together world-leading academics from across the UK to work closely with industry to ensure commercialisation of fundamental research. The development will house state-of-the-art equipment and provide collaborative space for industrial engagement, and is a key part of the University’s ten-year to create world-class facilities in 91直播.

The new facility will be based at The University of Manchester to provide a research focus for the Royce’s founding partners, including The University of Sheffield; The University of Oxford; University of Liverpool; University of Leeds; University of Cambridge; Imperial College London; the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA); and the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL).

The 91直播 building will enable a wide array of ground-breaking research to be undertaken including investigations into biomedical materials which are at the cutting-edge of regenerative medicine and prosthetics; nuclear materials to support the energy sector; materials systems for demanding environments; and 2D materials which, for example, can be used in inks for printable electronics, enhanced composites, in fuel cells and super capacitators which outperform traditional batteries.

“This new flagship building will be a national beacon of research excellence in advanced materials - not only providing a centre for scientists and engineers to lead on cutting-edge research but will also help businesses to apply this new knowledge into technologies for commercial use,” said Regius Professor of Materials at The University of Manchester, , Chief Scientist for the Royce. He added: “Importantly, this hub facility will be a meeting place where colleagues can gather from across the UK and beyond to share their ideas and innovative thinking.”

President and Vice-Chancellor, , said: “Building upon The University of Manchester’s already outstanding reputation for scientific research, the Royce will enable the UK to grow its world-leading research and innovation base in advanced materials science and technology. It is a great addition to our campus.”

Diana Hampson, Director of Estates and Facilities at the University, added: “This is one of our major capital projects forming an important part of our vision for the campus and will benefit from its location, close to and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre.”

This development is a central pillar in the Government’s Industrial Strategy and creation of the Northern Powerhouse. The report published by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a group of businesses, organisations and leaders headed by George Osborne, underlines the pivotal role of the Royce in its potential to integrate collective strengths across the North to create a centre of excellence upon which companies and researchers will be able to capitalise on.

The University of Manchester appointed to lead the delivery of the £105 million building, which is being funded by the Government. , an international architectural practice, have worked with the civil and structural engineer and the building services engineer to create a world-class building design. This building will be delivered by , the appointed main contractor. The Royce hub is expected to be completed and the building fully operational by early 2020.

A team of scientists have created a new generation of tiny remote controlled nanorobots which could one day allow doctors to diagnose disease and deliver drugs from within the human body.

The team led by Professor Li Zhang from the , including Professor from The University of Manchester, have created the bots from a biodegradable material called spirulina algae.

The algae, sold today as a food substitute in health food shops, was a source of nourishment during the time of the Aztecs.

But it was rediscovered in the 1960s by Lake Texcoco in Mexico by French researchers.

A paper by the team, published in hails the bots’ biodegradability as a new concept, in which an iron magnetic coating helps fine-tune the rate which they degrade.

The nanorobots can be remotely controlled within complex biological fluids with high precision using magnetic fields.

The team also describes how the bots are able to release potent drug compounds that are able to attack cancer cells.

However more work still needs to be done on motion tracking, biocompatibility, biodegradation, and diagnostic and therapeutic effects before clinical trials can take place.

Professor Zhang said: “Rather than fabricate a functional microrobot from scratch using intricate laboratory techniques and processes, we set out to directly engineer smart materials in nature, which are endowed with favorable functionalities for medical applications owing to their intrinsic chemical composition. For instance, because these biohybrid bots have a naturally fluorescent biological interior and magnetic iron-oxide exterior, we can track and actuate a swarm of those agents inside the body quite easily using fluorescence imaging and magnetic resonance imaging.

“Our microrobots have the ability to sense changes in environments associated with the onset of illness and that makes them a promising probe for remote diagnostic sensing of diseases.

“We must now develop this technology further so we are able to fine tune this image–guided therapy and create a proof of concept for the engineering of multifunctional microrobotic and nanorobotic devices.”

Professor Kostarelos said: “Creating robotic systems which can be propelled and guided in the body has been and still is a holy-grail in the field of delivery system engineering.

“Our work takes advantage of some elements offered by nature such as fluorescence, degradability, shape.

“But we add engineered features such as magnetisation and biological activity to come up with a the proof-of-concept behind our bio-hybrid, magnetically propelled microrobots.

He added: “We are still in early days of development since any such robotic system would need to be either completely and safely degraded, or it will need to be removed or excreted from the body after it has finished its work.

“But nevertheless, our work provides the first ever example of how this could be possibly achieved by degradation.

“The potential of these bots for controlled navigation in hard-to-reach cavities of the human body makes them promising miniaturized robotic tools to diagnose and treat diseases which is minimally invasive.”

The research teram included the Chinese University of Hong Kong, The  University of Edinburgh and The University of Manchester.

The paper ‘Multifunctional biohybrid magnetite microrobots for imaging-guided therapy’ is published in Science Robotics (DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.aaq1155) on 22 November, 2017.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are nowhere near enough new antibiotics in development. But cutting-edge technology gives us a chink of hope in what could otherwise be seen as an intractable problem says Eriko Takano, Professor of Synthetic Biology at The University of Manchester

“A in February listed a worrying number of pathogens that threaten our health because there are fewer and fewer drugs that can treat the infections they cause. Indeed, since their 1960s heyday, the production of novel antibiotics has declined markedly and it’s been 30 years since a major new class of antibiotics for clinical use has been discovered. There are even cases of resistance to Vancomycin, used by doctors as an antibiotic of last resort.

“There are many reasons why the production of antibiotics has declined. Like all other drugs, they are expensive to develop, and the work required to find new viable compounds becomes more complex and time-consuming as time goes on. Between 80 and 90 per cent of antibiotics are derived from soil dwelling bacteria, actinomycetes. Until recently, scientists believed the possibilities of antibiotics production from many of these microbes were close to exhaustion.

“But thanks to the huge technological advances in recent years, our team at the University of Manchester’s , SYNBIOCHEM, has been able to marry the strengths of biology with the power of engineering to find new ways to deal with this problem. Genome sequencing has provided new possibilities of finding potential antibiotic production pathways that are asleep in the genome of potentially every bacterium. Using synthetic biology we are able to rewrite the DNA sequences of the antibiotic biosynthesis pathways and introduce different enzymes for other organisms and then express the result in a given host. Actinomycetes, E. coli, and even yeast can have a part to play in this process and our analysis has shown that using this route, there are many potential pathways to make new compounds.

“The problem is, manipulating the biosynthesis pathways and the host takes much time and effort. That is why robotics is so exciting as it allows us to carry out this type of research – which involves large volumes of repetitive tasks. While a single person can make and test ten compounds in, say, a year, a robot can make thousands. Thanks to our pioneering technologies, we believe that at the , SYNBIOCHEM, there is a strong chance we will be in a position to trial new antibiotics created from synthetic biology in the near future. Our work with the ,- a joint private-public initiative to support and accelerate the development of new antibiotics, is an incredibly important part of the mix, so these drugs can be brought to market quickly.”

World Antibiotic Awareness Week is from 13-19 November. For more details visit the WHO website  and 

Industrial biotechnology

is one of The University of Manchester’s - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

A Science and Innovation Audit, commissioned by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has highlighted Greater 91直播 and Cheshire East’s sectoral strengths in health innovation and advanced materials.

The audit found the region had a high concentration of assets related to health innovation. Key assets include those clustered at , such as the Central 91直播 University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and 91直播 Science Partnership’s Citylabs. The audit also highlighted how the devolution of Greater 91直播’s £6bn health and social care budget could be used to drive innovation to benefit both the region’s health and wider economy. By combining the region’s strength in health with expertise in digital, the report also found Greater 91直播 and Cheshire East could become world-leading centres in areas such as clinical trials.

The audit also emphasised the opportunity to develop Greater 91直播 as ‘Graphene City’, building on the city-region’s status as the place where the material was first isolated. University of Manchester assets such as will be joined by (opening in 2018), which will help translate new discoveries into practical applications, and (set to be completed in 2019), which will bring together world-leading academics and the private sector to ensure the commercialisation of research.

The report also highlights growth opportunities in digital, energy and industrial biotechnology and explores how creating synergies between these sectors can drive innovation, providing a boost to the local economy.

The audit was undertaken by and The University of Manchester on behalf and . It was one of five regional audits commissioned by to help local partners map their research and innovation strengths and identify areas of potential global competitive advantage.

Sir Richard Leese, the Greater 91直播 Combined Authority’s lead on economic strategy, said: “I welcome the results of this audit which have highlighted the fundamental contribution that science and research excellence can make to an effective industrial strategy. It is clear that innovation is rooted in a wider ecosystem where skills, finance, informal and formal networks, infrastructure, and leadership all play a part.

“This audit has also recognised the strengths of our infrastructure via the devolution of Greater 91直播’s powers and budgets. It shows a path which the government and the local authorities can take to fully harness this potential.”

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President & Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, said: “Greater 91直播 and East Cheshire are home to a high level of partnership and connectivity, not least in the regions’ core strengths: health innovation and . We also have fast-growth opportunities in digital, and , with a wide range of science and innovation assets. Building on the interconnectivity between these is at the crux of the vision set out in this science and innovation audit. Synergies will accelerate the flow of scientific innovation to the market, boost productivity and potentially develop solutions to national and global challenges.”

Christine Gaskell, Chair of the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We have been delighted to work with colleagues in Greater 91直播 on the Science and Innovation Audit. It has been a really valuable process for us, providing the opportunity to highlight some of the fantastic science assets in our sub-region – underlining the strength of the Cheshire Science Corridor, which has just been awarded Enterprise Zone status and the strength of the science linkages between East Cheshire and Greater 91直播. The audit work will help to inform our future thinking on supporting and developing our key science and innovation assets at Alderley Park and Birchwood, and in the wider Science Corridor, especially how we support the critical role of private sector businesses in driving innovation.”

Mike Blackburn, Chair of the Greater 91直播 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The science and innovation audit carried out in Greater 91直播 and East Cheshire has provided a coherent picture of the local innovation strengths and assets. The emerging findings show that there is a well-established science and innovation ecosystem locally, which can support growth and provide solutions to our major societal challenges. But it is crucial to continue to ensure that our strong science base is aligned to the business base, and able to drive science commercialisation and encourage innovation.”

The full report can be downloaded from the University's .

Eve, an artificially-intelligent ‘robot scientist’ could make drug discovery faster and much cheaper.

A team from the Universities of Manchester, Cambridge and Aberystwyth has demonstrated the potential of artificial intelligence by using Eve to discover that a compound shown to have anti-cancer properties might also be used in the fight against malaria.

Robot scientists are a natural extension of the trend of increased involvement of automation in science. They can automatically develop and test hypotheses to explain observations, run experiments using laboratory robotics, interpret the results to amend their hypotheses, and then repeat the cycle, automating high-throughput hypothesis-led research. Robot scientists are also well suited to recording scientific knowledge: as the experiments are conceived and executed automatically by computer, it is possible to completely capture and digitally curate all aspects of the scientific process.

In 2009, Adam, a robot scientist developed by researchers at the Universities of Aberystwyth and Cambridge, became . The same team has now developed Eve, based at the University of Manchester, whose purpose is to speed up the drug discovery process and make it more economical. In the study published today, they describe how the robot can help identify promising new drug candidates for malaria and neglected tropical diseases such as African sleeping sickness and Chagas’ disease.

“Neglected tropical diseases are a scourge of humanity, infecting hundreds of millions of people, and killing millions of people every year,” says , from at the University of Manchester. “We know what causes these diseases and that we can, in theory, attack the parasites that cause them using small molecule drugs. But the cost and speed of drug discovery and the economic return make them unattractive to the pharmaceutical industry.

“Eve exploits its artificial intelligence to learn from early successes in her screens and select compounds that have a high probability of being active against the chosen drug target. A smart screening system, based on genetically engineered yeast, is used. This allows Eve to exclude compounds that are toxic to cells and select those that block the action of the parasite protein while leaving any equivalent human protein unscathed. This reduces the costs, uncertainty, and time involved in drug screening, and has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.”

Eve is designed to automate early-stage drug design. First, she systematically tests each member from a large set of compounds in the standard brute-force way of conventional mass screening. The compounds are screened against assays (tests) designed to be automatically engineered, and can be generated much faster and more cheaply than the bespoke assays that are currently standard. This enables more types of assay to be applied, more efficient use of screening facilities to be made, and thereby increases the probability of a discovery within a given budget.

Eve’s robotic system is capable of screening over 10,000 compounds per day. However, while simple to automate, mass screening is still relatively slow and wasteful of resources as every compound in the library is tested. It is also unintelligent, as it makes no use of what is learnt during screening.

To improve this process, Eve selects at random a subset of the library to find compounds that pass the first assay; any ‘hits’ are re-tested multiple times to reduce the probability of false positives. Taking this set of confirmed hits, Eve uses statistics and machine learning to predict new structures that might score better against the assays. Although she currently does not have the ability to synthesise such compounds, future versions of the robot could potentially incorporate this feature.

Steve Oliver from the Cambridge Systems Biology Centre and the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge says: “Every industry now benefits from automation and science is no exception. Bringing in machine learning to make this process intelligent – rather than just a ‘brute force’ approach – could greatly speed up scientific progress and potentially reap huge rewards.”

To test the viability of the approach, the researchers developed assays targeting key molecules from parasites responsible for diseases such as malaria, Chagas’ disease and schistosomiasis and tested against these a library of approximately 1,500 clinically approved compounds. Through this, Eve showed that a compound that has previously been investigated as an anti-cancer drug inhibits a key molecule known as DHFR in the malaria parasite. Drugs that inhibit this molecule are currently routinely used to protect against malaria, and are given to over a million children; however, the emergence of strains of parasites resistant to existing drugs means that the search for new drugs is becoming increasingly more urgent.

“Despite extensive efforts, no one has been able to find a new antimalarial that targets DHFR and is able to pass clinical trials,” adds Professor Oliver. “Eve’s discovery could be even more significant than just demonstrating a new approach to drug discovery.”

The research was supported by the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council and the European Commission.

Reference

Williams, K. and Bilsland, E. et al. . Interface; 4 Feb 2015.