ISTM holds 12th annual Postgraduate Symposium

Research Institute Director, Professor Nick Forsyth kicks off the symposium

ISTM held its 12th annual Postgraduate Research Symposium on Tuesday 9th May.  Postgraduate Research Students and their supervisors gathered for the annual Symposium at the North Staffordshire Medical Institute (NSMI) in Hartshill.  This year’s Symposium featured a series of presentation, giving students valuable experience in public speaking.  Posters were also on display and a selection of students participated in the fast paced Turbo Talk session, which gave participating students just three minutes to talk about their research topic and encourage the audience to go and view their poster.  Dr Vinoj George, ISTM’s newly appointed Lecturer in Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, also gave a guest presentation to introduce himself and his research.

The event was well attended by students and their supervisors.

After careful deliberation, the judges selected winners from each category, all of which were awarded a cash prize that had been kindly donated by the NSMI and Chamber of Commerce.  The first prize for best presentation went to Hamza Abu Owida; first prize for the best Turbo Talk went to Homayemem Kinikanwo Weli; and first prize for the best poster went to Ibrahim Ali.

Prize winners at this year's Symposium.

Professor Paul Horrocks, ISTM’s Director for Postgraduate Research commended the students on the quality of their presentations and posters and gave special thanks to the NSMI.  Stating that “It is important that we acknowledge the support of the North Staffordshire Medical Institute. This is the second year we have decided to host the event within their conference facilities, a move aimed to strengthen our links with this important local partner.”

Rehabilitation research: join the revolution

Dr Ed Chadwick gave an invited talk at a fascinating Keele event this morning headlined: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution – what every business needs to know”.

Ed’s talk on Personalised Healthcare Devices described how his research with collaborators in the UK and USA is presenting opportunities for new rehabilitation devices and regimes, for example to help amputees and stroke survivors. The audience enjoyed a breakfast in the Great Hall followed by talks in the Salvin Room at Keele Hall, showing how the world is embarking on the next revolution in industry as manufacturing connects with the digital age.
And those previous three revolutions (in case you missed them):
First Industrial Revolution (c1700 to 1870 in Europe and America) – steam power and industrialisation
Second Industrial Revolution (c1870 to 1914) – mass production and electrical power
Third Industrial, or Digital Revolution (1980s to today) - from analogue and mechanical to digital device technology
Fourth Industrial Revolution (now) – digital technology embeds within society and the human body


https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/

Study reveals pre-eclampsia significantly increases risk of heart disease in later life

Research led by Keele University has demonstrated that women who suffered pre-eclampsia during pregnancy are four times more likely to have heart failure in later life.

The study also found that expectant mothers with pre-eclampsia, which presents with high blood pressure and protein in the woman’s urine, have a two-fold increase risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and death due to cardiovascular disease in later life.

Pre-eclampsia affects five to eight per cent of pregnancies and is the most common cause of severe ill-health during pregnancy which can, in extreme circumstances, lead to death of the mother or baby.

The findings, involving the analysis of 22 studies and more than 6.5 million women, have been published today (February 21st) in the Go Red for Women Spotlight collection of the prestigious journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

The authors of the study are calling for doctors to offer better advice to women about the increased risks, and the actions they can take to avoid future ill-health.

Dr Pensee Wu, the first author of this publication and lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Keele University, said: “Doctors need to be aware of the importance of educating women about their increased level of cardiovascular risk and of advising women about the beneficial effects of changing their lifestyle, such as increasing their level of physical activity and not smoking.

“I hope this work will raise awareness amongst hospital doctors of the advice that they need to give to women with pre-eclampsia.”

Dr Wu, who is also an Honorary Consultant Obstetrician and Maternal Fetal Medicine Subspecialist at University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust, added: “The study shows the risk is highest during the first ten years after a pregnancy affected by pre-eclampsia, so it is important that women are regularly monitored during this period for cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity.”

“The risks begins to increase for coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke within one year after giving birth, but it is highest between one to ten years after giving birth.”

The study was a collaboration between researchers at Keele University’s Institute for Applied Clinical Science (iACS) and Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine (ISTM), along with Primary Care and Health Sciences (iPCHS), and the University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM).

Dr Randula Haththotuwa, co-author, Academic Clinical Fellow, and trainee GP funded by the National Institute for Health Research, added: “This study is extremely important for general practice as it will highlight the importance of lifelong monitoring of women who have suffered from pre-eclampsia of cardiovascular risk factors.”

Last year, Dr Wu, Dr Haththotuwa and their collaborators published another paper identifying a link between pre-eclampsia in pregnancy and the development of diabetes in later life. The study showed that pre-eclampsia is independently associated with a two-fold increase in future diabetes. This increased risk was found to occur from less than one year after delivery of the baby and persisted to over ten years after birth. Again, this highlights the need for monitoring of women in primary care.

ISTM 2015/16 Annual Report

ISTM is proud to present it's 2015/16 Annual Report...

https://www.joomag.com/magazine/istm-annual-reports-2015-2016/0369179001485770915?short

Professor Alicia EL Haj
(Former Director of ISTM)
It is always good to reflect on the year and take stock of the progress and challenges we have faced. Overall, ISTM has had an excellent year with significant advances in our research, an increase in the number staff publishing in top journals, a strong cohort of graduating postgraduate students and a clear rise in our external recognition.

The Institute continues to be globally recognised for excellent multi-disciplinary biomedical and bioengineering research with a much heralded formula of interdisciplinary working in a hospital environment. In addition, our grant income from research council and other funding sources is expanding with the aid of our first class research administrative team. Our increase in research income resulting from an outstanding REF result is especially pleasing and has provided support for new initiatives.

With the changing enterprise agenda on campus, we have been working to expand our outreach and enterprise activities from within the Institute. Our networking with Industry continues to grow with the Impact agenda an important part of our portfolio.

This year has seen a lot of changes in the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences and the structure of the Institute as a whole. No organisation can stand still and new programmes and initiatives need to come through aiming towards the next REF in 2020. Nick Forsyth has taken on the leadership of ISTM looking forward. I am passing the Institute leadership into excellent hands and I hope you all will support him as well as you have supported me.

Professor Nicholas R Forsyth
(Director of ISTM)
This has been a year of change including one where the Faculty changed its name! Changing from the Faculty of Health to the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences (FMHS). The role of Institute Director, though daunting, is one which I had no hesitation in putting myself forward for and was grateful to accept following on from interview. It is naturally important to acknowledge Professor Alicia El Haj and the substantial energy she has committed to the Institute during her two periods as Director. Her drive and ambitions have helped us cement and improve our standing thus far and collectively the Institute has continued to go from strength-to-strength.

Through the pages of this Annual Report it is our aim to represent the dynamism readily apparent across the Institute. ISTM in numbers (Page 4) illustrates many of our key metrics and also begins to take stock of our fledgling social media presence. Highlights (Pages 6-13) paints a broad picture of the news and events from across the past year, acknowledging new appointments and promotions, and celebrating funding successes and our growing global networks. The Report also reviews our individual research themes, key publications, our international activities, and much more.

Finally, and most importantly, I’d like to extend my thanks to all the Institute’s staff and members for their hard work and initiative over the last 12-months.

Click here to read the full report.

Why do scientists do what scientists do?

"Why do scientists do what scientists do?" is a new website that has been developed by ISTM and School of Pharmacy’s Dr Alan Richardson.  Dr Richardson received funding for the project from the British Pharmacological Society as part of their Outreach and Public Engagement Grant Scheme.  The aim of the website is to better inform public understanding about research, which might otherwise sound bizarre if the rationale for it hasn't adequately been explained.

The website has been developed to help non-scientists, or students just embarking on a career in science, to understand “the scientific mind-set”.  Why do scientists carry out experiments which, at first sight, may appear crazy?  For example, why would scientists make rabbits which glow in the dark?  And, why don’t scientists give straightforward answers to questions, but instead make things sound more complicated?

The website uses simple and accessible language as well as fun animations to explain some of the basic principles behind the design of scientific research.   It’s hoped that the website will help to bridge the gap between scientific research and public understanding.

The website can be found on the following link:
http://whydoscientists.org/

Can someone give me a hand?

Written by Dr Ed Chadwick (Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering, ISTM)

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A couple of weeks ago I broke my collarbone. This has meant keeping my arm in a sling for a while, and making do with only one hand. While slightly inconvenient, it’s not the end of the world. In a few weeks I’ll be back to normal operation. It has, however, given me a new understanding of how difficult it is to get things done with only one hand. Previously simple tasks like tying my shoelaces are now impossible!

As I said, for me this will be short lived. For some people though, born missing a limb, or perhaps losing one in an accident, this is something they have to live with day in, day out. As a Biomedical Engineer, my work involves using engineering principles to tackle clinical problems, hopefully improving the quality of life of people with disabilities.

All of which is a rather long-winded introduction to a paper we have recently published on our research to make better artificial (prosthetic) hands.

Computer modelling

The focus of my research has been understanding human movement (in particular involving arms and hands) by building computer models. We use these models to help us understand what goes wrong in certain diseases or injuries, and to design better medical devices and treatments. Our latest paper shows how we might use a computer model of the hand to design a better prosthetic hand.

A better prosthetic hand

Over the last few years, prosthetic hands have become better and better. They now have individually moving fingers and thumbs that are almost as good as the real thing. But there are still a couple of problems. People find it difficult to control many different actions at the same time: they can open or close the fingers, they can bend or rotate the wrist, or they can move the thumb in and out. But not all at the same time, and that makes the use of the hand a bit unnatural. It takes too much effort. Together with our partners at RIC / Northwestern and Cleveland State Universities, we are trying to make a better interface for a prosthetic hand that will make using it really natural.

We have built a computer model of the hand, or ‘virtual hand’, that predicts how the missing hand of an amputee would behave if it were still there. The vision is that this could be used to control an a prosthetic hand worn by an amputee. We would know what the user wanted to do with their hand by recording the signals from the remaining nerves in the arm; the virtual hand would tell us what the prosthetic hand should do. Of course, for this to work, the movements of the ‘virtual’ hand would have to be known as quickly as they would from a real hand. This is known as ‘real-time simulation’.

The real-time hand model showing off postures from the American Sign Language.

The paper describes how the model works, how it simulates the actions of the missing fingers, and how it does it in real time. You can access the full text of the publication here if you want to know how it works (warning: lots of equations!).

Closing the loop

As well as allowing the user to ‘talk to the hand’ (telling the hand what it should be doing), this approach allows the hand to talk to the user! That is, we can simulate the signals from the missing hand that would tell the user where their fingers are, how fast they are moving and whether they are gripping something.

A prosthesis user testing a new type of control for an artificial hand. Image courtesy
of Newcastle University.

This closing the loop of the control system has the potential to really take artificial hands to the next level. This is what the Senseback project aims to achieve and will be the subject of our next publication.

...

Thanks to Dimitra Blana, Wendy Murray, Ton van den Bogert & Kia Nazarpour.

Useful links

Keele Rehabilitation Research Group
Northwestern / RIC ARMS lab
Cleveland State Human Motion and Control Lab.
EPSRC-funded Senseback Project

...

Originally published on Medium.

Improving the treatment of eye diseases using regenerative medicine

ISTM recently ran a blog writing competition that was open to PhD students and young researchers with a view to improving their lay-writing skills and helping ISTM to play a greater role in the public dissemination of its research. After concluding the competition we will be publishing each entry in turn over the coming months. The 3rd prize winner of our competition was Rachel Gater, a PhD student in the Centre for Doctoral Training, ISTM.

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(Source: Microsoft word - Clip Art)

The retina is a complex layer of tissue at the back of the eye. It turns the visual information entering the eye into electrical signals, which are then sent to the brain for processing. Eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration can damage the retina, leading to significant sight problems and even blindness if left untreated. Glaucoma causes damage to the retina by a build up of pressure inside the eye, whilst macular degeneration involves deterioration of the centre of the retina; the most sensitive region. Although there are some existing treatments for eye diseases such as intravitreal injections and surgery, the success rate of these treatments is not very high and they can cause unpleasant side effects. Therefore, scientists in the field of regenerative medicine are working to develop better treatments for eye diseases.

There are generally two methods that scientists in the field of regenerative medicine can try when researching new treatments for eye diseases. The first approach is the possibility of triggering self repair processes (endogenous regeneration) to help the damaged eye tissues repair themselves. Certain amphibians, such as the newt, are already naturally able to replace their entire eye through endogenous regeneration! We still don’t fully know how amphibians do this, but it is believed that they store stem cells in certain areas of the eye. Stem cells are special because they have not yet transformed into a specific cell type and can therefore be triggered to turn into any type of cell. Therefore if the amphibian’s eye gets injured, the stored stem cells can replace any damaged cells and repair the eye. If scientists can work out the biology of exactly how amphibians do this, then they may be able to help trigger the same process for humans in the future!

(Source: Microsoft word - Clip Art)

Figure 1: Amphibians such as the newt are already naturally able to replace their entire eye through self repair processes (endogenous regeneration).

The second approach scientists in the field of regenerative medicine can try is the possibility of repairing damaged eye tissues using stem cell therapies. Stem cell therapies can be generated from sources such as embryonic stem cells (ESCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). As shown in Figure 2, the retina of the eye is made up of many layers each containing different types of cells. These cells include rods (which help us with vision in darkness at night time) and cones (which help us with colour vision in the day time). There are also bipolar cells which do a bit more processing in the nuclear + plexiform layers, as well as ganglion cells which are important in helping to pass on information to the brain. As we know that stem cells can be triggered to turn into any type of cell, scientists believe that we might be able to turn stem cells into new retina cells such as rods, cones and ganglion cells. If successful, these cells could then be used to repair the retina if the eye gets damaged by disease or injury.

(Source: original)

Figure 2: The retina is made up of many layers each containing different types of cell.

So far scientists have been able to turn stem cells into rods, cones and ganglion cells inside a cell culture plate, but there is more work to do before the method can become a treatment given to patients. Even though we can grow the cells, one of the first challenges is figuring out how we can safely deliver the treatment into the patient’s eye. As the eye is so small and fragile, injection needles or surgery may cause further damage to the eye. Therefore, it is important to figure out the best way to precisely deliver the cells to the eye without it causing further damage or being painful for the patient. A second challenge is getting the cells to integrate and function correctly once they are inside the eye. Even if we can deliver the cells correctly, we would need to make sure that the cells are alive, in the correct place and performing their correct function once inside. For example, if we manage to deliver new cone cells into the eye and they correctly perform their role in colour vision, then we would know that the treatment has worked! Finally, a third challenge scientists will need to overcome is the possibility of immune-rejection. As stem cell therapies don’t always use the patient’s own cells, there is a chance that transplanted cells may be rejected, in the same way that a heart transplant might be rejected after heart transplantation surgery. To overcome this challenge, drug treatments such as immuno-suppression therapy may be used to help reduce the risk of rejection. Alternatively scientists might be able to use a patient’s own stem cells which would not be rejected by the body.

In summary, due to the low success rate of current treatments, scientists in the field of regenerative medicine are working to develop better treatments for eye diseases. The two main methods for this include the possibility of triggering self repair (endogenous regeneration) like amphibians can do naturally, or the use stem cell therapies to repair damaged eye tissues. Although scientists can turn stem cells into retina cells relatively successfully in a cell culture plate, challenges still need to be overcome. These challenges include figuring out how to safely deliver cell therapies into the eye, getting transplanted cells to function correctly once inside the eye and overcoming the risk of immune-rejection. If scientists can successfully overcome these challenges, these approaches are likely to transform the way that we treat eye diseases in the future!

Written by Rachel Gater, PhD Student, Centre for Doctoral Training, ISTM
(3rd Prize in the ISTM Blog Post Competition 2016)