Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Research Prospectus

SEPT 2023

FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DEAN

At Surrey our research endeavours are flourishing in alignment with our strategic vision, aspirations of our faculty and how we are recognised by our peers. We take great pride in witnessing a consistent year-on-year increase in the success markers of our research and impact. These achievements stand as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our modern looking, community-facing academic staff and the invaluable contributions of our professional services colleagues, underscoring the exceptional quality of our innovation and research.

Surrey is experiencing a striking expansion in our postgraduate researcher and early career academic community, a development that we hold in high regard. Equally significant is the far-reaching impact our research continues to make, with numerous studies demonstrating its influence. This is highlighted in the nationally competitive REF2021 assessment. Many of these impactful accomplishments involve collaborations with our strategic partners internationally and in the UK, such as the NHS, government, and industry.

In our pursuit of excellence, we recognise the need for constant evolution, adaptation, and a relentless commitment to outpace our competitors. This drive is essential to not only attract the finest students, faculty, and funding but also to ensure that our research is contemporary and relevant leaving a lasting imprint on society.

Central to our mission is knowledge mobility, academic exchange and learning best practice. All are core components that drive our educational and research excellence, and propel advancements in the fields of human and animal health and medicine. Through strategic partnerships with students, government entities, businesses, dedicated alumni, and our local communities, we are poised to transform lives and shape a brighter future for all. Together, we aspire to make a profound impact on the world, setting a high standard for excellence and innovation in education and research.

Professor Paul A. Townsend

(Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey)

Professor Townsend is an internationally renowned scientist in the field of cell stress and survival mechanisms, an academic entrepreneur, adjunct professor at A*STAR, Singapore, as well as Honorary Research Professor at the University of Athens.

OVERVIEW

MISSION

To sustainably improve the health and wellbeing of humans, animals and the environment through new knowledge and its application to the design, development and delivery of responsible innovation and impact under an over-arching ‘One Health, One Medicine’ ambition.

VISION

ONE HEALTH, ONE MEDICINE

Biosciences Health Sciences Medicine

Interdisciplinary collaborations in teaching, research and healthcare for humans and animals Psychology Veterinary Medicine

We will seek to inform and improve treatment, disease detection, management and care for humans, animals and their environments. Working collaboratively across Schools and the wider University, we will build upon the foundations we have already created to increase the amount, quality, scope and impact of our research, developing our external partnership reach both in the UK and abroad. We will foster strong, productive and mutually beneficial partnerships that generate positive outcomes, working together to adapt, evolve and address complex challenges.

ADAPTING TO A CHANGING WORLD

Over the past century, our interactions with animals, plants, and the environment have evolved significantly. Factors such as population growth, climate change, shifting land use, and increased global mobility have created new opportunities for diseases to spread. Recognizing this, our ‘One Health, One Medicine’ approach encompasses various critical elements:

• Agricultural production and land use

• Antimicrobial resistance

• Biodiversity and climate change

• Disease surveillance, prevention, and response to chronic and infectious diseases

• Environmental health

• Food safety and security

• Global trade, commerce, and security

• Mental health

• Occupational health

• Public policy and regulation

• Water safety and security

• Wellbeing of humans, animals, and ecosystems.

By embracing this approach, we work towards achieving the best health outcomes for all, safeguarding the interconnected health of humans, animals and the environment.

INFECTION AND IMMUNITY

CHRONOBIOLOGY AND SLEEP

NUTRITION AND FOOD SECURITY

RESEARCH IN THE FACULTY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL SCIENCES

EDUCATION RESEARCH

DIGITAL HEALTH AND DATA SCIENCE

HEALTHY AGEING AND SUPPORTING LONG-TERM CONDITIONS

OUR RESEARCH

94%

Of our research is taking place in a research environment conducive to producing world-leading or internationally excellent research in the future

89%

19TH

of our research itself is currently classed as ‘world-leading’ in the UK for research outputs

OUR TEACHING

9TH WORLD-CLASS FOR SUSTAINABILITY in the UK and 46th globally in the University Impact Rankings 2023

We are ranked 13th in the UK by the Complete University Guide (CUG) 2024.

CUG also ranked our subjects – here is a selection: Paramedic Science

1ST 4TH

3RD Food Science Veterinary Medicine

252ND 244TH

250 TOP

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024

Download our undergraduate prospectus

QS World University Rankings 2024

QS World University Rankings 2024

Direct public transport options are available from Heathrow and Gatwick to Guildford

• Proximity to London

• Innovation and skills

• World-leading University and Research Park

• Area of outstanding natural beauty

• Hub for international business and travel

STATE-OF-THE-ART HEALTH RESEARCH AND INNOVATION FACILITIES

MINIMAL ACCESS THERAPY TRAINING UNIT (MATTU)

MATTU at the University of Surrey partners closely with Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It’s a global centre of excellence for telesurgery, equipped with cutting-edge tech for live surgical links, laparoscopic/ robotic simulations, and upgraded presentation facilities. Accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons, the unit delivers a variety of post graduate training courses in a wide spectrum of specialities, with a focus on minimally invasive surgery. It also hosts research activities, providing opportunities for surgical trainees to undertake MD and PhD theses at the University of Surrey.

CLINICAL RESEARCH BUILDING

The Clinical Research Building houses the Surrey Clinical Research Facility (SCRF); Surrey Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU); Surrey Sleep Research Centre; UK Dementia Research Institute (DRI); and the newly developed Health Technology Accelerator (HTA). These facilities support studies on humans at all phases, from First-In-Human (FIH), through to large scale pragmatic trials, as well as trials of complex interventions.

SURREY CLINICAL TRIALS UNIT (SCTU)

Surrey Clinical Trials Unit is an academic trials unit involved in the design, development and management of multicentre, randomised controlled trials. This facility plays a critical role in facilitating interaction with the NHS and other organisations who wish to undertake clinical trials.

SURREY CLINICAL RESEARCH FACILITY (SCRF)

Surrey Clinical Research Facility allows for the delivery of clinical trials and studies, particularly early phase studies such as phase 1, First in Human (FIH) and phase 2a (proof of concept), holding MHRA Phase 1 accreditation since 2010. The SCRF is closely associated with Surrey Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU), which provides expertise in study design, project management, data systems and data management and statistics.

SURREY HUMAN PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE

The Surrey Human Performance Institute is a sport and exercise science facility based at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford. It works on the frontier of developing clinical exercise physiology research outside of a hospital setting. Its focus is on key disciplines of performance and clinical exercise science including; performance testing, health assessments, and health and performance nutrition.

SURREY HEALTH ECONOMICS CENTRE

Surrey Health Economics Centre undertakes collaborative interdisciplinary research in health economics and health service delivery. SHEC has strong relationships with a large number of academic, NHS and private sector partners across the UK and internationally.

CUBIC - COMBINED UNIVERSITIES BRAIN IMAGING CENTRE

CUBIC | RHUL CUBIC, located at Royal Holloway, University of London, is a Magnetic Resonance Imaging facility for the investigation of sensory and cognitive brain function. It operates a research-dedicated 3T MRI scanner and is owned and run jointly by Royal Holloway University of London, Brunel University, Roehampton University and the University of Surrey.

SURREY INSTITUTE FOR PEOPLE-CENTRED AI

The newly formed Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI represents another significant development, bringing together Surrey’s core AI-related expertise in vision, speech and signal processing, computer science, and mathematics, with domain expertise across engineering and physical sciences, health, law, business, finance and the social sciences. In the domain of health and wellbeing a number of key areas have already been identified e.g. biobanking at scale, clinical trials, life-long health and disease prevention, nutrition and health.

INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY

The creation of a pan-University Institute for Sustainability demonstrates the University of Surrey’s commitment to be at the forefront of interdisciplinary sustainability research. This Institute will increase the scale and enhance the excellence of the University’s research and innovation in priority areas.

NIHR ARC KENT, SURREY AND SUSSEX

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) APPLIED RESEARCH COLLABORATION (ARC), Kent, Surrey and Sussex is one of 15 ARCs across England. The University of Surrey is a partner in this ARC and leads two of the cross-cutting themes; Digital Innovation and Health, and Social Care Economics. There are also eight PhD studentships at Surrey associated with the ARC, spanning all three faculties.

Interdisciplinary collaborations in teaching, research and healthcare for humans and animals

State-of-the-art world-class facilities Dynamic, research-led academics from across the globe.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, MOBILITY AND EXCHANGE

2,300+ PLACEMENT PARTNERS

We partner with over 2,300 national and international businesses of all sizes and across all sectors.

Our Professional Training placements give students the opportunity to develop their professional, academic and personal potential, equipping them to be adaptable, resilient, globally minded, confident, entrepreneurial and digitally savvy in the workplace. These qualities are widely recognised by employers, and a significant proportion of placement students at Surrey are offered graduate-level jobs or go onto further study.

“

FOR MY PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PLACEMENT, I SPENT 12 MONTHS WORKING WITH THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE IN BRIGHTON AND HOVE. I WAS SUPERVISED BY A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST WHO PROVIDED ME WITH A WEALTH OF OPPORTUNITIES TO SHADOW HER AND LEARN ABOUT THE FIELD, WHICH WAS AN INCREDIBLY VALUABLE EXPERIENCE.

BEST UNIVERSITY CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY SERVICE

The judges of the National Undergraduate Employability Awards awarded Surrey’s Employability and Careers team the Best University Careers/Employability Service in the UK for 2022. The award is a result of our relentless focus on graduate employability and the success of our Professional Training placements.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Surrey wins national award for best university careers and employability service. Scan the QR to read more

Partner universities. Scan the QR to read more

Our students and staff can receive international mobility grants and scholarships to enable access to a wide range of activities, including student exchanges, professional training year experiences abroad, postgraduate research placements, clinical nursing placements, veterinary EMS placements, summer programmes, recent graduate internships, and much more.

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences studentships. Scan the QR to read more

Jess Green, BSc (Hons) Psychology

COIL (COLLABORATIVE

INTERNATIONAL ONLINE LEARNING) PROJECTS

WITHIN OUR FACULTY WE HAVE THREE MAIN COIL PROJECTS:

1. The University Global Partnership Network (UGPN) Academy 2023 promotes global research, education, and knowledge transfer via Universidade de São Paulo, North Carolina State University, and the University of Surrey. It centres on crafting digital posters on UN Sustainable Development Goals, emphasising personal contributions. Participants gain skills, cultural awareness, and networking opportunities.

2. The collaborative education project between the University of Surrey and University of Trinidad and Tobago involves students across the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and Department of Sociology. Students will create educational resources about indigenous flora and fauna for primary school students.

3. The COIL program with CEU Universidad San Pablo (Madrid) and the University of Surrey involves undergraduates researching disease literature and treatment under university supervisors. They subsequently present their findings in a five minute online symposium.

PhD PROGRAMMES WITH PARTNER INSTITUTES:

1. Surrey - A*STAR Research Attachment Programme (ARAP) Candidates join Surrey’s PhD programme, spending up to two years at an A*STAR lab in Singapore. We offer fully funded four year studentships in One Health, One Medicine, with access to cutting-edge facilities.

2. Surrey-NUS PhD Programme

Surrey and National University of Singapore have launched a cross-disciplinary exchange programme focusing on cardiovascular disease research. PhD students from each university will spend up to two years in either England or Singapore, emphasising translational implications for human cardiovascular health.

3. Surrey-Wollongong PhD Programme

Surrey and the University of Wollongong have a University Global Partnership Network (UGPN) joint-dual degree scheme, allowing students to pursue a PhD at both institutions with a substantial financial package.

RESEARCH COLLABORATION WITH SELECTED EXTERNAL PARTNERS

National Health Service

Surrey has a long-standing history of collaboration with local NHS Trusts to support healthcare research, education and innovation. This includes collaborative studies on medical treatments, public health initiatives, healthcare technology, clinical trials, patient outcomes and numerous joint and visiting appointments. The Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust and the Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and Frimley Park Hospital will all be NHS partners with the new Surrey Medical School.

Health Tech Accelerator

The Health Tech Accelerator is a co-design centre connecting the clinical priorities and issues that the healthcare system is facing, with innovative ideas and technologies from industry. We have worked with a large number of medical device companies delivering feasibility studies that were later used in support of market access submissions.

Aura Veterinary

The first of its kind in Europe, AURA Veterinary specialises in animal oncology, soft tissue surgery and interventional radiology (IR). The team has benefited from a strong relationship with the University of Surrey, partnering on a wide range of projects such as research into a new blood sampling method that should allow easier detection of key biomarkers for genetic diseases such as cancer.

‘Triple Helix’ Initiative

We are currently engaged in three exciting developments that have generated enthusiasm and interest from the Government, local NHS stakeholders, funders, and most importantly, the public. These initiatives include a proposed development of a Primary Health Hub, the Surrey Academic Health and Care Partnership (SAHSCP), and our new virtual Institute of Health Workforce Development (IHWD)

One Health European Joint Programme

The One Health EJP is a landmark partnership consisting of 44 partners from acclaimed medical, veterinary and food laboratories across Europe collaborating around the the implementation of the ‘One Health’ concept, through targeted research to harmonise approaches to infectious diseases across Europe and globally. Since 2018, we’ve received more than €3.4 million to help fund an array of One Health research projects, including several PhD studentships.

National Physical Laboratory

The partnership between NPL, University of Surrey, University of Strathclyde and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is enabling all parties to strengthen both the excellence of their science and their engagement with business. NPL and University of Surrey have collaborated on over 40 PhD projects and NPL is an active participant in several Surrey-hosted centres for doctoral training (CDTs).

Zoetis

Zoetis is the world’s largest producer of medicine and vaccinations for pets and livestock. In 2016, Zoetis and the University of Surrey launched the Veterinary Health Innovation Engine (vHive), a novel multi-disciplinary centre designed to promote the development and adoption of digital innovation in animal health.

Waters Corporation

In 2022 University of Surrey entered a strategic partnership with Waters Corporation, the world’s leading specialist measurement company, focusing on projects involving the discovery of biomarkers and multi-omics platforms, translational medicine and bioinformatics. Our joint projects accelerate research into complex acute and chronic diseases such as prostate and pancreatic cancers, ageing and inflammatory disorders.

The Pirbright Institute

We have strategic partnerships with the Pirbright Institute including multiple joint and visiting appointments as well as project collaborations, including funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Global Challenges fund. Our partnership extends to joint teaching activities, studentships and doctoral training programmes, all part of our One Health, One Medicine research focus.

Animal Plant and Health Agency

APHA’s scientific activity is focused on protecting the UK against the threat and impact of a wide variety of plant and animal diseases and other species conflicts. APHA is a key partner of the Surrey Veterinary School and we have a long track record of joint appointments, PhD studentships and collaborative research.

An exemplar is the One Health EJP onehealthejp.eu.

GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease. GSK’s R&D focus is on four therapeutic areas: infectious diseases, HIV, respiratory/immunology and oncology. The University of Surrey and GSK currently have collaborative joint appointments and funded live research projects within a pipeline of activity we are delivering at Surrey. Our students also benefit from the professional training year at GSK engaging in a diverse array of roles within laboratory and office settings.

THE SURREY RESEARCH PARK

The Surrey Research Park is wholly owned by the University of Surrey’s Foundation Fund. The Park is a major centre of excellence in technology, science and engineering, and is widely regarded as the best of its kind in the UK. The Research Park is owned, developed and managed by the University of Surrey and is close to its campus in Guildford. The 28.33 ha low density development provides a high quality working environment, with room for further expansion. Nearly 300 companies are currently located in 30 buildings on the Park, engaged in a broad spectrum of research, development and design activities across a range of technologies.

SPURRING GROWTH

From building new satellites to changing the way animal cancer is treated, many businesses on the Park are recognised global leaders.

Our success stories showcase the impact our business community has made to the national innovation and science agenda, driving employment and economic growth into the region.

START-UP SUPPORT

Our business incubator, SETSquared supports UK tech businesses to grow and thrive in our entrepreneurial ecosystem. SETsquared is a unique enterprise partnership and a dynamic collaboration between the six leading research-led UK universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. As a worldleading business incubator, we provide a wide range of highly acclaimed support programmes to help turn ideas into thriving businesses. Our goal is to fast-track the growth of businesses. We offer tailored advice and support, from workshops to investment readiness programmes, together with access to flexible office services within the Surrey Technology Centre through the SETsquared Surrey brand.

OUR TENANTS ARE GROUNDBREAKERS, SPACE TRAVELLERS, PLANET SAVERS, AND INDUSTRY SHAPERS...

SURREY MEDICAL SCHOOL

Surrey will be offering a four-year, graduate-entry bachelor’s degree medical programme and expects to welcome the first cohort of 40 students in 2024.

Announcing Surrey’s first medical school, Professor G Q Max Lu, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey, said...

I’m so proud to announce that the University of Surrey has begun its journey to train highly-skilled medical doctors. We already have an exceptional reputation for training high-quality health professionals and conducting world-leading research (as evidenced by REF 2021).

Building on our multidisciplinary strengths in education, research and innovation across many disciplines, augmented by Surrey’s state-of-the-art clinical simulation facilities, the new programme will also benefit from an established and accredited curriculum.

We are therefore delighted to be partnering with the University of Exeter, which will support the development of this new and innovative curriculum. With a highly-respected medical programme of their own and a patient-centred and forward-thinking ethos, the University of Exeter is the perfect partner for us.”

PATIENT-CENTRED CARE

PATIENT-CENTRED, DIGITALLYENABLED, INTERPROFESSIONAL Expectations

of medical care are changing fast – meaning the role of the doctor is too. Our four-year graduate entry Medicine BMBS degree has a clear objective: to equip students with the knowledge and experience they need to excel in the world of modern medicine.

As an independent medical school, in accordance with government regulations, the majority of places in our initial intake will be for international students. To meet local demand and widen access to a career in medicine, we will also be offering a small number of places to UK (Home) students via a separate scholarship scheme.

A guiding principle of the National Health Services (NHS) is that medical care should be patient-centred – responding not only to the patient’s clinical conditions, but also their lifestyle, wishes, responsibilities and beliefs.

The best medical school should follow the same principle, delivering student-centred teaching and learning, that responds to individual needs and professional ambitions.

THE SCHOOL WILL FOCUS ON PROVIDING AN OUTSTANDING CORE LEARNING EXPERIENCE, WORKING ALONGSIDE THE UNIVERSITY’S REGIONAL NHS CLINICAL PLACEMENT PARTNERS.

BIOSCIENCES AND MEDICINE

MD P h D

The programme champions our ‘One Health, One Medicine’ approach, which brings together expertise from a broad range of multidisciplinary areas.

It offers a combination of research and clinical practice over a period of two to three years (full-time) or four to six years (part-time).

It embraces a ‘bench to bedside’ philosophy, with the potential to take part in molecular and computational studies as well as clinical trial.

Students work alongside world-leading researchers who are published in established clinical academic journals, including the BMJ, Nature and The Lancet, and regularly give expert media commentaries.

Some research areas will be primarily or entirely related to the analysis of existing scientific or clinical data sets; however, all projects will require some statistical analysis. Some projects will be conducted at Surrey, whereas others will involve collaboration with other institutions.

OUR CURRENT STUDENTS ARE RESEARCHING TOPICS INCLUDING:

• Combining multi-omic data analysis methods to increase understanding of key diseases, such as diabetes and cancer

• Computational approaches to modelling biological systems

• Developing the molecular and physiological bases of circadian rhythms, sleep, immunity and cardiovascular disease

• Improving the detection of colorectal cancer

• Optimising perioperative support.

SURREY RESEARCH FELLOWS

The Surrey Future Fellows programme launched this year with the aim of recruiting the most innovative researchers to the University of Surrey. Our recruitment campaign targeted talent from across the world and we are delighted that the successful Fellows enhance our cultural diversity considerably; representing 13 different countries of origin. We have several new Surrey Future Fellows starting in the next few weeks, with other members of the cohort joining the University at various stages up to the end of this year when we will have the full cohort of 27. They will be adding research capacity to 15 different disciplines across our three Faculties and two pan-University institutes. The successful applicants have been offered a clear path to a permanent academic position at the University, with the presumption of permanency after an initial three-year fixed term contract. Fellows will be appointed at the level of Research Fellow or Senior Research Fellow depending on their experience and achievements since completing their PhD.

THEMES AND IMPACT CASE STUDIES

CHRONOBIOLOGY AND SLEEP

THE CHALLENGE

Sleep is a major determinant of well-being, performance, and both mental and physical health. Disruption to the timing, duration and quality of our sleep can have implications for cognitive and physical abilities, our safety and productivity, and the development and progression of disease. The circadian timing system, present in all mammals, regulates daily rhythms in almost all aspects of cell and system physiology and behaviour, including our sleep-wake cycle. In addition to these daily/circadian rhythms, there are also ultradian (< 24 hour) and annual (seasonal) rhythms in our biology, although their function in health and disease is less well understood. Disruptions to biological rhythms are often a consequence of mistimed eating and sleeping in our 24-7 society and a feature of many disease states. How circadian, ultradian and seasonal rhythms underpin physiology (e.g., metabolic pathways, sleep/wake regulation, immune cell trafficking, cardiac rhythms) and behaviour in health, disease and shiftwork/emergency response environments are current challenges.

OUR RESPONSE

During the past four decades, chronobiology and sleep research at the University of Surrey has made ground-breaking discoveries in the function and regulation of sleep and biological rhythms across the lifespan and in a range of patient groups. Unravelling the links between sleep/circadian disturbances, the environment and consequent health outcomes, has informed the development of novel interventions for circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (e.g., melatonin administration and blue-enriched light). New insights from this pioneering interdisciplinary research at Surrey have had major national and international impacts such as:

• Successful development of new medicines and technological solutions for sleep and circadian rhythm disorders (included in the REF 2021 submission).

• Attracting significant and regular media attention.

• Raising awareness of the importance of body clocks, meal timing (Chrono-nutrition) and sleep among the general public and clinicians.

• Changing industry standards and advice on lifestyles based on the research conducted.

The depth and breadth of our research at Surrey is reflected in the many highly cited publications in leading scientific journals, and in the wide range of our grant funding bodies including the BBSRC, The Dementia Research Institute, Wellcome Trust, EU, MRC, AFOSR, NIH, Diabetes UK, MoD, MoJ, NIHR, the Colt Foundation, and both the lighting and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, members of the Chronobiology and Sleep Theme are in frequent demand for media and consultancy work.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Our current research, which has recently been published in journals such as Current Biology, eLife, Nature Communications and Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, covers the following areas:

• Central and peripheral clock mechanisms in humans and animal models.

• Molecular mechanisms underlying synchronisation of rhythms by light, melatonin and food.

• Optimisation of treatment of circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders in shift workers, blind people and the elderly.

• Interaction between circadian rhythms, sleep, metabolism and cardiovascular function in general populations, shift workers and disease (Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, liver disease and HIV infection).

• Chrononutrition, and circadian rhythms and sleep as a global health issue.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SURREY HAS BEEN AWARDED £1.7 MILLION TO CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH INTO THE SLEEP AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA.

BUILDING ON THIS RESEARCH, WE CAN NOW TEST THIS TYPE OF TREATMENT IN OTHER CIRCADIAN RHYTHM DISORDERS CAUSED BY JET LAG AND SHIFT WORK, AND ON PEOPLE WHO HAVE VERY DELAYED SLEEP.

Professor Debra Skene

Deborah Skene (Professor of Chronobiology)

Professor Skene and her team’s research is directed towards characterisation and treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders as experienced by blind people, shift workers and older people. Currently Professor Skene’s research team is studying the links between human circadian clocks, sleep and metabolism in health, circadian disorders and metabolic diseases (shift workers, Type 2 diabetes, liver disease).

RESETTING THE BODY CLOCK

Experts in circadian rhythms have improved the lives of blind people by showing – for the first time –the impact that melatonin can have on our body clocks.

Our bodies operate on a 24-hour cycle, with light giving us cues about when to wake up and go to sleep. However, because they are unable to experience these light-dark signals, most totally blind people suffer from a cyclic sleep disorder, with periods of very poor sleep and tiredness

Professor Debra Skene, Chronobiology Section Lead, has investigated a treatment for this disorder which has proved highly effective. Melatonin (a hormone that is naturally produced by the body) tells the body that it is night-time, and her studies demonstrated that giving melatonin in daily tablet form was effective in synchronising blind people’s disrupted sleep/wake patterns, and resetting the body clock.

The research has now been commercialised with the launch of tasimelteon (HETLIOZ®), a melatonin-like drug which is the first licensed treatment (approved by the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency) for the treatment of cyclic sleep/wake disorder.

CHANGING TIMES

Electric light and screen use has disrupted our natural sleep-cycles, but mathematical modelling is throwing light on our bodies’ needs, informing policy on school start times and permanent daylight saving.

Once, the 24-hour light-dark cycle regulated our circadian rhythms so that we went to sleep a few hours after dusk and woke at dawn. But access to electric light has disrupted this cycle, resulting in reduced or mistimed sleep which is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, as well as impaired vigilance and cognitive decline. In order to better understand the impact of the modern light environment on sleep timing, Professor Anne Skeldon of the Department of Mathematics in collaboration with Professor Derk-Jan Dijk, Director of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, have created the first quantitative mathematical framework to combine the biological mechanisms regulating sleep with primary external drivers (the light environment) and social constraints (such as getting up for work or school).

This framework has informed two important public policies. First, in both the UK and USA there have been calls for secondary schools to start later to better accommodate adolescents who typically go to bed late and struggle to wake early. The mathematical model showed that managing light exposure in the evening may be more effective than delaying school start times, which in fact may lead to a further delay of bedtimes for adolescents. Surrey’s research has informed a Californian State Bill on school start times and been cited during a parliamentary debate in the UK. The UK Department for School Standards has decided against delaying school start times.

The second public policy relates to the move to abandon the biannual clock change. In 2018, the EU voted to stop moving the clocks forward in the spring and back in the autumn. In the USA, 19 states have voted to move to permanent daylight saving time, but the clocks continue to change because federal approval has been withheld. Here, physiology and mathematics agree that permanent daylight saving would exacerbate misalignment of our body clock with the working day. Surrey’s work continues to inform the debate and contributes to the USA decision not to approve a shift to permanent daylight saving time.

Derk-Jan Dijk (Professor of Sleep and Physiology, Director of Surrey Sleep Research Centre)

Professor Dijk has 40 years of experience in clinical sleep research.

DIGITAL HEALTH AND DATA SCIENCE

THE CHALLENGE

Digital technology is changing the way that illnesses in animals and humans are diagnosed, monitored, prevented, treated and experienced. New artificial intelligence (AI) tools are continually being developed. Fresh insights are needed to apply these efficiently and effectively to an array of datasets and use the outputs ethically to hone algorithm design. The ultimate challenge is to move from systems that react to changes in health to those that predict potentially deleterious changes and support early intervention to prevent diseases taking hold.

OUR RESPONSE

Within our Digital Health and Data Science Research Theme, work to probe datasets of symptoms acquired from internet of thingsenabled sensors installed in the homes of patients living with, or at risk of conditions such as dementia, diabetes and cancers, helps prevent both the human and economic cost of hospitalisation. Sensor data from biomechanical analysis of companion animals reveal the impacts of skeletal abnormalities, enabling swifter diagnosis and improved animal welfare. Probing complex datasets - of pathogens, animal hosts and environmental conditions - enables real time detection and diagnosis of zoonotic disease and enhances global surveillance efforts. Exploring how technology can best be used to support clinician-patient interactions and monitor and improve sleep reduces demands on health systems.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Statistical Multi-Omics

The main focus of our research is dissection of the genetic architecture, and multiple omics data layers for complex human and animal characteristics and their relations to symbiotic microbiota. We also develop novel statistical methods for multi-phenotype analysis, CNV detection, sequencing studies and multi-omics data.

We lead and participate in numerous genome-wide association study efforts within large-scale international consortia, including MAGIC, DIAGRAM, EGG, GIANT, MiBioGen and others.

Research topics

• Animal genetics, genetic data imputation and comparative GWAS

• CNV detection and analysis in sequencing and genotyping data

• Co-morbidity between type 2 diabetes and cancer/depression/ blood pressure

• Genetics of glycaemic and related metabolic traits, type 2 diabetes, metabolites and proteins

• Genetics of Parkinson’s disease

• Genomics of pulmonary arterial hypertension

• Host genetics and gut microbiome

• Human gut microbiome and polycystic ovary syndrome

• Linking genetics to phenotypes from metagenomes

• Machine learning methods for phenotype prediction from longitudinal multi-omics data

• Mendelian randomisation analyses to dissect causal relationships between traits and diseases

• Missing data imputation for high-dimensional omics data

• Multi-phenotype analysis methods for omics data (rare and common genetic variants, methylation data, summary statistics)

• Nutrition and gut health.

Molecular Systems Biology

Our trans-disciplinary research activities cover all aspects of modern molecular systems biology: we perform experiments to investigate, quantify and characterise the response/status/output of molecular systems at global and specific levels (experimental systems biology). Through computational and mathematical modelling, we gain maximal benefit from the experimental data and frame models for further experimental testing (theoretical and computational systems biology). Finally, we design and engineer biological systems in living organisms for the purpose of improving applications for industry or biological research (synthetic biology).

Clinical medicine

Research conducted in the Section of Clinical Medicine aims to respond to a wide range of health policy questions by looking at personal, professional and organisational development in primary and secondary health care.

The main areas of our research focus on:

Health care management, clinical informatics, health economics, first-line management, the clinician-patient relationship, primary care data and quality indicators, competition in health care and diffusion of new health technologies.

EXAMPLES OF OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS

Digital Health

Delivering care closer to people’s homes is becoming more standard.

Our research focuses on creating and investigating technological solutions to improve access and delivery of health care. We are interested in developing personalised models of care that will lead into delivery of patient-centred care. Our overarching aim is to drive scientific discovery and health impact by linking leading methodologists with collaborators from academia, industry and the NHS, to define and address together well-defined problems in health and social care.

We will address key priorities to: increase economic and societal gain through digital health and social care; maximise the impact of large-scale population-based cohorts; facilitate the development of stratified medicine, using digital data in pursuit of better phenotyping and biomarker development; facilitate and evaluate implementation of digital health and social care toolsincluding diagnostics into real-world health and social care settings.

Research areas

1. Internet of things and technology integrated health care system

2. Remote monitoring and management of conditions

3. Digital solutions (apps, wearables, monitors) for patient support

4. Predictive risk modelling

5. Digital access to primary/community care services (e.g. electronic medical records and e-consultations)

6. Digital access and technology use by vulnerable and hard to reach groups.

eSMART (Electronic Symptom Management System Remote Technology)

The project, led by researchers at the University of Surrey in partnership with King’s College London and ten other academic institutions across the world, uses the Advanced Symptom Management System (ASyMS) to allow patients to report the side effects from their chemotherapy via a mobile phone. The information is being sent securely to a computer, which assesses their symptoms and triggers alerts to doctors or nurses within minutes if the patient requires a specialist intervention, while also providing patients with real-time information and advice on how to manage their symptoms at home, without the need to travel to hospital.

EXAMPLES OF OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS

Animal Welfare Assessment Grid

The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) is an online software designed to assess and monitor the welfare and cumulative lifetime experience of animals. The AWAG tool encompasses the five welfare needs across these four parameters.

• Physical: assesses an animal’s clinical health including factors such as body condition, illness and injury

• Behavioural/Psychological: assesses an animal’s mental wellbeing and includes factors such as response to stressors and how often these are encountered

• Environmental: this parameter assesses the animal’s environment and whether it facilitates enrichment provision, opportunities to interact with others, choice and comfort

• Procedural: assesses how the animal responds to clinical and husbandry events, and includes factors such as handling, change in routine, and pain of the procedure.

AI and Nutrition (PROTEIN Project)

The University is a partner in the Horizon 2020 PROTEIN project – which aims to create an advanced, dynamic personalisation tool that can be used at home, at a restaurant or in the supermarket, supporting individuals to meet their own evidence-based healthy eating targets. Combining insights from genetics, nutritional science and behavioural science, PROTEIN represents a shift in our thinking about how best to transition towards a sustainable, healthy diet. The PROTEIN AI Advisor tracks the user’s dietary intake, physical activity and health status using wearable sensors, and provides real-time AI recommendations and early warnings for specific NCDs (Noncommunicable diseases). Surrey is running two trials with participants from a number of target groups such as healthy adults and adolescents, athletes, and adults with cardiovascular disease.

Novel optical micro-imaging to understand the onset of cardiovascular disease

The Surrey team is working with industrial partners to develop novel optical imaging methods which will accelerate understanding of early ageing of the microvasculature and how this leads to cardiovascular disease (CVD). This research could potentially lead to earlier identification of CVD and the development of novel therapies.

Reducing work-related rumination through personalised neurostimulation

In this project, led by Professor Roi Cohen-Cadosh, our main goal is to develop a novel personalised neurostimulation intervention delivered from patients’ homes to reduce work-related rumination in cancer patients experiencing high levels of this condition and anxiety upon their return to work.

COVID-19 AI driven insights

Research led by Surrey bioinfomatics team including Dr Holly-May Lewis, Dr Matt Spick and Professor Melanie Bailey identified what they believe to be robust metabolic markers of COVID-19, a discovery which could lead to better understanding and treatments for people who suffer from symptoms of the disease months after diagnosis.

A Novel Blood Proteomic Signature for Prostate Cancer

A study led by Dr Matt Spick, Dr Olivier Cexus and Professor Agnieszka Michael identified a proteomic signature of prostate cancer in peripheral blood using data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry combined with machine learning. This study provides a proteomic signature complementary to PSA for the diagnosis of patients with localised prostate cancer, with the further potential for assessing risk of future disease.

OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS AND COLLABORATIONS

New SEISMIC facility enables single-cell measurement to help fight cancer and infectious diseases

Launched in May, the University of Surrey’s new SEISMIC facility will offer scientists access to technology that enables them to pick up single cells or even parts of cells and measure the spatial position of biomarkers like proteins, metabolites and lipids.

Funded by £2.8 million from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and industry, SEISMIC uses an advanced type of microscope manufactured by Yokogawa Corporation. Professor Melanie Bailey, Director of the SEISMIC facility at the University of Surrey, said:

“Thanks to SEISMIC, we’ve made a breakthrough in measuring lipids in individual mammalian cells. This new technology is a game changer because it allows scientists to measure important biomarkers while keeping track of where they are in the cell. This is important for understanding how healthy cells work and how infections or cancer can affect them.

“We’re really excited about this because it will help us better understand how cells communicate with each other, and this knowledge could lead to new ways to fight diseases.”

Professor Melanie Bailey

AI in Medical imaging

Researchers led by Philip Evans and Kevin Wells in Surrey’s Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) are applying state-of-the-art computer vision techniques to solve medical imaging problems. Working in collaboration with the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, National Physical Laboratory and industry partners, they are developing methods to make radiomics (the method of extracting features from medical images) robust and repeatable across different hospitals scanners. CVSSP’s methods have been applied to scans of lung, head and neck cancer.

• Optical tomography

• Computed tomography

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

• Positron emission tomography

• Ultrasound

• Imaging with a proton radiotherapy beam.

Other areas of work include:

• Using artificial intelligence to determine when lung cancer patients need to see a dietician using a few simple questions, avoiding the need for patients to fill in lengthy questionnaires.

• Development of an end-to-end imaging test object (phantoms) for Magnetic Resonance (MR) guided radiotherapy which combines image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) for adaptation with dose verification.

OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS AND COLLABORATIONS

Surrey BioAnalytics Centre opens 2024

The Centre brings together the talents of measurement specialists and biologists from across the University. This brings synergistic interactions that improve methods of measuring a whole range of different entities. In turn, that advances knowledge of human health and industrial processes for improved outcomes in illness and improved commercialisation opportunities for UK PLC.

The National Measurement Laboratory is moving to the University of Surrey, including its laboratory activity. NML is heavily focused on metrology and the use of mass spectrometry for measurements. This fits in line with the activities of Surrey’s BioAnalytics Centre and our collaboration will bring mutual advantage. Waters is a major mass spectrometry manufacturer with whom Surrey has also developed a formal partnership agreement. The opportunities for cutting edge research with Waters are profound and this endeavour will be based in Surrey’s new Centre.

Pharma giant GSK, which has a site close to the University, is a major user of metrology. Surrey is interacting with GSK on single cell omics and other approaches in measurement. Thus the BioAnalytics Centre has tentacles into a diverse range of different organisations.

Veterinary Health Innovation Engine (vHive)

vHive is an innovation hub supported by a co-investment of £8.5 million in resources dedicated to the development and adoption of new digital technologies in animal health. Situated at the University of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine, vHive comprises both academic and commercial experts possessing the necessary expertise to undertake new, complex endeavours on behalf of their partners, who seek academically verified output and customised business development. Under the leadership of Professor Anthony Whetton, this exciting initiative has been established through a partnership between the University of Surrey and Zoetis, the largest global animal health company. Its primary goal is to enhance and amplify the skills and knowledge of professionals working within the field of animal health.

Anthony Whetton (Professor of Translational Biosystems, Director of the Veterinary Health Innovation Engine)

AI REVEALS SCALE OF DEMENTIA IN INDIA, ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH

Dementia in India may be higher than previous estimates have suggested and could be more in line with prevalence rates for countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, according to a new collaborative study by researchers from the University of Surrey, University of Southern California, University of Michigan, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

In the first study of its kind, researchers used an artificial intelligence (AI) technique known as semi-supervised machine learning to analyse data from 31,477 older adults. They found that the prevalence rate of dementia in adults aged 60 or over in India could be 8.44% – equating to 10.08 million older adults in the country. This compares to prevalence rates recorded in similar age groups (in separate research studies) of 8.8% in the United States, 9% in the United Kingdom and between 8.5% and 9% in Germany and France.

Dr Haomiao Jin, co-author of the study and Lecturer in Health Data Sciences at the University of Surrey, said:

“Our research was based on the first and only nationally representative ageing study in India with more than 30,000 participating older adults in the country.”

The research team developed an AI learning model. The model was trained on data, which consisted of 70% labelled dataset with dementia diagnoses from a novel online consensus. The remaining 30% of the data was reserved as a test set to assess the AI’s predictive accuracy. The AI taught itself to predict dementia status for unlabelled observations without dementia diagnoses in the dataset.

Professor Adrian Hilton, Director of the University of Surrey’s Institute for People-Centred AI, said:

“As we are seeing with this research, AI has a huge potential to discover patterns in complex data, improving our understanding of how diseases impact people across very different communities to support the development of precision medical interventions to save lives.”

The research has been published by Neuroepidemiology

Dr Haomiao Jin

Dr Haomiao Jin has an interdisciplinary background in health systems engineering and social work. He holds a PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California, where he gained expertise in information technology, data science, and health. Since then, he has built a career in the field of health informatics, with a particular interest in digital survey methdology and machine learning modelling of complex health survey data.

HEALTHY AGEING AND SUPPORTING LONG-TERM CONDITIONS

THE CHALLENGE

The world’s population is ageing. In Europe and North America there are already more people older than 60 years than under the age of 15. The life expectancy of those living with conditions such as dementia, metabolic illness, cancers and genetic conditions that previously prevented progression beyond childhood or middle age is increasing. And this is not just an issue for high-income countries — by 2050, 80 per cent of all older people will be living in low- and middle-income countries. Throughout the world, the increased quantity of years is not always being matched by a rise in quality of life, and we need to better manage age-related changes and prevent social isolation.

OUR RESPONSE

Research programmes in our Healthy Ageing and Supporting Long-term Conditions Research Theme investigate long-term conditions and ageing from a subcellular to a systems and population level. Fundamental molecular and clinical investigations determine the biological mechanisms involved in ageing and disease progression, and provide information about biomarkers and symptoms to monitor and assess response to treatment.

Analysis of big data – from genomics to healthcare costs — enable complexities around clinical decision making to be unravelled, and personalised care plans to be devised. Studies that design interventions and services will inform new approaches to help people with multimorbidity maintain their independence, physical abilities, and cognitive function, and prevent or minimise complications.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Cardiovascular sciences

Our research encompasses a wide range of overarching disciplines and expertise, including: pharmacology, cell and molecular biology, genetics, epigenetics, genomics, metabolomics, transgenic animal models, physiology, drug development, and clinical intervention studies.

Research areas:

• The cardioprotective roles of cellular and mitochondrial response to stress

• The role of pericytes in cardiovascular pathophysiology

• Blood coagulation in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease

• Gene therapy

• Electrophysiological, structural and molecular mechanisms of cardiac disease

• Cardiac arrhythmias

• Cardiac fibroblasts in heart physiology and pathology

• Design of tissue engineering solutions in cardiac disease

• Inflammatory mediators and oxidative stress in bladder ageing and pathology.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Cancer care

Our work focuses on changing the ways we diagnose and support people with cancer and their families, to meet increasing demands and care needs, and increase quality of life. We work across the age span and disease course - from diagnosis to survivorship and palliative care.

Research areas:

• Cancer diagnosis during pregnancy

• Inequalities in cancer outcomes (individually and intersectionally)

• Cancer diagnosis and management in people in prison

• Influence of cancer treatment on patients and their families, informal carers, parents, siblings and other family members

• Optimising teamwork and patient care

• Digital health/connected health, supportive technologies and web-based programmes to support mental and physical health for people with cancer.

Maternal, child and family health

We work with a number of professional groups - from nursing, midwifery, health visiting, psychology, public health, school nursing, and community nursing - alongside health service researchers with expert skills across both qualitative and quantitative research.

Research areas:

• Children’s well-being

• Focus on health problems such as cancer, complex diseases, disabilities (cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical), injuries

• Workforce well-being and its relation to patient care

• Focus on organisational climate, job satisfaction, teamwork, integration of staff-patient care performance.

Sport, health and exercise sciences

The Surrey Human Performance Institute is a state-of-the-art physiology laboratory designed to test and train clinical populations, athletes and individuals to improve health and performance.

Research areas:

• The effects of exercise and diet on healthy ageing and health outcomes, disease prevention and disease management

• Improving athlete performance through nutritional strategies, strength and conditioning, and exercise prescription

• Exercise interventions for type-2 diabetes, ageing and prostate cancer

• Effects of exercise and ageing on musculoskeletal health.

Environmental Psychology

We are an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research on environmental psychology. Our group is unique because of its history as one of the longest-standing research groups in this field in the world.

Since the 1970s the EPRG has taught more than 400 MSc and 50 PhD students from across the world and has hosted many visiting researchers.

We study the interaction between people and their physical environment. The aim of our work is to contribute to the development and management of sustainable healthy environments for all, now and into the long-term future.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Veterinary Clinical and Pre-Clinical Science Research

We have many clinical specialists and vets from practice to deliver our clinical education. Many have joint appointments within our clinical partner practices. This group has vets from small animal, production animal, equine, and specialist areas such as oncology, theriogenology, neurology that extend beyond species boundaries. Some key areas of our pre-clinical expertise includes osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenesis and developing artificial models to study articular cartilage physiology to identify pharmacological targets for treating OA. We also lead on biomarker discoveries and computational approaches in understanding cardiovascular conditions and cancers. Our work spans cardiac arrhythmia mechanisms, cardiovascular risk stratification through biomarker development, and the influence of ageing and genetic factors, including ethnicity, gender and breed (for animals), on disease development and detection.

Health Psychology

The Health Psychology research group has four broad research areas:

• Health behaviour, habits and behaviour change

• Rare and more common chronic conditions

• Stress, rumination and heart rate variability

• Communication, language and symptom perception.

Surrey Baby lab

We do a lot of interesting research at the Surrey Baby Lab to help us find out how infants and children interact with their environment, and if and how learning language has an influence on the way we perceive the world.

Workforce, organisation and wellbeing

We investigate policy, practice and education related to the healthcare workforce. We also develop and evaluate workforce and educational tools and interventions to improve care delivery for patients. Research of the organisation and wellbeing of the healthcare workforce underpins decision-making for clinicians, managers and support staff, and helps students and staff to care well.

Research areas:

• Workforce staffing and policy implementation

• Supporting the healthcare workforce to care well (staff wellbeing and resilience) and improve care delivery: understanding organisational determinants

• Student, employee and patient wellbeing: development and evaluation of interventions

• Systems that support staff to raise concerns and speak up

• The impact of the built environment on care delivery and patient experience

• Describing, assessing and improving teamwork in healthcare (multi/inter-disciplinary teamwork).

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Clinical intervention and practice

We have a long-standing national and international reputation for our research in mental health prevention, promotion, intervention and understandings.

Our research is organised into three main strands:

1. Applied clinical and health psychology

2. Drugs, alcohol and addictive behaviours

3. Social justice and inequalities in mental health.

Long term conditions

Effective management of people with long-term conditions is a priority within health care and an ageing population. Our research activities are designed to develop and strengthen local, national and international collaborations enabling the delivery of high quality, values-based health and social care practice across the lifespan.

Our research focuses upon dementia care, frailty and multi-morbidity in older people, non-medical prescribing, self-management of long-term conditions, workforce preparation and models of care.

The mission of the Long-term Conditions and Ageing Cluster is to ensure provision of values-based care for service users by advancing knowledge in health and social care across the lifespan.

Research areas

(Our research falls into five main areas):

• Dementia care

• Frailty and multi-morbidity in older people

• Non-medical prescribing

• Self-management of long-term conditions

• Workforce preparation and models of care

• Palliative and end of life care.

Social Emotions and Equality in Relations

This is a group of social and personality psychologists whose research focuses on social emotions and judgements, gender and sexuality, the self and interpersonal relationships.

Brain and behaviour

Our research is generally on the theme of lifelong health, and we carry out research on sleep, development, ageing and mental well-being to understand health and disease.

EXAMPLES OF OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS AND COLLABORATIONS

New global Centre of Excellence on Ageing launches with a clear call for action against ageism

The University of Surrey’s new Centre works in partnership with the Global Initiative on Ageing (GIA), which operates under the auspices of the United Nations. The Centre was formally launched on 26 April 2023 and will allow us to understand more and provide genuine solutions that help to enrich the lives of our elderly relatives, friends, and fellow citizens while safeguarding their rights.

Conceptualising loneliness for people with learning disabilities: a co-designed intervention to support connectedness in social care settings

This study seeks to better understand how staff in care settings can help ameliorate loneliness for people they support, by co-designing an intervention that will improve the ability of staff to help people with learning disabilities become more socially connected.

Menopause Matters: a better health service for women

This project is conducted in collaboration with the Royal Surrey County Hospital. We are working to increase patient awareness and understanding of the menopause transition, and developing improved crosstalk between gynaecologists and nutritionists/dieticians at Royal Surrey. We wish to ensure patients receive high-quality, holistic support tailored to them, to reduce their menopause symptoms.

Dr Agnieszka Lemanska Lecturer in Integrated Care

Pancreatic cancer could be diagnosed up to three years earlier

In the largest study of its kind, researchers from the University of Surrey, in partnership with Pancreatic Cancer Action and the University of Oxford, investigated signs of pancreatic cancer, including weight loss, hyperglycaemia and diabetes and demonstrated the timelines for when they develop in relation to cancer. The pancreas is a vital organ with two key functions, to produce insulin and digestive enzymes. Cancer can affect one or both of these functions, leading to the above symptoms. Currently, almost 90 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed too late for curative treatment.

Lead author Dr Agnieszka Lemanska, Lecturer in Integrated Care at the University of Surrey, said:

“Due to the difficulty in detecting pancreatic cancer, survival rates are extremely poor compared to other cancers, with less than 10 per cent of people surviving five years or more after diagnosis.

“Weight loss and increased blood glucose are recognised symptoms of pancreatic cancer. However, the extent of these symptoms and when they manifest have been unknown. Knowing when they develop will help clinicians to diagnose this deadly cancer, meaning treatment can begin earlier.”

THIS HAS RESULTED IN NEW DRUGS WHICH REDUCE HYPOGLYCEMIA (LOW BLOOD SUGAR EPISODES) AND DECREASE LIKELIHOOD OF WEIGHT GAIN – ENABLING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WITH DIABETES TO LIVE A MORE NORMAL LIFE. “

SMARTER TREATMENT FOR DIABETES

Research by Professor David Russell-Jones has led to a breakthrough in insulin drugs, improving quality of life for millions of people with diabetes around the world.

Globally, over 450 million people are affected by diabetes. Insulin replacement therapy is a daily reality for all people with Type 1 diabetes and is also used by a quarter of Type 2 patients for part of their lives. Crucial for maintaining close to normal levels of blood sugar, these drugs help to minimise long-term damage of the eyes, kidneys, nerves and blood vessels.

In 2004, Professor Russell-Jones began a collaboration with King’s College London to explore a hypothesis: he believed that because the drug Levemir® made by Novo Nordisk was bound to albumin (the main protein in the bloodstream), it must have more access to the liver than to peripheral tissues.

Studies using mass spectrometry techniques proved Professor Russell-Jones’ hypothesis to be correct, and he joined an international consortium of academics and clinicians focused on optimising the biological effects of insulin analogues. This has resulted in new drugs which reduce hypoglycemia (low blood sugar episodes) and decrease likelihood of weight gain – enabling millions of people with diabetes to live a more normal life.

David Russell-Jones

(Professor of Diabetes and Endocrinology)

Professor David Russell-Jones is a key figure in NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group. His department secured substantial research grants, earning a 5*A rating in the recent assessment. He established the innovative Cedar Centre, a £2 million ambulatory care and research facility for diabetes and endocrine patients.

Additionally, he’s Clinical Director of the Wolfson Transitional Research Laboratories, known for its advanced mass spectrometry facility. His extensive research, exceeding 100 peer-reviewed papers, focuses on stable isotopes and peptide hormone physiology.

WHAT CAN HORSES TEACH US ABOUT CARDIAC CONDITIONS?

Professor Kamalan Jeevaratnam shares how veterinary research at the University of Surrey is helping to assist with earlier diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in humans.

When Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during the European Championships, shockwaves went round the world. How could someone so young and fit suffer a heart attack?

Those of us with longer memories immediately recalled a similar incident involving Fabrice Muamba almost a decade before. Again, a young man in his prime had a cardiac arrest on the pitch. What caused it?

From a medical perspective, understanding the individual causes of cardiac arrests was clearly crucial – but equally, we want to learn more about how we could prevent such incidents in the future. The difficulty is that in humans, these incidents are so rare that we have a very small sample size to work with.

But widen the lens, and you find another group of supremely fit athletes that have also been susceptible to sudden cardiac failure - racehorses. Sadly, there are numerous cases every year of these magnificent animals collapsing during, or after, a race with heart failure. The main cause is later discovered to be atrial fibrillation, something that is treatable if recognised – but very hard to spot.

One Health, One Medicine

At the School of Veterinary Medicine, we’re now researching the development of cardiac disease in racehorses to try and reduce the risk of heart failure. And to bring us back to Christian Eriksen, those findings can also be used to assist with earlier diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in humans.

Kamalan Jeevaratnam

(Head of School of Veterinary Sciences)

Professor Jeevaratnam is a receipient of multiple international awards including the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Award and FFM Best Research Award to name a few. His research interests include integrative physiology, novel therapeutic agent discoveries, human animal interface research as well as medical education. His present work concerns the use of integrative physiology techniques to elucidate mechanism of cardiac arrhythmia and developing risk stratification strategies for clinical practice.

INFECTION AND IMMUNITY

THE CHALLENGE

Biosecurity is a global concern — infectious disease is estimated to cause a third of all human deaths worldwide. Better ways to empower the immune system to protect us from pathogens, but without triggering the inappropriate immune responses that cause illness, are continually needed. As microbes evolve and emerge from animal reservoirs to threaten our food supply and health, we need to develop new agents such as vaccines and antimicrobials and also understand how best to use them, including avoiding antimicrobial resistance.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Immunology

OUR RESPONSE

Within the theme we take an interdisciplinary and one health approach to tackling these challenges. Investigations of host-pathogen interactions and of microbial structure and mechanisms, including at the quantum level, reveal target structures and pathways for blocking transmissible disease and enhancing antimicrobial penetration in humans and animals. Studies to elucidate immune system complexities inform better diagnosis and treatment of autoimmunity, inflammation and sepsis. Generating new data sets and applying computational techniques enables new ways to minimise the transmission of pathogens and to optimise the design of antibiotic production from bacterial strains.

Our research addresses basic questions in immune system control and development as well as applied studies to improve human and animal health in ageing, infectious disease, autoimmunity and tumour immunology.

We collaborate widely, having research partners in over twelve different countries to tackle issues such as failing pneumonia vaccine responses in the older person, or failure of protection against Ebola virus disease.

Virology

Our research interests include:

• Cellular responses to virus infection – cell defence and virus counter-mechanisms involved in the interplay between virus and cell.

• Regulation of virus protein synthesis - how viruses hijack the cellular translational machinery to enable large-scale virus production.

• Virus morphogenesis – the interactions and cellular transport pathways involved in virus assembly and egress.

We are experts in classical virology, molecular biology and cellular biology approaches, and use state-of-the-art techniques ranging from single cell imaging to proteomics, RNAseq and translatomics to help us build a greater understanding of how viruses successfully subvert their host cells.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Bacteriology

Our multidisciplinary research covers many health areas, including: tuberculosis, leprosy, buruli ulcer, meningococcus, pathogenic E.coli, Vibrio spp., and various foodborne pathogens.

We take a multidisciplinary approach to our research, involving innovative programmes of experimental and computational study and we have an extensive network of international collaborators.

Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health Research

This section of research is concerned with the nature of threats to health in animal and human populations. This includes, for example, research to understand factors that increase the risk of disease and of mechanisms associated with disease transmission or investigation of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

Our research includes: the transmission of antimicrobial resistance, the pathogenesis of foodborne pathogens, the development of rapid diagnostics and intervention strategies (including vaccination and pre and probiotics for the control of bacterial pathogens in animals).

Pathology and Infectious Diseases Research

Our department focuses on understanding pathogen behaviour in hosts and the environment, especially concerning emerging and zoonotic diseases such as Rabies, Prions, Campylobacter, E. coli, and more.

We cover research into pathogen transmission and control mechanisms, immune system responses, and pathogen evolution. Our work also addresses antimicrobial resistance and its influence on pathogen fitness, aiming to develop novel control strategies.

We have collaborations with AHVLA, Pirbright Institute, and veterinary partners to enhance interdisciplinary research opportunities, covering a broad spectrum of diseases and their impact on animals and humans.

EXAMPLES OF OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS

RaDiCal: Rapid diagnosis of Calf Pneumonia

In this active ongoing project funded by the BBSRC we are developing a rapid, sensitive, cost-effective on-farm diagnostic test capable of detecting the organisms responsible for calf pneumonia to inform herd management and reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics. Early diagnosis of pneumonia will allow the farmer to administer treatment in a proportionate and timely way.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)

We work on a range of bacterial, viral and parasitic NTDs including Buruli ulcer, intestinal worms and rabies, schistosomiasis and echinococcosis. A key feature of NTD research at Surrey is cross-disciplinary working bringing together biologists, vets, mathematical modellers, engineers, psychologists and artists to address the challenges posed by NTDs. The One Health-One Medicine approach underpins our research. We work with universities, research institutions, government ministries and NGOs in endemic countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Building capacity in endemic countries to combat NTDs is central to our work. Our efforts on NTDs are funded by UK and global funders including UKRI, Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

NEW MENB VACCINE HERALDS USE OF GENETIC VACCINES TO COMBAT BACTERIAL DISEASES

A vaccine candidate that can protect children from Meningococcal group B (MenB), which can lead to meningitis, has progressed to clinical development, according to an announcement by researchers from the University of Surrey and the University of Oxford.

In a paper published by Science Translational Medicine, scientists show how they were able to use an existing vaccine delivery platform – similar to the vaccines created to tackle Covid-19 and Ebola – to effectively produce the specific part of the bacteria that triggers the immune system to make protective antibodies.

Professor Christine Rollier, who conducted the research whilst at Oxford University in her role as Associate Professor in Vaccinology at the Oxford Vaccine Group before moving to the University of Surrey said:

“The key challenge in our study was using viral-based vaccine platforms that can successfully generate antibodies against diseases such as rabies and SARSCoV-2 to work for bacterial infections such as MenB.”

To meet this challenge, the team used vaccine platforms that expressed a protective protein called “factor H binding protein”. The researchers tested these vectors to see if they could produce the protein reliably and if they could stimulate a strong immune response in mice.

The team identified a promising vaccine candidate, and it was further improved for human use by making small changes to its structures and testing it, once again,

on mice with human-like immune systems. The vaccine candidate has progressed to clinical development.

Professor Rollier added:

“While our MenB vaccine has shown strong, consistent, and long-lasting protection against these severe bacteria in mice after a single dose, we understand the complexities of the human immune system. As we progress, we remain cautiously optimistic about its potential to induce similar protective responses in humans.”

“More importantly, the application of genetic vaccines such as ours signifies a hopeful leap forward in combating bacterial diseases.”

MenB bacteria are a severe cause of life-threatening infections, including meningitis and sepsis. MenB is the predominant group responsible for 90% of meningococcal infections in the UK, according to the NHS. These infections can affect people of all ages but are most common in babies and young children. MenB infections can be fatal, with around 1 in 20 affected children dying from the disease.

Christine Rollier (Professor of Vaccinology, Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques)

Professor Rollier’s research interests are in vaccine development from design and preclinical studies to early clinical development. She has expertise in different vaccine platforms and approaches and seeks to adapt those to the target pathogen and to the target population, with a focus on OneHealth, anti-microbial resistance and vulnerable populations (children, elderly and low-and-middle-income countries). She worked on numerous projects in collaboration with the Pirbright Institute including ones around mechanisms of induction of protective lung tissue, resident memory cells against influenza, and understanding B-cell response to African Swine Fever Virus in order to improve vaccine design.

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

THE CHALLENGE

The ways that education is delivered can profoundly influence learning outcomes for individuals and affect groups and communities in which people learn. Practices associated with scholarship change continually, often prompted by critical reflection upon both one’s own experiences and methods and those of others. From such educator-led changes, an evidence base through peer-reviewed publication can be built to initiate wider developments in educational practice and policy.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

OUR RESPONSE

Within the Educational Research Theme, we use a wide range of systematic techniques to investigate educational practices and to determine the best ways to enhance the student experience. Through pedagogic research, often co-created with students, we provide an enhanced understanding of the educational environment and prompt discussions between staff and students about teaching excellence. We also enhance theoretical and conceptual understanding about educational processes and experiences and the wider contexts in which learning and teaching take place.

Development, education, language and outreach in psychology

Our research covers the pre-natal through to adulthood and aims to answer fundamental questions to impact both theory and practice. Our expertise spans a range of different methodologies including fieldwork in educational settings, using experimental techniques such as eye-tracking, EEG and fNIRS, as well as observational methods, qualitative analyses, questionnaires, interviews and focus groups.

We are also involved in outreach activities that enable children from schools and colleges to gain a deeper understanding of psychological research, engage members of the public with key aspects of psychology and influence early years policy and third sector approaches to child development.

Veterinary Education

Our research interests lie in developing veterinary professionalism, with a focus on easing the transition our students make from university to practice. Our commitment to delivering a unique style of veterinary education is reflected in our ‘One Health’ approach to human and animal science and our mission to educate veterinary professionals who will meet the needs of a changing world. Surrey Vet School operates a distributed model for its clinical years, whereby the school partners with a large number of local veterinary practices and organisations to send students out on Intramural rotations. These include: Fitzpatrick Referrals, Liphook Equine Hospital and Westpoint Farm Vets.

Educational strategies

Research that involves assessing strategies used in teaching and learning. For example problem based learning, simulation teaching, technology enhanced learning and mentoring.

Assessment and feedback

Research that involves evaluating and understanding the impact of assessment and feedback strategies. For example workplace assessments, clinical examinations and standard settings methods.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Educational theories and evaluation

Research that involves theoretical or philosophical perspectives and the evaluation of education practices. For example, assessing preparedness, acceptability and informed choice.

Inclusive education

Research that involves the context for inclusion within the field of education. For example understanding cultural diversity, gender, professional identity formation and attainment gaps.

EXAMPLES OF OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS

Student and clinical supervisors’ perspective on student preparedness for workplace clinical training in veterinary medicine – a multicentre study

The overall goal for workplace clinical training is for graduates to gain the knowledge, skills and professional behaviours that are required to be a successful clinician in their chosen field. A successful relationship between a student and their supervisor is based on a mutual understanding of what is expected and required during placement. Traditionally, preclinical veterinary science has been taught on a subject based model, with clinical veterinary training undertaken within veterinary teaching hospitals associated with the University of Surrey. The University’s Veterinary degree has moved away from this idea, adopting a distributed curriculum model with clinical training occurring with external partners during the final year. The importance of this research is highlighted by the potential ability to specifically identify the differences between what is expected by students and their clinical supervisors. This will allow changes to the curriculum that will assist students transitioning from pre-clinical studies to clinical studies to graduation.

A strategy for decolonising the curriculum

Decolonising the curriculum is an especially pressing topic facing higher education. A “decolonised” curriculum needs to be fully inclusive and cannot give privilege to the experiences and knowledge of people from WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic) backgrounds. Despite the clear and urgent need for decolonised curriculum content, awareness of this need is low among HEIs and only a few universities have begun the process. Similarly, many academics at Surrey lack the awareness and/or confidence to embark on this type of curriculum review. This project will focus on two aspects of modules (the module guide and the reading list) as a drive towards creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all students.

Co-creating an OSCE assessment

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) allow competency assessment of clinical and communication skills through direct observation. A fresh approach to OSCE assessments is required for the new undergraduate programmes in nursing, midwifery and paramedic science. Thus the intention is to work in partnership with students to ensure an improved and appropriate assessment. Partnership working also enables students to develop graduate attributes and gain employability skills. For staff it also provides opportunities to develop aspects of the educational and student experiences which can support promotions, fellowship applications and awards.

Validation of models and protocols for clinical skills laboratories within the School of Veterinary Medicine

Clinical skills laboratories are now used extensively in veterinary programmes to develop clinical skills that will be used on live animals. They contain a large range of models and simulations. The performance of each clinical skill is described in a procedural protocol which students are expected to follow and perform. Many of the models are developed ‘in house’ although some models have been purchased from external suppliers. Validation is required to ensure that the functionality of the activities is ‘realistic’ and ‘helpful’ in preparing students for clinical practice. The purpose of the project is to validate the clinical skills training models and protocols used in the clinical skills laboratories, using discipline-specific veterinarian clinicians as experts.

NUTRITION AND FOOD SECURITY

THE CHALLENGE

New thinking, knowledge, applications and governance systems need to emerge to persuade individuals to make healthy and sustainable choices for themselves and others. Ingesting suitable amounts of nutritious and safe food at an appropriate regularity is key to sustaining life and promoting health and wellbeing. This is not currently happening — the World Health Organization estimates that around 60% of the global disease burden is attributable in some way to poor diet or unsafe food. Better strategies to ensure food and water security, including effective food waste management, are sought throughout the world.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SURREY WAS AWARDED THE QUEEN’S ANNIVERSARY PRIZE FOR ITS TEACHING AND RESEARCH IN FOOD AND NUTRITION.

Our Department of Nutritional Sciences and Food and Consumer Behaviour and our Health Research Centre have proven to be centres of excellence, with pioneering research in obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, vitamin D, iodine and food labelling.

OUR RESPONSE

Research programmes within the theme of nutrition and food security address these challenges - from investigating electron shuffle in food chain-relevant microbial communities to instigating behavioural change in human populations. Biomedical, clinical and genetic studies of nutrient deficiency, nutrient handling and circadian control of metabolism inform approaches to personalised diets and disease prevention. Investigations of how nutritional requirements alter during times of illness and exertion aid menu design, including when fresh food is not easy to obtain. Understanding how diseases and drug treatments effect the GI microbiome in people and animals highlights ways to prevent contamination of food and water, reducing, for example, the likelihood of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Studying the function and regulation of the gut-brain axis informs strategies to improving mental health.

OUR RESEARCH AREAS

Metabolic medicine, food and macronutrients

Our research aims to increase understanding of the aetiology and metabolic basis of chronic degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and to produce evidence for the health benefits of therapeutic, diet and lifestyle strategies to reduce disease risk. One macronutrient that is often neglected is dietary fibre. Our research on different types of resistant starch will elucidate the mechanisms by which this dietary fibre benefits health, allowing it to be labelled as functional food. Intact plant cell walls, another type of dietary fibre, can significantly affect nutrient digestibility; this can be exploited as part of personalised nutrition to reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease or ensure maximum nutritional benefit is derived from food.

Food, consumer behaviour and health

The major driving force behind our research is the need to translate basic biological knowledge on food safety, diet and health in order to facilitate the improvement of people’s lives.

There are three strands to achieving this overall goal:

• Identifying biological knowledge which is applicable: the nature of nutrient needs, the influence of nutrient intake and the impact of non-nutrients on health

• Understanding individual human behaviour and social influences: consumer attitudes, perceptions and behaviour, and the impact of society

• Accounting for the economic and management realities of delivering food to the public: management within the food sector and its impact on consumer choice.

Public health nutrition, dietetics and micronutrients

The broad research aims of this area encompass: analysis of nutrition survey data in relation to outcomes; iodine deficiency in pregnant women in the UK and the effect on cognitive development in their children; effects of selenium status on human health; antimicrobial resistance and the antimicrobial efficacy of lactic acid bacteria against Campylobacter; and the feasibility of using lactic acid bacteria as a treatment/vaccine in wildlife against bovine tuberculosis.

EXAMPLES OF OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS

Start Healthy, Stay Healthy: Aligning Public and Planetary Health Through Precision PlantBased Dietary Solutions across the Life course (The STAR Hub)

The STAR Hub is a combined project between the University of Surrey, Ulster University, Newcastle University and the University of Leeds. The project aims to consolidate the activities of communities working on novel plant-based products and to highlight opportunities for industry to exploit this evidence through further research and development. This will involve academia producing innovative plant-based products, services and systems that are targeted and tailored to specific life stages, to improve and maintain cognitive and mental health across the life course. The Hub’s focus is on polyphenols, fibre and resistant starch, alternative plant protein sources and the improvement of existing or novel plant-based foods.

TRanslational

Innovation Hub for Population

HEalth using Food and Nutrition approaches to enhance Positive Physiology (The RIPEN Hub)

The RIPEN Hub is a collaborative project between the University of Surrey, Imperial College London and PepsiCo. The Hub will support research and translation activity that bridges the gap between biosciences research and development, to better understand the interplay between food components and human physiology, and to ultimately improve health. It will provide thought leadership, develop partnerships, and build critical mass in the areas that affect food and its consumption in relation to human physiology. A specific aim is to develop talent and a vibrant environment for this field, supporting the next generation of young scientists in this area.

Effect of prebiotics of emotional wellbeing

This project consists of three human intervention studies that will study the prebiotic effect of galacto-oligosaccharides on emotion regulation abilities at the behavioural and brain level in children, adolescents and young adults. The study will be complemented by gut microbiome profiling.

WHAT OUR BODIES NEED

Groundbreaking research projects in vitamin D absorption and iodine deficiency have led to new government guidelines –and prompted change in the way food products are formulated.

VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY

Surrey’s Department of Nutritional Sciences has been studying the fundamental impact food and nutrition have on human health for over 50 years – a hugely impactful body of work recognised with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2017.

For Head of Department Professor Susan Lanham-New, vitamin D deficiency has been a key focus for over a decade. Lack of vitamin D means that our bodies cannot absorb calcium, which is a major cause of osteoporosis, costing the NHS around £2bn a year. However, up until 2016, government nutritional

IMPACT OF IODINE

scientists considered that sunlight exposure during the spring and summer was sufficient to sustain our vitamin D levels during the winter months.

As a result of research by Professor Lanham-New’s group, the first-ever vitamin D Reference Nutrient Intake was established, which shaped new national guidelines. Sales of vitamin D supplements increased by a third, and food manufacturers including Yakult and Warburtons reformulated their products to incorporate vitamin D.

While severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy is known to impair foetal brain development, the effects of mild-to-moderate deficiency were less well known. This led Professor Margaret Rayman and Dr Sarah Bath to conduct the first ever research into the link between mild-to-moderate deficiency and lower child cognition –which can set children on a trajectory for poorer outcomes in terms of school attainment, exam grades and employment opportunities.

Since milk is the main provider of iodine in the UK, the researchers were also concerned about the trend towards plant-based alternative milks, which have a significantly lower iodine content.

The team’s research clearly showed that women with mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency were more likely to have children with lower verbal, reading and comprehension skills at eight to nine years old. As a result of their work, the market-leading pregnancy supplement increased its iodine content, while popular milk alternatives have been fortified with iodine, and the iodine content of organic milk has been increased. UK policy for monitoring iodine status in the general population has also been changed, and awareness of the impact of iodine deficiency has been raised among the public – particularly women of childbearing age – and health professionals.

Susan Lanham-New (Professor of Human Nutrition, Head of the Nutrition Department) Professor Lanham-New led a successful Nutritional Sciences at Surrey application for the 2017/2018 Queen’s Anniversary Prize and is a Member of H.M. Government’s SACN and the E.U.’s EFSA on Nutrient Tolerable Upper Limits. She has won a number of awards for her research including the 2018/2019 British Nutrition Foundation Prize and the 2021 Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow Medal.

SALES OF VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENTS INCREASED BY A THIRD, AND FOOD MANUFACTURERS INCLUDING YAKULT AND WARBURTONS REFORMULATED THEIR PRODUCTS TO INCORPORATE VITAMIN D. “