2019

After a weekend of extensive and lively debate, planning and organization a team of three undergraduate students from the Zhejiang University – University of Edinburgh (ZJE) Institute were awarded first prize for their presentation and proposal to develop a social network to promote interactions between students across UK China Joint Institutes in China.

Congratulations to Professors Gareth Leng (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) and Simone Meddle (Roslin Institute) who have been awarded a grant by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to study the brain processes that control hunger in birds.

Congratulations to first authors Dr Sam Booker and Dr Aleks Domanski and senior authors Profs Peter Kind and David Wyllie who have published two papers in Nature Communications on their findings from investigating the developmental basis of sensory hypersenstivities in Fragile X Syndrome.

Congratulations to all our staff who have gained Fellowships from the Higher Education Academy this year.

Congratulations to Dr Jane Haley (Edinburgh Neuroscience) who has been appointed to the Society for Neuroscience ’Neuroscience training Committee’ as the only non-USA member (out of 16 members)

A warm welcome to postdoctoral fellow Dr Claire Durrant who has taken up post in Prof Tara Spires-Jones lab (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences). Dr Durrant has featured in an article in The Scotsman about F1 motor racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart and his 'Race Against Dementia’ charity that has recently invested £1.5 million in dementia research.

The Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences is delighted to announce the winner of the Alison Douglas Prize for the best PhD thesis for 2018/19 has been awarded to Dr David Munro for his thesis on 'Mechanisms of kidney vascularisation and the roles of macrophages in renal organogenesis'.

The Anatomical Museum is delighted to introduce Georgi Gill, our poet-in-residence for 2019-20.

Prof Gareth Leng, Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, was recently interviewed by Agnes Becker, a Communications Officer at the British Society for Neuroendocrinology, as part of 'Brainwaves' which puts the spotlight on eminent neuroendocinologists about their work, passions and tips for budding scientists.

A new anatomy book describing the wonder and beauty of the human body has been published by Big Picture Press as part of the ‘Welcome to the Museum’ series, and in collaboration with the Wellcome Collection.

On 8 September 2019, more than 100 new undergraduate and postgraduate students attended the Zhejiang University - University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJE) new student welcome ceremony at the International Campus in China.

Whether you are male or female can make a significant difference to the safety and effectiveness of your medication. Dr Carole Torsney talks to The Times about male bias preclinical and clinical research and the impact for women. 

Congratulations to the Michlewski lab who have been awarded a grant worth £510,000 to investigate the role of novel RNA-binding protein TRIM25 in viral nucleic acids sensing and signalling.

Congratulations to the Denholm lab who have been awarded a Leverhulme Trust Research Grant to explore the physiological mechanisms underpinning one of most powerful water-extraction systems in nature.

Dr Gracjan Michlewski has published a paper in Nature Communications - "Loss of 5-methylcytosine alters the biogenesis of Vault-derived small RNAs to coordinate epidermal differentiation".

Insights into how a gene that increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease disrupts brain cells have been revealed by scientists.

Congratulations to Profs David Wyllie, Catherina Becker and Dr Emma Wood (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) on their collaborative grant success with McGill University. Their research will focus on autism/neurodevelopmental disorders, intellectual disabilities (with particular focus on studies using human induced pluripotent stem cells), and neurodegenerative diseases.

Professor Yonghua Song, Executive Vice-President of Zhejiang University and the founding Dean of the International Campus at Zhejiang University receives an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Edinburgh

A Biomedical Sciences collaboration with Fife college has won a prestigious national award for an innovative approach to training the life science workforce of the future.

Congratulations to Dr Jane Haley (Edinburgh Neuroscience) who has been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in recognition for Services to Science Engagement and Education.

Congratulations to all BMS colleagues on their promotions for 2019

Congratulations to Dr Barry McColl (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) and his research group, who are part of an international consortium, Stroke-ImPACT, which has recently been awarded €6M funding from Fondation Leducq to study immunological mechanisms linking stroke and dementia. 

Prof Peter Kind (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) and colleagues have published a study  in Science Translational Medicine, which show that lovastatin, a drug commonly used to lower cholesterol, corrected learning and memory problems in rats with a form of Fragile X Syndrome.

Prof Tara Spire-Jones' team have received £160,000 from Alzheimer's Research UK to explore what could be a new way of treating Alzheimer's.

Congratulations to Prof Mark Evans (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) and colleagues who have published a study investigating cellular processes in the body.

Dr Sander van den Driesche (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) tells us more about being part of the 'flying faculty' at the joint Zhejiang University/University of Edinburgh Institute. (Credit to SCOPE for this story)

In the latest post from the 'Teaching Matters' blog, Dr Celine Caquineau and Dr Phil Larkman, from the Biomedical Teaching Organisation, showcase two initiatives recently run in the deanery of Biomedical Sciences to build a community.

Congratulations to Dr Thomas Becker (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) who has published new findings on zebrafish regeneration in the Journal of Neuroscience

A month in the life of a Conservation Advocate in America.

Our spotlight shines on Dr Dorothy Tse this month who explains about her research in the neurobiology of learning and memory

Congratulations to Prof David Price (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) who was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Edinburgh Principal Professor Peter Mathieson has officially opened a campus in China that will translate medical research into technologies to improve healthcare.

Congratulations to Professor Thomas Gillingwater (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) for his joint award of ~500K from Doddie Weir's 'My Name'5 Doddie Foundation'.

Congratulations to Dr Jane Haley and Professor Tara Spires-Jones who have been elected as Term Members for EDAB. This is in recognition of their work leading engagement activities, particularly during Brain Awareness Week.

Dr Gracjan Michlewski (Infection Medicine) has published a collaborative paper in Molecular Cell on the dynamics and roles of RNA-bound proteome during viral infections.

Congratulations to the Pratt group who have published their recent findings and featured on the cover of the Journal of Neuroscience

The evening of the 31st of January saw over 200 people fill the anatomy lecture theatre for the latest in a series of Anatomical museum talks.

Dr Sharron Ogle, Programme Director of the online MSc Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health programme, talks about the huge body of knowledge our online learners bring to the digital learning environment and the challenges of making academia globally accessible.

Professor Mayank Dutia has retired from his role as Director of Postgraduate Teaching at the Deanery of Biomedical Sciences after almost 40 years working for the University of Edinburgh.

A notorious 18th century rabble rouser has returned to Edinburgh in the form of a life-sized model cast from his skeleton.

Congratulations to Dr Nathalie Rochefort (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) who has been selected as an EMBO Young Investigator.