News from the Medical Research Council network Spring 2014 Leading science for better health

MEASUREto How some MRC scientific workshops are making custom-made kit to enable pioneering research

Living healthier for longer Supporting innovative ageing research through the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing initiative Sharing data saves lives Opinions from two MRC researchers

Network can also be downloaded as a PDF at: www.mrc.ac.uk/network CONTENTS NEWS

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£39.1m for improving data research 3 £39.1m for improving Science festival fun 4 John Let’s talk about dementia 7 data research Savill A £32m MRC investment, announced by Universities and Science the MRC Consortium for Medical Microbial Bioinformatics led by Minister David Willetts at the High Performance Computing and Warwick University, the Medical Bioinformatics partnership led People CHIEF EXECUTIVE Big Data Conference in London on 6 February, plus an additional by and University College London £7.1m, is the latest instalment of a £90m funding initiative to Partners which includes the , will also Dr Jane Cope on the power of persuasion 9 In February, the Minister for tackle health and bioinformatics challenges for the advancement support career opportunities for computational scientists, Universities and Science David of medical research. technologists and programme leaders, enhancing the UK’s skills Willetts announced a £32m MRC in this area. investment into improving the UK’s Six major strategic awards will strengthen collaborative links, capability in, and capacity for, improve tools and infrastructure for researchers and support the Mr Willets said: “Making the most of large and complex data is a Latest discoveries medical bioinformatics. His safe use of biological and patient data for medical research huge priority for Government as it has the potential to drive announcement recognises the across all diseases. research and development, increase productivity and innovation Folic acid could suppress Parkinson’s disease 14 importance and potential of research and ultimately transform lives. This funding will help build UK New clues to how bacteria evade antibiotics 15 using biological and patient data to The awards, to Leeds MRC Medical Bioinformatics Centre, medical research capability and improve collaboration across reap huge benefits for health. University of Oxford Big Data Institute, MRC/UVRI Medical institutions, academia, the NHS and industry.” Informatics Centre at the MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit, However if amendments to the EU data protection regulation proposed by the European Parliamentary Committee go Funding ahead, the potential of investments to tackle data challenges will be severely limited. Official opening of new metabolic diseases unit New biological imaging at Diamond 20 In January, Sir John Savill, Chief Executive of the MRC and Dr , Director of the Funding five more years of research 21 Vital research using personal data would be at worst illegal, and at best unworkable. Millions of individuals across Europe , officially opened a £10.8m new university research facility – the MRC Metabolic have given consent for their data to be used in health Disease Unit (MDU). research via initiatives such as cohort studies and biobanks. But amendments mean use of personal data without specific The MDU is based at the Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute for Metabolic Science (IMS) on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Features consent would be prohibited; such research is already subject Part of a £24m investment into obesity research, its mission is to improve understanding of the mechanisms responsible for to ethical approval and strict confidentiality safeguards. obesity and related metabolic diseases. The eventual goal is to develop interventions to prevent and treat these diseases. Made to measure 10 Living healthier for longer 12 Legislation must both protect the interests of individuals and Sir Steve O’Rahilly, Co-Director of the IMS and Director of the MDU, enable research that benefits all society. If you have said: “This joint initiative from the MRC and the Wellcome Trust will My work space: Professor Ian Deary 16 European partners or collaborators, please encourage them provide exciting new opportunities to better understand the Working life: Professor Susan Gathercole 18 to urge their own Government to maintain the Commission’s fundamental causes of diseases such as obesity and diabetes and text on Articles 81 and 83 and oppose the LIBE Committee’s translate that knowledge into improved therapies.” Opinion: Sharing data saves lives 22 amendments. There will be little point in having world- leading infrastructure and skills for bioinformatics with no Sir John Savill said: “Obesity is one of the biggest challenges facing data to use. the future health of the developed world and understanding the causes and consequences of this condition are a major research Network survey Sir John Savill priority. This additional investment from us and the Wellcome Trust MRC Chief Executive reflects the quality of research undertaken by the University of From left to right: Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Interested in featuring in Network? We are keen to receive Cambridge and lays the foundations for taking basic scientific Cambridge, Sir Steve O’Rahilly, Director of the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit and feedback on the type of news you want to see in Network. Read the position of non-commercial research organisations discoveries right through to clinical advances.” Co-Director of IMS, Professor Nick Wareham, Director of the MRC Epidemiology and academics on the Protecting health and Unit and Co-Director of the IMS, Sir John Savill, MRC Chief Executive, Dr Jeremy scientific research in the Data Protection Regulation here Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust and Jane Ramsey, Chairman of Cambridge To share your ideas complete our Network survey mrc.io/data-protection-regulation University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. survey.mrc.ac.uk/networksurvey MRCNetwork | 3 Coming soon: look out for our NEWS new website launching this spring Bio-revolution Interested in occupational or

We are always looking to share our research with the widest environmental epidemiology? Wikipedia-writing women possible audience. That’s why, on 26 February, the Francis Crick Institute hooked up with the Science Museum’s Lates in The 8th UK and Ireland Occupational & Environmental Epidemiology Throughout 2013, as part of our centenary year, the MRC joined forces Rosalind Franklin Award. Using the award, Professor Arnold created a London for an exciting evening looking at the future of Meeting will be held on Thursday 3 April 2014 at the National Heart and with the Royal Society and Wikimedia to present a series of Wikipedia short film called ‘A Chemical Imbalance’ about the challenges faced by biomedical discovery. Featuring speakers and activities from Lung Institute at Imperial College in London. Supported by the MRC-PHE edit-a-thons. In total, over 90 pages of information on eminent female women in STEM. the Crick’s six partners, it was an opportunity to explore and Centre for Environment and Health and Public Health England, the aim of scientists were either created or expanded. debate cutting-edge research with scientists working at the the meeting is to enable the sharing of knowledge between scientists Emma Claire Palmer, an MRC-funded PhD student at the Institute of forefront of medical research and the public. with research interests in occupational and environmental epidemiology. The edit-a-thons aimed to improve Wikipedia entries for female Psychiatry (IoP), King’s College London attended the Royal Society event Early career researchers are particularly welcome. Registration details and MRC-affiliated scientists and create articles for those who have been in London and wrote about Professor Janet Treasure from the IoP: “I had Science Museum @sciencemuseum other information can be found here lungsatwork.org.uk/courses.php forgotten. The editors, made up of MRC scientists and anyone with an a fantastic time. Learning to edit was a really great experience and I felt I Wow. Last night’s #smlates was the biggest yet. interest in Wikipedia editing, had access to printed and electronic works had done something good and useful with my time. The evening event For further information, contact Magda Wheatley about women in science, including biographies and works authored was very inspirational. It was great to see so many women, and men, Thanks to all 6,916 of you who visited for some [email protected] by scientists. brought together to work towards a better representation of women of drinking and thinking with us & @TheCrick STEM in the public eye.” Following events at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research; Royal Society, London; and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, The next Wikipedia edit-a-thons are on 13 May at the University of Cambridge, the last in the series was held at the Royal Society of Liverpool and 22 May at the University of Manchester. Book a place on Edinburgh in December. A panel discussion on women’s experiences in the workshop in Liverpool at mrc.io/wikipedia-edit-a-thon science was led by Professor Dame Sally Macintyre, an MRC Council member, Professor Lesley Yellowlees, president of the Royal Society of Watch the film about challenges faced by women in STEM here Chemistry and Professor Polly Arnold, winner of the 2012 Royal Society www.chemicalimbalance.co.uk

Science festival fun Why not come along to some of our MRC Have you done our hearing activities at a science festival near you? experiment yet?

Festival season is upon us and many of our world-class research Visit www.100yearsofamplifiedmusic.org to join over 4,500 institutes, units and centres are getting involved in science festivals people who have so far taken part in our online hearing around the UK. They will be providing talks about their research as well as experiment, to help MRC Institute of Hearing Research scientists hands-on activities and entertainment for all the family. Here’s a taster of reach their target of 10,000 participants and learn more about what’s in store: hearing loss. The results of the experiment will be announced by Dr Michael Akeroyd at the Acoustical Society of America meeting • Edinburgh Science Festival (5-20 April) in May and will be published on our blog, MRC Insight. Visit our Mini Scientists workshop in the City Arts Centre where kids aged seven and over can race to match chromosomes, build a cell, Look out for updates here www.insight.mrc.ac.uk create a new virus, solve hearing problems and find ways to make a city healthier. On Saturday 12 April Dr Owen Brimijoin, of the MRC/Chief Scientist Office Institute of Hearing Research - Scottish section, will deliver a talk for adults about our fragile and complex sense of hearing. Celebrating 100 years in world-leading biostatistics research www.sciencefestival.co.uk 100 years on from the MRC’s decision to establish a delegates. Besides reviewing statistical and medical • Oxford May Music Festival (30 April-5 May) statistical unit and appoint its first Director, infectious issues across a century of the unit’s work, it was Look out for Professor Cyrus Cooper, Director of the MRC Lifecourse disease specialist Dr John Brownlee, the MRC forward-looking and set the scene for how Epidemiology Unit, giving a talk about the prevention and treatment of Biostatistics Unit is celebrating its centenary. biostatistical research is expected to deliver in osteoporosis. www.oxfordmaymusic.co.uk the future. A highlight of the celebrations was the MRC • Cheltenham Science Festival (3-8 June) Conference on Biostatistics from the 24-26 March at You can find videos of key talks, speakers’ abstracts and Hear MRC speakers unveil the latest research in dementia and Queens’ College, Cambridge. With an exciting line-up information about other centenary events here regenerative medicine and try our hands-on activities in the Discovery of speakers from the UK, Europe and the US, www.mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk/mrccob2014.html Zone. www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/science it attracted more than 200 UK and international 4 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 5 NEWS

Macaque research at the MRC Two new MRC-made films give viewers an insight into why macaques are so valuable in some areas of medical research. The MRC’s Centre for Macaques breeds rhesus macaques for use in Let’s medical research in academic institutions in the UK. Using macaques from the centre means that researchers and those who fund or about regulate research can be sure the animals were bred in conditions that talk meet high welfare standards.

Macaques are non-human primates with body systems similar to humans – such as their immune and nervous systems – which make them good research ‘models’ for a variety of human conditions. dementia The films feature neuroscientist Dr Andrew Jackson, who uses macaques to study how brain signals control movement. He aims to help paralysed people control external devices, such as robotic arms or wheelchairs, with their thoughts.

Watch the films here mrc.io/macaque-research

Virtual reality treatment for paranoia In February, the MRC with the International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC), Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Researchers at the University of Oxford are using virtual Alzheimer’s Society co-funded a workshop at the House of Lords, to discuss stigma and dementia. reality simulation to assess the role of adjusted height on A priority following the G8 dementia summit is to increase the impact of research into the dementias, levels of mistrust and paranoid thoughts. to address the growing global burden of neurodegenerative disease. Talking openly about dementia The research, led by MRC Senior Clinical Fellow Professor in society is an important step of the process. Daniel Freeman, shows that in those prone to having ‘mistrustful thoughts’, experiencing a social situation from a lower height, using a virtual reality simulation of a The workshop brought together funders, parliamentarians and and having a conversation about mental health, as you would about London Underground Tube journey, can make people feel researchers from diverse backgrounds, including healthcare and other illnesses, is hugely important for the diagnosis of dementias. If we more inferior and excessively mistrustful. cognitive psychology, to discuss the significance of stigma and how it can encourage people with early signs of disease to come forward and may considerably worsen disease symptoms. be diagnosed, they will benefit from the available support and, Intrigued? Read more about the research online in Psychiatry Research www.psy-journal.com or ultimately, new therapeutic approaches coming from research.” watch our film capturing the research in action Attendees advocated the need for solidarity and behavioural change, as mrc.io/virtual-research well as to treat people with dementia with respect and provide support, Baroness Sally Greengross, Chief Executive of the International as recommended in the 2009 Nuffield Council on Bioethics report. On Longevity Centre-UK and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on discussing stigma as a new area for biomedical research, the jury was Dementia, said: “As dementia numbers rise, our services and society out: have we considered all contributing factors, and should we focus must respond. However, we’re at risk of falling at the first hurdle if we more on understanding the biology – the neural mechanisms behind cannot address the problem of stigma.” the perceptions and responses which manifest as stigma? Outcomes from the workshop will go into a compendium report Professor Hugh Perry, Chair of the MRC Neuroscience and Mental entitled ‘New perspectives and approaches to understanding dementia Health Board, attended the workshop: “Bringing stigma to the forefront and stigma’ to be published this summer.

6 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 7 PEOPLE The One in 30 in the UK powerof participate in cohort studies A new MRC review has highlighted that around 2.2m people in the UK are currently participating in cohort studies, helping to persuasion understand and improve human health.

Following population subgroups – or cohorts – over time is a vital Following her retirement after 30 years working for the MRC and the medical research tool which enables us to understand the role of biological, environmental and lifestyle factors shaping human health. National Cancer Research Institute, Dr Jane Cope reflects on the Cohort study members agree to have information on their health and importance, and the challenges, of bringing together hearts and minds. lifestyle collected over many years in a number of ways. Many cohorts hold regular physical assessments, collect biological samples and conduct cognitive tests, while others use health records or questionnaires to On joining the MRC in 1983 I was asked to manage the new Working funders of cancer research to tackle problems that cannot easily be follow participants. Party on AIDS. It was excellent training. I was fortunate to be able to see addressed by funders individually. The Secretariat team needs not only from the inside how the biomedical community tackles a new, and fatal, to be skilled in relationship management but also to be able to take a MRC Chief Executive Sir John Savill commented: “A striking feature disease. Soon afterwards, a small team of us were working full-time on bird’s-eye view of the whole cancer scene and identify opportunities for to emerge from the review is the number of people in the UK who AIDS initiatives and I was privileged to work with some top MRC joining up people and activities. In this way, the NCRI has helped partners participate in cohort studies – around 3.5 per cent of the population. scientists, including Max Perutz and Richard Doll. to collectively boost research in areas of need such as radiotherapy, We owe them a debt of gratitude for their time and cooperation.” palliative care and early diagnosis of cancer, and to coordinate research On one memorable day, Sir James Gowans, the MRC Chief Executive at resources such as biobanking. More recently we established a closer The MRC Cohort Strategic Review showcases for the first time the the time, asked me to write on one sheet of paper how I would spend £1 working relationship with the clinical trials community which had been 34 largest population cohorts in the UK, 19 of which were partially or fully million (worth more in the 1980s) on AIDS research, and to let him have it separately managed in the past. funded by the MRC. Our 50-year history of supporting population cohort by 4pm that day! That one page was expanded into our bid for the MRC studies includes the world’s longest continuously running birth cohort AIDS Directed Programme, aimed at vaccine and drug development. We One of the most fulfilling aspects of my career in research management (1946 Birth Cohort) and the largest longitudinal study of women’s health used the money to persuade the top labs in virology and immunology to has been working with patients and carers as lay committee members, (Million Women Study). The value of cohorts is demonstrated by one of take on AIDS-related research projects, alongside their main work. advisors and research participants. Such involvement is particularly the most influential MRC-funded studies to impact health on the global strong in cancer. For example, researchers running a trial in prostate scale, done by Richard Doll in the 1950s. He studied a cohort of GPs which In 1992, after two years as secretary to one the MRC’s research boards, I cancer, known as ProtecT, consulted groups of patients about how they first identified the link between smoking and lung cancer. moved to Hammersmith Hospital to help set up the MRC Clinical would prefer to be approached about participating and how the trial was Sciences Centre. This provided political challenges, and taught me about described to them. When the results were implemented, the acceptance Over half a million people are currently part of UK Biobank and soon the the importance of appealing to hearts and minds. rate for the study rose from 40 per cent to 70 per cent of those asked. It entire cohort will be genotyped. Combining lifestyle and environmental is both heart-warming and humbling to work with people who are facing, measures with state-of-the-art biological analyses will greatly increase Persuading the MRC teams, as well as our colleagues in the NHS and the or who have faced, the challenges of serious illness and debilitating the potential for new scientific advances to improve health. Royal Postgraduate Medical School (now part of Imperial College) of the treatment, and who then want to contribute to research that will help benefits of bringing the MRC’s efforts together under a single director others. Their experience brings an added dimension to, and strengthens, The use of personal health data is was no easy task. It was not helped when plans to reorganise the NHS in the research effort. fundamental to improving patient care London temporarily threatened the closure of Hammersmith Hospital. and public health and we are committed In summary, the last 30 years have been about working with people and to ensuring the safe and secure use of In 1999 I crossed London to set up the MRC Regional Centre London to organisations with differing agendas. Helping them to find common this data. provide administrative services to MRC units and groups in UCL and ground enables the delivery of high-quality research and the best return other universities on that side of town; this also involved a lot of on investment – for the benefit of patients, the public and our society as Maximising the value of UK population persuasion and change management. a whole. I am fortunate that I found the right niche and had some cohorts: MRC Strategic Review of the wonderful experiences along the way. Largest UK Population Cohort Studies is Finally, after a brief return to MRC Head Office, where I coordinated work available here on the MRC strategic plan published in 2004, I began my last posting – a Read about Jane’s experience of the changing relationship between www.mrc.ac.uk/populationcohortreview secondment as Director of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI). clinical trial researchers and patients on our blog, MRC Insight. The NCRI partnership brings together government, charity and industry www.insight.mrc.ac.uk

8 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 9 FEATURE

Inside the MRC NIMR’s mechanical workshop

to Making magnets for microscopes The MRC runs a range of apprenticeship programmes, including the Engineering and Estates apprenticeship programme at Harwell. It has been running for five years and continues to be a success. MEASURE Apprenticeships are work-based training programmes, for people over 16 years old who are not in full-time education, designed around the needs Carrying out pioneering research can require unusual custom-made kit. of the organisation, leading to nationally recognised qualifications.

Katherine Nightingale speaks to some of the people who work in Jessica Monk joined the programme in August 2013 and is one of four scientific workshops, and the scientists who benefit. apprentices working in the team: “As this is my first year, I spend time both at college and the workplace. I find this really helpful as I am able to combine theory and practical work. In the workplace I have a range of different projects, including making magnets for microscopes and In a small room in the bowels of the MRC National Institute for Medical The brain slices are precious because they capture the result of a new building lab stations out of Perspex. My manager will give me a drawing Research (NIMR), researchers in the Margrie Laboratory are using a serial technique developed by Troy’s lab. It involves detecting the activity of a of something to make that often involves a variety of different microscope to image the entire adult mouse brain. To do this they need single neuron, and then delivering a virus to it. The virus produces a machining skills. Sometimes I have to adjust the drawing or think of new to sequentially cut thin slices of the brain (50 micrometres thick) using a fluorescent , which then spreads to reveal the brain-wide ways to make the items. I really enjoy what I am doing and would like to vibrating razor called a vibratome. As each slice is removed, the connectivity of that cell. When researchers stimulate visual pathways, This circle of loudspeakers, representing the 3D auditory be a mechanical engineer. I also enjoy being part of a wider group of microscope photographs the exposed surface of brain. After three days, they can see how the neuron responds, and, crucially, which of the many world, is used to study how we listen in the real world apprentices so that we can share ideas or experiences.” they will have 3.2 terabytes of digital images, and a pile of about 350 millions of cells in the brain are connected to it. By finding out how the brain slices sitting at the bottom of a container. While the digital data is brain is wired, Troy and his team hope to gain insights into what happens To find out more about apprenticeships visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk safely stored on servers, what happens to the brain slices? when the brain is mis-wired in conditions such as schizophrenia Owen has worked with colleagues in the IHR’s workshop to make a or autism. ‘sound ring’, a circle of loudspeakers in which a person sits, and has As the head of the laboratory Troy Margrie, says, “We might want to keep combined this with motion-capture technology. This means they can particular slices of brain for further study, and the slices we want will be By working together they have found a solution to the problem. Martyn move sounds around in the ring dependent on the way someone is buried in a pile with no way of us knowing which one is which.” This is and his colleague Nicholas Burczyk have designed a new device to handle facing. “This is helping us to create a realistic picture of how people listen where the institute’s workshops come in. the brain slices, as well as a slice storage system. They have combined in the real world,” says Owen. “All the wiring, electronics and this with an off-the-shelf robotic arm and control system, which they programming were done in-house, and that’s immensely valuable.” Troy and his team are working with Martyn Stopps, who runs the NIMR’s are now programming. The robotic arm grabs each brain slice as it’s electronic engineering workshop, to come up with an automated way of released and places it into a specific location in the custom-designed At the other end of the spectrum from robotic arms and motion capture, reliably collecting and cataloguing storage carousel. back at the NIMR, head of the mechanical workshop Alan Ling and his the brain slices. Developing the team produce anything from intricate metal components that focus laser system has been a highly It’s not unusual to have to develop new technologies or adapt beams to one-off housing boxes for microscopes. collaborative process, says Troy. commercial equipment, says Martyn: “The of our job is to design “It’s a case of coming to Martyn new things and quite often that involves using new techniques we’ve “We make things that scientists can’t buy, or modify them to suit. We’re with the research problem, and never used before. You have to be really flexible.” pretty well equipped — we can make most things here.” Sometimes beginning a dialogue about how it scientists bring sketches of what they want down to the basement The vibratome is a vibrating razor can be solved.” That sentiment is echoed by Owen Brimijoin, a researcher at the MRC workshop. “We’re below the canteen, so lunchtime is always a busy time used to cut thin slices of the brain Institute of Hearing Research (IHR). “Science by its nature can’t usually with people popping down to say ‘Oh, can you just do this?’” be accomplished with readily available off-the-shelf tools. If you’re doing it right then what you’re doing is new, so there’s no equipment out there Commissioning external companies would be expensive, says Martyn. that you can use.” And it also requires careful briefing to make sure the product is exactly right. Having people onsite means that the process can be iterative. Owen’s research looks at how both hearing-impaired people and people with normal hearing make sense of the moving, three-dimensional As Owen sums it up: “People in-house have a better understanding of auditory world. “We use information about where sound comes from to what you do more than anyone outside could. They know exactly what help us hear in noisy backgrounds, but hearing aids aren’t very good at it is you’re trying to do.” telling you where that sound is coming from.”

10 | MRCNetwork This robotic arm is designed to grab each brain MRCNetwork | 11 slice as it’s released and store them safely FEATURE Interview with an LLHW researcher

healthier Philip Rowe is a Professor of Rehabilitation Science at the Living University of Strathclyde. He talked to Cara Steger about envisage, for his LLHW-funded research project which uses innovative visual technologies to improve rehabilitation practice.

44 per cent of all LLHW funding Can you tell us a bit about envisage? was awarded in 2013 for The envisage project is about promoting independence among stroke, Value of 2013 Awards (£m) longer multidisciplinary research to help falls and joint-replacement patients. New visual technologies are used Total LLHW funding (£m) us stay healthier in later life. to help patients visualise the stresses and movements of their muscles As a population we can expect to live longer than ever before, but it’s and joints. This information helps patients and non-specialist professionals to understand the rehabilitation process. important that these extra years are healthy and productive. New Promoting physical activity funding from Lifelong Health and Wellbeing (LLHW) is helping researchers and wellbeing work out how we can extend our working lives in a practical way. In 2013 the LLHW funding partners awarded £15.5m, in the areas of The MRC LLHW team reports. cognition, design for wellbeing and physical activity, towards improving the lives of older people.

• £4m was awarded to five projects on promoting physical activity, Extending Working Lives including studying the effect of physical activity on bone mineral density and muscle function, and identifying the determinants of Lifelong Health and Wellbeing (LLHW) is a cross-research council The awards involve new collaborations between researchers and sedentary behaviour. initiative, addressing the challenges of our ageing population, public and private employers. In total there are over 50 academic and including working later in life. The MRC leads LLHW on behalf of non-academic partners participating in the eight projects. • £8m was awarded to seven projects exploring how the built four other research councils* with additional funding from the environment can facilitate mobility and physical activity among older UK Health Departments. Ensuring that research outcomes inform future policy development is people within the community. What influence has LLHW funding had on your career? extremely important. For this reason, the Department for Work and LLHW allowed me to apply for something I had wanted to apply for Abolition of the default retirement age, rising state pension age and Pensions has worked closely with LLHW in developing this funding • The Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (CCACE) since my PhD. With the envisage project, we’ve been able to engineer an ageing population mean that an increasing proportion of the UK initiative, and will continue to do so by hosting meetings with the in Edinburgh was awarded renewed funding of £3.5m. Find out more technology and test it in practice. This means that the technology is workforce is over 60. According to current projections, a child born in researchers and other government departments. about CCACE research by exploring LLHW-funded researcher Professor well-applied and can have a greater patient impact. Had this funding not 2013 can expect to work until they are 77. However the impacts that Ian Deary’s work space on page 16. come along, I probably would have reverted to being a straightforward our extended working lives will have on health are unknown. Commenting on the initiative David says: “This is just the first step in engineering researcher. addressing the national challenge of extending working lives — a task For LLHW-funded research updates and to learn more about the initiative Chair of the LLHW Advisory Group of Experts, Professor David that involves collaboration across many sectors.” visit www.mrc.ac.uk/LLHW • Follow LLHW on Twitter: @LLHWresearch Has your work become more interdisciplinary as a result Armstrong, says: “We need to know more about what factors mean of LLHW funding? a person can or can’t work into their older age”. Read more on our blog, MRC Insight mrc.io/extending-working-lives My career focus was interdisciplinary from the start, but the opportunities for this type of research were not available when Our discussions with large employers indicated that many challenges *AHRC, Arts & Humanities Research Council; BBSRC, Biotechnology and 50 different academic, international, I wanted them. Now that the research councils work more relating to the ageing workforce could be tackled through research Biological Sciences Research Council; EPSRC, Engineering and Physical charity, employers and policy closely together, my area of research and my career trajectory partnerships of employers with academics from the health and social Sciences Research Council, and ESRC, Economic and Social organisations are part of the Extended have been accelerated. sciences. To facilitate collaborations, the MRC and ESRC committed Research Council. Working Lives awards £6m to support eight exciting interdisciplinary research consortia to What impact has the envisage project had? understand the relationship between health, work and wellbeing, and The local hospital in Strathclyde has invested in a human biomechanical the determinants of working later in life. UK academic partners movement science lab, due in part to the success of envisage. We are A working workshop also in partnership with a company making visualisation software for The aim of the Extending Working Lives awards is to link existing national In 2013 LLHW held a workshop to tackle uncharted territory of International academic partners the rehabilitation market. They need partners like us who understand and international cohort studies and surveys to routine health and multidisciplinary research conducted in the workplace. Katie Finch, the clinical side. administrative records and, significantly, to data sets within the MRC Programme Manager of the LLHW scheme, explains how a new Non-academic partners commercial sector which are not normally accessible to researchers. model for building research partnerships could help find the answer on (including employers and To read the full interview and more about envisage, visit our blog, MRC Insight mrc.io/working-workshop policy makers) www.mrc.ac.uk/LLHW and www.envisagerehab.co.uk 12 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 13 LATEST DISCOVERIES

Genetic mutations shed light Folic acid could suppress New clues to how bacteria Potential drug treatment on schizophrenia Parkinson’s disease evade antibiotics to tackle viruses

An international team, led by ’s MRC Centre for MRC Toxicology Unit scientists have discovered that the common Scientists at the MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Scientists have developed a new compound which shows promise Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, has discovered new vitamin folic acid (vitamin B9), can improve cell signalling and rescue Infection (CMBI) at Imperial College London have revealed how a for preventing a range of viruses from infecting humans. genetic mutations in people with schizophrenia which have problems associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as subset of bacterial cells can escape being killed by antibiotics. similarities to those causing other neurodevelopmental disorders. Parkinson’s disease. Researchers from Oxford, Leeds and Diamond Light Source, UK; Many bacterial pathogens cause persistent infection despite Beijing, China; and Innsbruck, Austria, collaborated on the inhibitor With the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, the The team, led by MRC Programme Leader Dr L. Miguel Martins, was exposure to multiple antibiotics. But little is known about how compound. It targets a group of viruses responsible for hand, Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and investigating chemical pathways in the cells of fruit flies. They persisting cells arise. The team developed a method for tracking foot and mouth disease, especially the HEV71 virus – a human Harvard and Cambridge Universities, the team examined DNA identified an unexpected pathway that, through the manipulation single cells using a fluorescent protein produced by the bacteria. enterovirus – which can cause fatal disease and is blood samples from 623 sufferers and their parents. of a particular gene, led to the creation of a ‘super-fly’. These flies Upon infection, Salmonella were engulfed by immune cells called currently untreatable. moved faster, had more energy and were resistant to mitochondrial macrophages and formed large numbers of non-replicating They discovered that new mutations, found in affected individuals poisons, combatting the effects of Parkinson’s features. ‘persisters’. The non-replicating subpopulation, with enhanced After solving the structure of HEV71 in 2012, they studied how but not their parents, play a role in triggering schizophrenia. The survival characteristics, was able to tolerate antibiotic exposure. the virus changes shape in order to enter host cells. Once inside, mutations disrupt specific sets of , involved in pathways Providing cells with a key product, in this case folic acid, that The tolerant phase was only temporary but may contribute to later the outer shell of the virus breaks apart, releasing viral RNA. By with important roles in brain development, learning, memory and improves their signalling, stimulated mitochondria – the development of resistance. disabling the mechanism which breaks the shell, the compound cognition. They also found some overlap with genetic mutations ‘powerhouses’ of cells – and stopped presentation of Parkinson’s prevents viral infection of the host. causing autism and intellectual disability. disease symptoms, both in flies and cultured human cells. Professor Dave Stuart, MRC Research Professor at the University of Professor Mike Owen, who co-led the research with Professor Mick Oxford and Life Science Director at Diamond, worked on the new O’Donovan, said: “We already had evidence supporting the inhibitor: “By targeting a structural feature also found in related importance of these pathways, but the new findings, together with viruses, it should be possible to devise similar therapeutics to target those from another study published in the same issue of Nature, them. Within the field, I am aware of one company that is already confirm the importance of these and related sets of proteins.” making progress in targeting the major common cold virus. Our work is still at an early stage, but we are working with academic groups in China to take the hand, foot and mouth disease inhibitor forward.”

Published online at www.nature.com/nsmb, February 2014

Dr Sophie Helaine, a lead author, explained: “Now we know the molecular pathways and mechanisms that lead to persister Dr Martins said: “The results indicate that folic acid enhances the formation during infection, we can work on screening for new drugs generation of new mitochondria which protects the neurons that to coax them out of this state so that they become vulnerable die in Parkinson’s disease. This opens-up the exciting possibility to antibiotics.” that diets rich in this vitamin or supplements could play a role in protecting mitochondria and therefore prevent or delay The other lead author, Professor David Holden, Director of the MRC neurodegenerative diseases associated with mitochondrial CMBI, said: “One of the most striking findings is that conditions problems such as Parkinson’s disease.” inside immune cells activate two different responses from Professor O’Donovan said: “Identifying a degree of overlap between Salmonella, causing some bacteria to replicate and others to enter the underlying causes of schizophrenia and those in autism and Published online at www.nature.com/ncb, January 2014 a non-replicating persister state. Activating these two responses intellectual disability suggests that these disorders might share together is likely to be an important mechanism by which Salmonella some common mechanisms and supports calls for research that survives during infection.” integrates findings across multiple disorders.” Published online at www.sciencemag.org, January 2014 Published online at www.nature.com, January 2014 ITV Central interviewed Dr Martins in February about the discovery. Read more discoveries from the past 100 years on You can watch the full news report here mrc.io/leicester-itvnews our timeline www.centenary.mrc.ac.uk/timeline

14 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 15 Read more about the Lifelong Health and MY WORK SPACE Wellbeing programme on page 12

Alumnus of the Year Award Ian Deary is Professor of Differential I think this is quite an attractive object. It’s made of copper and is extremely heavy. It was made by a student at Glasgow Caledonian Psychology at the University of Edinburgh University; it was my award for Alumnus of the Year in 2009. Before I did my medical degree I first did a Higher National Certificate in Medical and Director of the Lifelong Health and Laboratory Sciences at Glasgow College of Technology, which then changed into Glasgow Caledonian University. They considered me one Wellbeing-funded Centre for Cognitive Ageing of their alumni. So, even before I came to Edinburgh University to do my medical degree I had that medical laboratory background. It was great and Cognitive Epidemiology. He showed training. Some of the best teaching I ever received was in the Higher National Certificate. It was an unusual route to university. Hazel Lambert around his huge office where airy windows framed by wood-panelled walls Dr James Drever’s chair overlook George Square gardens. This chair was presented to Dr James Drever in 1931 by the staff of the George Combe Psychological Laboratory on the occasion of his appointment as the first Professor of Psychology in the University of Standing desk Edinburgh. His son was the second. It’s not particularly comfortable; it I’d always liked standing to read if I was thinking about something, sometimes walking up and does still get used though when my meetings are too big. down. So I thought, why not get a standing desk? It can go up and down. It was a bit of a surprise, because once I got it I didn’t put it back down again; I do all my writing and work and reading at this standing desk and I find it very refreshing to be able to do that. I have four computer screens, making a single large one. I’ve always wanted a ‘desktop’ to be a desktop. If Cardboard bike mat you have a proper desk you spread things around on it. It seemed limiting to have one little I cycle three and a half miles to work and back in all weathers. screen and to have everything piled on top of it. With four screens you can spread things Sometimes it’s wet and I don’t like to get marks on the University’s around. But I think probably the best object in the whole room, are the three large windows; carpet, so I put this torn up potato crisp box under the bike years ago. it’s a lovely outlook. The bike oil and mud have accumulated a bit on the cardboard, but the carpet underneath is clean, so it’s done its job..

Portrait of Godfrey Thompson This is a portrait of Godfrey Thompson by R.H. Westwater (who also did Compton Mackenzie and Hugh MacDiarmid). It was painted when Portrait of Sir Francis Galton he was knighted. Thomson devised the mental test that was used in This is a likeness of Sir Francis Galton surrounded by all the things he the Scottish Mental Surveys. A lot of my research is based on discovered; for example the anticyclone in weather mapping and the following-up the research he did from the 30s to the 50s. As I did normal curve for heights. My approach in psychology is to understand more research on the Scottish Mental Surveys, I also wanted to learn the nature and causes of individual differences in psychological traits. He more about Godfrey Thompson’s work and life. He was a talented was the first to try and systematise the study of individual differences in statistician who published a lot on the structure and importance of cognition and personality. human intelligence differences.

Books The Borderland (by Sir Arthur Streeton) These are the four books I’ve written. Intelligence: A Very Short The view is of the Eildon hills and the river Tweed. It’s actually Sir Walter Introduction has been translated into 10 different languages. I’ve tried Scott’s view, and he’s interposed the Kelso Bridge. Scott’s view is near the to keep at least one copy in each language. I also like to keep the great beginning of the St Cuthbert’s Way that I walked with my father and my historical books in my area as well. The blue books on the second shelf son just a couple of years ago, so the picture had all sorts of things going are all the studies of the Scottish Mental Surveys that my research is right for it. based on. I refer to them a great deal. It’s surprising how often you need to go back to a result that was collected in the 30s, 40s or 50s.

Find out more about the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing-funded Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology here www.ccace.ed.ac.uk 16 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 17 WORKING LIFE

Professor Susan Gathercole, Director of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (CBU), Cambridge We observe children in the classroom, develop robust methods to identify magnetoencephalography (MEG) facility gives us the precise temporal the nature of underlying problems, conduct experiments to understand the resolution needed to understand how brain activity changes millisecond cognitive processes and use new methods to intervene. To do this, we work by millisecond. Combining these techniques, we get a really good set of “To succeed in this closely alongside other professionals, such as specialist teachers, speech insights into how the brain works. and language therapists, educational psychologists and paediatricians. My day-to-day work is a mix of research and administration, as well as An exciting development this year is that we set up a research clinic strategic thinking and direction. A lot of my time is spent liaising with career, you have to to assess cognitive skills of children with a range of specific learning people within and outside Cambridge, finding ways to move forward that difficulties. Using brain scanning and genetic methods, we aim to build up go beyond the unit; a very exciting prospect. Protecting my time a picture of how cognition and behaviour fit together in common patterns, for research is probably the biggest challenge. be prepared to across what are traditionally thought of as different disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia. The most pleasurable activity for me is writing. I really love crafting written language to convey findings and ideas in a simple way. A few years ago I The CBU (previously the Applied Psychology Unit) is a very special place to wrote a practical guide for teachers, as a lot of what I do is relevant to the make firm decisions do this research, with a history spanning nearly 70 years of ground-breaking classroom. I wanted to write a book that wasn’t clogged up with academic research on cognition. It’s a unique place to work – we’re in a beautiful language and references. I wrote it in eight weeks and could think of Georgian house close to central Cambridge with lovely gardens. History nothing else; it was quite a relief to finish it. about what you can has it that the first director of the unit, a university employee, personally bought this house and then informed the MRC they needed to reimburse Being an academic provides a degree of flexibility you won’t find in many him the price! other professions. I’ve got five children, aged between 13 and 27. To succeed in this career, you have to be prepared to make firm decisions and can't do, and The building may look traditional from the front, but we’ve got highly about what you can and can’t do, and the time you will put to it. specialised facilities on site. A state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine looks at the fine-grained structure of the brain, and a The highlight of my career has undoubtedly been coming back to the CBU as director. I was contacted to suggest potential candidates for the the time you will position by the head hunter, without being asked if I was interested in applying myself! But encouraged by others, I applied anyway. It has meant Suffrage Science that I can play a role in preserving the core values of the CBU: understand put to it” cognition, use the highest quality methods guided by innovative theory On International Women’s Day in 2013, Susan was one of 12 scientists and try to make a difference. to be honoured with a Suffrage Science heirloom for her achievements Find out more here www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk in science. Professor Susan Gathercole at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, wearing her 2013 Suffrage Science lapel pin heirloom. The bespoke jewellery heirlooms were designed by students from There’s something rather special about being an MRC director. You need to know what everybody’s doing Central Saint Martins UAL. The awards scheme draws its inspiration from the presentation of jewellery to members of the suffrage movement. and they need your support and direction. We have a very close and productive community, a place that Launched in 2011 by the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, 44 women doesn’t have much regard for hierarchy; I’m completely in support of that. scientists and communicators have now been honoured with an heirloom. Susan will pass her heirloom on to a nominee of her own choosing in 2015. “It was a lovely surprise to have been recognised and honoured I decided to study psychology after attending a lunchtime lecture in my The field of psychology that still engages me most, 35 years after in this way. The passing-on element of this award will help to encourage sixth form on Freud, in the days before it was routinely taught in schools. graduating, is cognition. For me it’s the heart of the discipline, focusing on others in the future.” Understanding our mental lives seemed much more interesting and the processes and systems involved in the higher mental processes that are relevant than any subjects I’d studied before. I was fortunate to get into a central to adaptable human behaviour. Research has been transformed, in International Women’s Day this year was marked by the distribution degree course in psychology that had just started at York University, and the past 15 years, by the development of cognitive neuroscience methods of a beautiful lapel pin (pictured), designed by undergraduate jewellery was taught by young and inspiring lecturers. that enable us to understand how cognition is embedded the brain. designer, Woo Seok Jeon. His design, which fuses the male and female insignias to symbolise gender equality, will also be manufactured My particular interests are in the areas of memory, attention, language as cuff-links. and learning. I investigate how these systems operate during childhood, Career in brief the period of life when learning is most vital. Much of our work focuses The 2014 annual awards ceremony will take place this summer in • PhD in psychology at City University London. on how these can go wrong during development, leading to difficulties in partnership with L’Oréal. • Specialised in cognitive psychology. reading, mathematics, language and attention control. The ultimate goal is • Career highlight: Returning to the CBU as director in 2011, having to improve children’s outcomes by developing interventions and effective For more information about the Suffrage Science project, check for completed a four year post as a junior scientist at the unit in 1988. methods of educational support. updates at www.csc.mrc.ac.uk/PublicScience/FabricsOfLife

18 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 19 For the latest information on MRC funding opportunities, FUNDING visit www.mrc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities

Biological imaging at Diamond Funding five more years of research

Harwell, Oxford The MRC, with the Wellcome Trust and the The Research Complex at Harwell (RCaH) has been awarded a funding Director Professor Simon Phillips said: “I am delighted that RCaH funding Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research renewal of £11m by the MRC, STFC, BBSRC, EPSRC, NERC and Diamond has been extended until 2019. Since the laboratory opened in 2010 it has Council, has granted £15.6m for a new biological Light Source to enable continued operation of this leading multi- grown rapidly to house a remarkable multidisciplinary community of cryo- microscopy imaging centre at disciplinary centre of scientific excellence. The building is managed as a physicists, chemists and engineers as well as biomedical scientists. ‘research hotel’ with core funding for the Director, core staff and access We now have a unique opportunity to work together and apply novel Diamond Light Source. to a centrally-managed equipment base. This support enables both life techniques in imaging, time-resolved methods and structural biology to and physical sciences groups to base RCUK-funded science programmes a range of challenges, not only in biology and medicine, but also in novel The new centre will be co-located with one of Diamond’s Phase III on-site, providing stability for long-term groups to tackle challenging materials, engineering and industrial processes.” – the X-ray nanoprobe – in a new purpose-built building problems and take advantage of the proximity to Diamond and other alongside the landmark silver doughnut-shaped synchrotron on the facilities on the Harwell Campus. www.rc-harwell.ac.uk Harwell Campus. Operating like a , it will complement Diamond’s current capabilities.

Powerful cryo-electron microscopes will probe cells to advance Cardiff “A major focus over the next five years will be to continue this work and understanding at the molecular level and provide new tools for The MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG) to understand how genetic risk impacts on psychiatric symptoms and visualising single bio-molecules. The facility will offer a centralised has been awarded continued MRC funding of £2.3m until 2019, with brain function both across and within current diagnostic categories. We approach for broad, cost-effective access to specialised techniques. 10 per cent co-funding from the National Institute for Social Care and will also look at how risk genes lead to illness, essential if we are to It will be accessed through peer review and open to UK, EU and other Health Research. The award will allow the centre to continue its work in understand the mechanisms by which these disorders come about. international scientists. understanding how genes are involved in a range of common psychiatric These advances will be crucial if we are to develop novel and more and neurological disorders and help to develop new approaches to effective treatments for these disabling conditions.” Professor Dave Stuart, MRC Research Professor at the University of diagnosis and treatment. Oxford and Life Science Director at Diamond, said: “This new investment medicine.cardiff.ac.uk/cngg will provide a unique approach which will integrate the activities of the CNGG Director Professor Mike Owen said: “We have known for a long synchrotron and the capabilities of electron microscopy. It will create a time that genes play an important role in disorders such as schizophrenia, new synergy between the scientific techniques on offer. It is hoped that bipolar disorder, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, through this major advances in visualising of sub cellular mechanisms will Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Now, using modern genetic be made.” technologies, we have begun to identify some of the specific genes and For more information, contact Silvana Westbury, PR Manager, Diamond brain mechanisms involved. Light Source silvana:[email protected]

Hope against cancer

Leicester is to house a prestigious The Leicester centre is a partnership between the University of Leicester and Leicester’s Hospitals, Cancer Research UK Centre as part working with the MRC Toxicology Unit and the locally-based charity Hope Against Cancer. of a national £100m investment The investment marks the latest phase in the development of the Cancer Research UK Centres by Cancer Research UK to help network of excellence – a unique chain of research hubs that have been established across train a new generation of cancer the country. researchers and get new treatments and diagnostics to Cancer Research UK is providing funding over three years from April 2014 and will provide staff cancer patients sooner. positions to support the Centre’s infrastructure and a PhD studentship account for training the next generation of cancer researchers.

To find out more visit mrc.io/cancer-research-uk

20 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 21 To read other examples of research which relied on the use of OPINION patient data go to our website: www.mrc.ac.uk/sharing-data

YOUR Sharing data saves lives FEEDBACK Network is for anyone who has an interest in the work of the MRC, including scientists, doctors and health Having the necessary infrastructure and information governance in place professionals involved in medical research, government departments and parliamentarians, and university staff and is essential to ensure that patient data are handled in accordance with students. The aim is to provide a quick, easy-to-read summary of activities across the MRC, from research news current ethical norms and that identifiable data are safeguarded; that is through to funding, grant schemes and policy issues, with pointers to more in-depth information on websites and in what is meant by ‘safe data in safe havens’. Recently we’ve invested £90m other publications. to tackle health and bioinformatics challenges for the advancement of We are keen to receive feedback on Network and suggestions for new features from our readers. So if you medical research. Here, two MRC researchers explain how medical have any comments, please complete our Professor Liam Smeeth is Head of the Department of Network survey: survey.mrc.ac.uk/networksurvey or records can be handled safely to improve the services provided to patients email: [email protected] Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Professor and the population as a whole. of Clinical Epidemiology at the London School of Deadline for news items in summer issue: 30 April. Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Deadline for autumn issue: 30 July.

Professor Jill Pell is Director of the Institute of Of particular note is the ongoing development of ‘safe havens’. Information from people’s medical records is not just important for running Network is produced by the MRC Corporate Affairs Group. Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow Individual level data can be linked and placed within a safe haven a safe effective health service; it’s absolutely central and essential. An Editor: Isabel Baker following removal of identifiers. Approved data users, who have been example of when I first used patient data was during the MMR vaccine and Designer: Vin Kumar I am fortunate to have spent my whole career in Scotland where it has trained in information governance, can then analyse the data remotely. autism scare. We used electronic, confidential and anonymised health records A limited number of copies are available in print. been possible to access high quality data on hospitalised patients for The actual data remain within the safe haven throughout and users from general practice to show that the vaccine was safe. This was Network can also be downloaded as a pdf at: several decades. I first used patient data for research 30 years ago, as can only extract results. Safeguards are in place to prevent complemented by studies done in other countries (Denmark, the USA) based part of my MD, and have continued to do so since. www.mrc.ac.uk/network re-identification of individuals, including controlled access to data that on medical records showing that the worry about autism was misplaced. Patient data are extremely versatile in their uses. As an NHS public health could potentially identify individuals. Such developments will help to This has since led to restored faith in the vaccine. IMAGES consultant, I used patient data to undertake health services research maintain the confidence of data controllers and the general public as Front cover: © MRC Images and observational intervention studies in order to improve health service data become more widely used. Plenty of new vaccines are coming along and what we need to do as they Back cover: © Kevin Glover Page 3: © GovNet Communications; © MRC Images design and delivery. For example, linking a disease register with are introduced in the UK is to see that they are safe and effective, and that Page 4: © Wellcome Images; © MRC Images hospitalisations and death certificates enabled us to study whether the Over the last 30 years, I have witnessed the important contributions the people who need them are getting them. The only way we can do this Page 5: © Daria Cybulska, Wikimedia UK Page 6: © Claire Witham outcomes of trials undertaken on specific sub-groups of patients were that patient records can make to our understanding of health and thoroughly is through using people’s medical records. Page 7: © Thinkstock generalisable to the whole patient population. This allowed us to provision of healthcare. I look forward eagerly to the new possibilities Page 9: © NCRI make informed decisions about how best to translate research findings that the ongoing developments will afford. As a GP I can look in the records of people in my practice, several thousand Page 10-11: © MRC Images; Jessica Monk © Kevin Glover Page 14: © Science Photo Library; © University of Leicester into clinical practice. people, but that’s not enough. We need to look at millions of records to Page 15: © Science Photo Library; © University of Oxford reliably measure the effects of drugs and other interventions. These data Page 16-17: © Douglas Robertson Page 18-19: © MRC Images As an academic, I have used patient data to perform both are essential for basics such as knowing how many people are having strokes Page 20: © Diamond Light Source; Research Complex at Harwell © Stephen Kill epidemiological studies, to identify modifiable risk factors for diseases, and in turn whether we are providing the right care for them in hospitals. Page 21: © Science Photo Library; © MRC Images and natural experiments, to study the impact of new health policies. Page 22: © University of Glasgow Page 23: © Wellcome Images An example of the latter includes a portfolio of projects we undertook This isn’t new. We’ve been using electronic health records for a long time to evaluate the impact of smoke-free legislation. We were able to show with great benefits and there haven’t been adverse leaks. In fact I think improvements in a number of important health outcomes following the they’re much safer and provide more opportunities than paper records for legislation including; heart disease, childhood asthma, preterm delivery example, which can go missing. and stroke. The evaluation has been extremely useful in encouraging Medical Research Council (Swindon office) other countries to implement similar legislation. The risks are there but are small and can be minimised. For example, 2nd Floor David Phillips Building Polaris House MRC-funded research requires approval by a research ethics committee; North Star Avenue There is now recognition at governmental level that sharing and using the use of de-identified data in an approved research environment with Swindon data are essential to improve the services provided to patients and the robust technical and security standards; a full audit trail of data use and SN2 1FL population as a whole. Research funders have provided the large sums of privacy impact assessment of results. Crucially, all of these actions are the Medical Research Council (London office) money required to achieve the necessary step changes in infrastructure responsibility of named scientific leadership carried out by 14th Floor and capacity and, importantly, the developments include improvements accredited researchers. One Kemble Street London in information governance and public engagement. WC2B 4AN The benefits are huge. In fact the benefits are not just huge – I think the use of these records is completely central to a modern, safe, effective Phone: +44 (0)1793 416200 22 | MRCNetwork health service. www.mrc.ac.ukwww.mrc.ac.uk MRCNetwork | 23