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Living Healthier for Longer Sharing Data Saves Lives 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 News COMMENT FROM £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 Imperial College London and University College London £7.1m, is the latest instalment of a £90m funding initiative to Partners which includes the Francis Crick Institute, 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 Jeremy Farrar, 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 Wellcome Trust, 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.
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