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2009 report Cover ing’s College London is one of Elucidating the brain. the top 25 universities in the world (Times Neuroscience and other research on the brain at Higher Education 2009) and one of the oldest King’s includes searching for in England. A research-led university based a reliable means of Kin the heart of London, King’s has more than 21,000 diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease: see page 38. students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 5,700 Photograph employees. Model of the head and brain © John Wildgoose/ King’s has an outstanding reputation for providing Wellcome Images world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British Main College address King’s College London universities, 60 per cent of its research was deemed Strand to be of world-leading or internationally-excellent London WC2R 2LS +44(0)20 7836 5454 standard, and more than half of the College’s academic www.kcl.ac.uk staff work in departments that are in the country’s best 10 per cent in their field. King’s is among the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than £485 million. King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe. No university has more Medical Research Council Centres. King’s College London and the NHS foundation trusts of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, King’s College Hospital and the South London and Maudsley are part of King’s Health Partners, a pioneering global collaboration which combines the best of research, clinical excellence and world-class teaching to deliver groundbreaking advances in physical and mental healthcare. report 17 Contents

2 38 Strength in partnership Diagnosing the Alzheimer’s brain The Principal, Professor Rick Trainor, reflects Simon Lovestone, Professor of Old Age on developments at King’s in 2008-9. Psychiatry, discusses how finding a way of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease through a biomarker is coming closer, and opens up 6 possibilities for arresting or even preventing News in brief the illness. Events and developments at King’s in 2008-9. 44 12 Surfing the data tsunami From bench to bedside, and back Editor Professor Ton Coolen describes how maths is How the Cardiovascular Clinical Academic Dr Christine Kenyon Jones harnessing the power of the current giant Group of King’s Health Partners enables wave of data in biomedicine. Design research discoveries to be quickly and Christine Ayre effectively translated into new treatments for patients – and ensures that the outcomes for Printer 50 patients feed back into medical research and Aldridge Print Group Mastering dentistry education. The opening of the London Dental Education Centre (LonDEC) at Waterloo offers dentists The King’s College London world-class facilities for professional Report reviews the College’s 20 education in the heart of London. The air that we breathe work each year by featuring Frank Kelly, Deputy Director of the new a sample of the research and MRC-HPA Centre for Environment & Health at teaching currently taking 54 King’s, shows how London provides a huge place in the College. It is the Student diary 2008-9 experimental site for studying the impact of Principal’s report to the Emily Rowe, Vice-President, Academic Affairs, air pollution on health. College Council. This edition at King’s College London Students’ Union of the Report covers the (KCLSU), describes the year from the student point of view. academic year 2008-9. 26 A castle of one’s own Recent research in the College Archives has The Report is published by: 57 revealed the previously undiscovered External Relations Facts & figures breadth, depth and length of Virginia Woolf’s King’s College London College statistics. studies at King’s Ladies’ Department between James Clerk Maxwell Building 1897 and 1901. 57 Waterloo Road 60 London SE1 8WA Finances © King’s College London 2010 32 Summary of income and expenditure. For further copies contact Thatcher’s Britain or Britain’s Thatcher? [email protected] Richard Vinen, Professor of History, ponders on his recent book, published to critical 61 acclaim in May 2009. Acknowledgements Gifts to King’s from individuals, grant-making trusts and other organisations.

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T he Principal Strength in partnership The Principal, Professor Rick Trainor, reflects on developments at King’s in 2008-9.

he academic year 2008-9 was marked by many outstanding Tachievements at King’s, and also by our determination to take steps to preserve and enhance our leading position in the UK and internationally during the tough times that are ahead for all UK universities. In terms of league tables, King’s has been recognised for the third year running as one of the world’s top 25 universities, and our ranking of 23rd internationally and sixth in the UK confirms the College’s reputation as a centre of global academic excellence in both research and teaching. The College also saw a dramatic rise of 16 places in the Shanghai Jiao Tong world university chart between 2008 and 2009: from 81st position to 65th. This table compares 1,200 higher education institutions worldwide, but does not include universities’ performance in arts and humanities subjects. Our success (not least in arts and humanities) in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, with 60 per cent of our research deemed to be of a world-leading or internationally excellent standard, is further testament to our research talent and progress.

King’ Health Partners This has been a particularly important year for partnerships between the College and other institutions. Among the news items which follow I am especially pleased to record the accreditation by the Department of Health’s international expert panel of King’s Health Partners as one of the UK’s first five Academic Health Sciences Centres. This highly prestigious and pioneering collaboration between the College and three of London’s most successful NHS Foundation Trusts will (as the feature on page 12 demonstrates) enable researchers, teachers, clinicians and healthcare professionals to work more closely together and will mean that King’s remains at the forefront of innovation in this area.

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Mme Valérie Pécresse, the French Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research, with the Principal at King’s in January 2009.

Our ranking of 23rd A third significant kind of partnership for King’s this year reflects the increasing internationally and sixth importance of the international dimension in the UK confirms the of our work. The College’s most recent international university partnership, with College’s reputation as a Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, centre of global academic was signed at the end of 2008, enabling the two institutions to develop research links excellence in both research and student exchanges. King’s also has and teaching. partnerships with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; with the National University of Singapore, and with Hong Kong University. In November 2009 we Somerset House were delighted to sign a memorandum of Just as the Report went to press, in understanding to pursue a fifth strategic December 2009, we were able to announce partnership with the University of that King’s and the Somerset House California, San Francisco. Trust are to work together in an historic partnership to provide a new cultural hub Across the disciplines for Londoners as well as an extension to the College’s existing Strand Campus, University research that makes a real delivering innovative research and teaching. difference to the world is increasingly This means that King’s will acquire the East reaching across traditional subject Wing of Somerset House, one of London’s disciplines to work in collaboration. The most beautiful and iconic buildings, operations of King’s sixth Medical Research providing a unique opportunity for a Council centre, the MRC-HPA Centre for London arts complex in a building which Environment & Health (featured on pages will bridge the worlds of higher education, 20-25) show the wide range of expertise policy and the arts, together with a new that is required to understand and reduce home for the College’s School of Law. air pollution. The award of £10.5 million by

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The Principal at the Union League Club, New York, in October 2008, during a series of panel debates on American foreign policy hosted by King’s in the USA in the run-up to the presidential election.

the Wellcome Trust and the Engineering I remain confident that we can & Physical Sciences Research Council to our new Centre of Excellence in Medical achieve demanding financial Engineering will promote integration targets in an intelligent and between clinicians, biomedical scientists and world-class engineers to find high-tech strategic manner solutions to medical challenges. Two other major new research centres at King’s – the Centre for Biomedicine & Society and the at the new Breakthrough Breast Cancer Centre for the Humanities & Health − are Research Unit which focuses on some of bringing together the humanities and the the most aggressive and poorly-understood social and biomedical sciences to work on forms of the disease. Meanwhile, in the field the interface between medicine, science, of international public policy, as reported society and the arts (see page 7). on page 61, the African Leadership Centre welcomed its first cohort of student fellows Philanthropic support in October 2009, thanks to generous philanthropic support. Our alumni, parents Our goal at King’s is to build on these and friends continue to donate to a wide and our many other accomplishments variety of projects at King’s, and our and formidable current advantages to be gratitude to all those who supported the consistently recognised as an outstanding College in 2008-9 is acknowledged on university institution comparable in all pages 61-62. respects with the best in the world. It is Our aspiration to be in the first tier especially pleasing that these aspirations are globally will not, however, be easily attracting substantial philanthropic support, achieved in the context of the severe and that our success in fundraising has economic downturn, including further grown in strength over the last year. We have public sector cuts as the government tackles received large gifts, in particular, in support a significant national deficit, resulting of our world-class research into cancer, in large reductions in funding for all UK and notably for the ground-breaking work universities. In spring 2009 the College

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HRH The Princess Royal, Chancellor of the University of London, opened the Clinical Research Facility for nutritional studies at St Thomas’ Hospital in October 2008.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, was one of the panellists in the edition of Radio 4’s Any Questions? broadcast from the College’s Waterloo Campus in March 2009 to celebrate the centenary of King’s College London Students’ Union (KCLSU). therefore conducted a thorough analysis be difficult, but I remain confident that we of our academic and professional services can achieve demanding financial targets in activities in order to manage the immediate an intelligent and strategic manner, raising financial challenges, reduce costs and income as well as reducing costs, and support new investment. This review was keeping in mind our commitment to the driven by five core principles: ensuring that highest standards in research, teaching and the College avoids becoming burdened by a knowledge transfer. Those universities that large and accumulating deficit; aiming not respond most imaginatively and boldly to simply to weather a financial storm but also the challenges of economic downturn and to build upon our recent achievements and reductions in public expenditure will be create an even stronger College; basing our best placed to respond to the opportunities future strength on demonstrable excellence provided by the eventual upturn in the in research, while using that research economy and the subsequent recovery of excellence to reinforce rather than detract public finances. It is important to the future from teaching and innovation, and ensuring of King’s that when those developments that any restructuring and reforms do not occur the College is clearly positioned disadvantage our students but instead among the sector’s leaders. n enhance their overall experience at King’s. It is evident to all of us in higher education that the next couple of years will

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News in brief News News in brief 2008-9 ood nick w

HRH The Princess Royal at the opening of World top 25 Somerset House the Clinical Research Facility, with Lord Douro, Chairman of the College Council. For the third year running King’s The College has acquired the East Wing has been recognised as one of the of Somerset House, one of London’s HRH opens nutritional world’s top 25 universities in the Times most beautiful and iconic buildings, which studies facility Higher-QS table. The ranking brings will provide a unique opportunity for together staff:student ratios, citations of an arts complex in a building which will A centre that provides a more research, assessments of universities’ bridge the worlds of higher education, comfortable environment for patients attractiveness to staff and students, policy and the arts as well as a new and encourages them to participate in and the views of graduate employers home for the College’s Law School. King’s clinical studies on nutrition, obesity and and of more than 9,000 academics is to work together with the Somerset heart disease has been opened at St across the world. King’s also rose 16 House Trust to provide a new cultural Thomas’ Hospital by HRH The Princess places in the Shanghai Jiao Tong world hub for Londoners and an extension to Royal, Chancellor of the University of university league table: from 81st to the College’s existing Strand Campus. London. The new Clinical Research 65th. This table counts Nobel Prizes, The signing of the 78 year lease sees Facility includes a five-bed ward, highly-cited researchers, articles in the conclusion to one of the world’s laboratories and a kitchen and eating Science and Nature, and per capita longest-ever property negotiations. area where staff can conduct nutritional academic performance, but does not Since the College was built next to studies. This will make it easier for include strengths in arts and humanities. Somerset House in 1829 it has been in a wide range of health professionals King’s was also shortlisted for the UK various discussions to expand into one and scientific colleagues to explore ‘University of the Year’ in the Times Higher of the wings of Somerset House itself. the impact that diet and other factors awards in autumn 2008. Now, some 180 years later, this will finally may have on a patient’s condition. The become a reality, as the East Wing, which centre has been made possible through Research assessment was previously occupied by the Inland support from Tate & Lyle, the British Revenue, is developed. The ground Heart Foundation and the Guy’s and In the 2008 Research Assessment floor will provide space for cultural St Thomas’ Charity. Exercise (RAE) for British universities, 60 activities open to the public, curated by per cent of research activity at King’s was Somerset House Trust. There will also deemed 4* and 3*, ie as world-leading or be areas for studies in arts, culture and internationally excellent. In total, 91 per continuing education, and a learning cent of the College’s research activity centre. The top two floors of the building entered for the RAE is internationally will be converted into accommodation recognised, and recent analysis of HEFCE for the College’s School of Law, which research funding shows that King’s has enjoyed a tradition of excellence for comes fifth in the country in terms of more than 175 years and is recognised as funding per academic. one of Europe’s premier law schools.

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National student New centres cross King’s Health Partners champions the divide King’s Health Partners (KHP) was King’s ‘Students in Free Enterprise’ team King’s launched two major new accredited in March 2009 as one of the won the UK national championship in centres in 2009 which reach across UK’s first five Academic Health Sciences April 2009, beating more than 30 other the disciplines to bring together Centres (AHSCs). KHP is a pioneering university teams and receiving a standing arts, humanities, and the social and collaboration between the College and ovation for their work. The King’s team biomedical sciences. The Centre for three of London’s most successful NHS presented three of their 30 student-led Biomedicine & Society (CBAS) hosts Foundation Trusts (Guy’s & St Thomas’, volunteering projects. Foundations paired the only social science-led Wellcome King’s College Hospital and the South victims of local knife and gang crime in Trust Biomedical Ethics Strategic Award London & Maudsley). It unites world- South London with a student buddy on in the UK, on the ethics of translational leading research, medicine, healthcare a six-week work placement to rebuild research. Other projects include the and education to improve health and confidence.Orchard Bounty worked with politics of the global bio-economy well-being for patients in London and 25 young adults with special needs to (particularly regenerative medicine in internationally. In June King’s Vice- produce apple juice from a dedicated Europe, India and China); innovation Principal Professor Robert Lechler, orchard, while Born in Manila trained 28 in the use of medical devices, and the who led the Partnership’s successful unemployed waste pickers to turn the reconfiguration of identities through bid for AHSC status, was appointed to resources around them into jewellery. new personalised genome testing. CBAS the directorship of KHP, and in October offers an MSc in Medicine, Science & Lord Butler of Brockwell was appointed Society, and one of the world’s few as KHP’s first independent Chair. Robin KCLSU centenary Intercalated BScs for medical students Butler served as private secretary to in this subject. An MA in Bioethics & five prime ministers, as Head of the The King’s College London Students’ Society, run jointly with the Centre of Home Civil Service from 1988 to 1998, Union and the College’s Alumni Office Medical Law & Ethics at King’s will start and as Master of University College have been celebrating the centenary in 2010. The Centre for the Humanities & Oxford until 2008. of the first official general meeting of Health engages scholars from literature, The work of King’s Health Partners the student society of King’s, held on philosophy, history, the visual arts, film is featured on page 12. 4 December 1908. Celebratory events studies, clinical psychology, psychiatry, during 2009 included a dinner, a club nursing and medicine, and its research, night and the hosting of BBC Radio 4’s funded by a Wellcome Trust Strategic Any Questions? at the Waterloo Campus. Award, has six interlocking strands around ‘The Boundaries of Illness’. It is developing a new MSc in Medical Humanities.

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International partners TwinBank Famous figures come to the Strand King’s now has four partnerships King’s scientists are creating the with other universities worldwide and world’s largest database of twins in A larger than life-size group of has recently signed a memorandum order to investigate the genetic and characters have joined the Strand of understanding with a fifth.T he environmental origins of disease and streetscape, brightening up one of partnership with Jawaharlal Nehru behaviour. The College already has a London’s main arteries. The King’s ‘hall University (JNU) in New Delhi, signed Department of Twin Research & Genetic of fame’ features nearly 50 famous in December 2009, will initially focus Epidemiology, but TwinBank aims to people associated with the College on comparative world history, global be ten times larger than any other during its 180-year history. Reaching cultural and literary studies and twin database, to hold the records of up to two metres tall, the head-and- international relations, and will enable 300,000 pairs of twins and to collect shoulders images are mounted on vinyl the two universities to develop joint DNA and health data on twins through in the Strand windows and stretch 90 research links and a strong student the NHS. By comparing identical and metres between Somerset House and exchange scheme. A partnership with non-identical twins, researchers will Surrey Street. They range from the Hong Kong University (HKU), signed be able to determine the relative first Duke of Wellington, who fought a in May 2009, will establish a five-year contributions of nature and nurture duel while Prime Minister in defence of dual degree programme in law, as well to human development, transforming his role in the foundation of King’s, to as a framework for future joint PhD research into obesity, heart disease, current PhD student and three-times programmes in science subjects. King’s autism, mental illness and cancer. Olympic rowing medallist Katherine other existing partnerships are with the Grainger, and include five of the University of North Carolina at Chapel College’s nine Nobel Prize winners, such Hill and with the National University New gene link to baldness as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir of Singapore, and in November 2009 James Black, together with WS Gilbert the College signed a memorandum of A study co-ordinated in King’s of Gilbert and Sullivan; Lord Lister, understanding to pursue a strategic Department of Twin Research has founder of antiseptic surgery; Romantic partnership with the University of identified two genetic variants which, poet John Keats; satirist Rory Bremner, California, San Francisco. when present together, increase the and Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of risk of male pattern baldness seven- the modern hospice movement. fold. Androgenic alopecia is a heritable disorder with no obvious evolutionary advantage, affecting around 40 per cent of men. The mechanisms involved may be shared with common medical disorders such as coronary heart disease, hypertension and insulin resistance.

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King’s joins climate £10.5 million for Medical Allergy and asthma labs change campaign Engineering Centre New laboratories for the MRC & Asthma King’s was one of the first four King’s has been awarded more than UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms universities to sign up to the 10:10 £10 million by the Wellcome Trust and of Asthma at King’s were opened at campaign to cut the UK’s carbon the Engineering & Physical Sciences Guy’s Hospital in October 2008. The emissions by 10 per cent in 2010, joining Research Council for a new Centre investment by the College, the Guy’s some of the biggest names in business, of Excellence in Medical Engineering: and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust the arts, sport and politics. King’s is one of four in the UK. The funding will and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity also one of only 11 UK universities to be develop integrated teams of clinicians, will address the rising epidemic of recognised as a Carbon Trust Standard biomedical scientists and world-class allergy and asthma in the UK. The new Bearer. The College has already engineers so they can find high-tech research facilities will allow the Centre’s reduced its carbon emissions by over solutions to medical challenges. activities to expand, including a focus 8,000 tonnes from the 2004 baseline, Engineers are already at the forefront on environment and respiratory health and now recycles more than 60 per of medical innovation, benefiting and the impact of the introduction of cent of its controlled waste. It has also millions of people with tools such as London’s low emission zone. Allergic won major awards for the sustainable implants and prosthetic limbs, devices diseases have increased threefold in refurbishment of its buildings. to monitor the physiological state of 20 years, and asthma affects one in 12 patients and instruments such as the people in the UK. The number of children implantable pacemaker. The future with asthma has risen six-fold in 30 Top for health funding links between medicine and engineering years, and treatment costs the NHS are crucial for advances in fields such more than £996 million a year, with 12.7 King’s is the most successful higher as genetics, where tissue engineering million working days lost from asthma education institution in winning grants could use patients’ own cells to correct annually. from the Department of Health. Between degenerative disease, and imaging, 2005 and 2008 almost £18 million was where new technologies may predict awarded to King’s scientists, representing stroke and heart attack, improve early 20 per cent of the Department of detection of cancer, help surgeons Health’s total spending at universities perform less invasive operations over three years. Among the projects and play a role in the diagnosis and that have received grants at King’s are treatment of psychiatric illness. the Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre; the Comprehensive Cancer Imaging Centre and the Global Child Dental Health Taskforce.

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The US Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Mario Vargas Llosa, one of Latin America’s Lord Rees of Ludlow, the Astronomer Royal, Roberts (left), New Zealand’s Chief Justice most significant novelists, and a former President of the Royal Society, and Master Dame Sian Ellis, and the President Elect member of staff and Fellow of the College, of Trinity College, Cambridge, received of the UK’s Supreme Court, Lord Phillips delivered a keynote speech at King’s in an honorary doctorate of King’s in (right) at King’s in July 2009. October 2008. November 2008. World’s judges at King’s Visitors to King’s Honorary degrees

The world’s leading judges took part King’s attracts many visitors and In November 2008 the College held in a three-day conference at King’s speakers of distinction. In 2008-9 these its first full-scale ceremony for the just before the opening of the first included the Prime Minister, Gordon award of its own honorary degrees, UK Supreme Court in October 2009. Brown; Secretaries of State the Rt rather than those of the University of Organised by the Centre of European Law Hon Hilary Benn and Ed Balls; Ministers London. Recipients were Professor at King’s and the Royal Courts of Justice, of State Dawn Primarolo and Jim Michael Bishop, Nobel Laureate and Legal boundaries, common problems Knight; the Shadow Chancellor of the Chancellor of the University of California; and the role of the Supreme Court took Exchequer George Osborne, and David Professor Peter Brown FBA, a leading a fresh look at the current and evolving Willetts, Shadow Secretary of State Late Classical and Medieval historian role and function of supreme courts and for Innovation, Universities & Skills. and Professor of Princeton University; constitutional courts. Other participants Bestselling authors at King’s included Dr James Lovelock CH CBE FRS, a key included the Lord Chief Justice of England Mario Vargas Llosa, Sir Terry Pratchett figure in thinking about life and climate and Wales, Lord Judge, and the chief and Michael Morpurgo. Fact-finding visits change and developer of the Gaia justices of Ghana and New Zealand. were paid by Mme Valérie Pécresse, the theory; Baron Rees of Ludlow OM Kt French Secretary of State for Higher PRS, the Astronomer Royal, President Education & Research and Dr Paula of the Royal Society, and Master of Achievements recognised Risikko, Finland’s Minister of Health Trinity College, Cambridge; Professor & Social Services; and other visitors Junji Tagami, Dean of the Tokyo Medical Professor Ellen Solomon, Head of the included General Martin Luther Agwai, and Dental University; Professor Romila Cancer Genetics Research Group, and Force Commander of the UN African Thapar, Emeritus Professor in History Professor Phil Whitfield, who has retired Union Mission in Darfur; General Sir at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, and as Vice-Principal (Students) after a David Richards, Head of the British Professor Tu Wei-Ming, Professor of 40-year career at King’s, have been Army; Sir Peter Ricketts, Permanent Chinese History & Philosophy at Harvard presented with Lifetime Achievement Under-Secretary of the Foreign & University. awards by the College. Professor Anne Commonwealth Office, and Head of Marie Rafferty, Head of the Florence the Diplomatic Service, and Dr Barry Nightingale School of Nursing & Cockcroft, the Chief Dental Officer. Midwifery, received a CBE in the 2009 New Year’s Honours for her exceptional services to healthcare.

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Stem cells without First dental anxiety New museum of life embryos service sciences

Research published in Nature in The UK’s first health psychology service The extinct marsupial Tasmanian wolf October 2008 from the Wolfson CARD for adults with dental anxiety has been Thylacinus and the Sphenodon lizard Laboratory at King’s, in collaboration launched at King’s. Working together with light-sensing pineal organ or ‘third with the University of Tübingen, shows with colleagues in the Department of eye’, as well as this skeleton of a swan, that pluripotent human stem cells can Sedation & Special Care Dentistry, the are among more than 2,500 plant and be generated without requiring human King’s psychologists will use cognitive animal specimens to be found in a new embryos. The generation of human behavioural therapy to change patients’ Museum of Life Sciences that has been embryonic-like stem cells from biopsies attitudes to attending the dentist, opened at the Guy’s Campus of King’s. of the adult male testes may provide receiving a dental injection and taking For the first time, the new museum will simple and non-controversial access, children to the dentist. Dental fear can allow specimens from the collections not currently available to individual cell- have a great impact on people’s oral built up by the various constituent based therapy, without the ethical and health, causing them to delay seeking institutions that now make up King’s immunological problems associated with treatment and to avoid opportunities College to be displayed together in using human embryonic stem cells. The for advice on how to look after their dedicated exhibition space, so they can research used 22 samples to extract a teeth. The service will also provide the be viewed by the whole College and can type of cell called the ‘sperm precursor opportunity to develop teaching and be taken out of the display cupboards cell’. These were then manipulated research in the field of dental fear. and used in current teaching and chemically in the laboratory into a practical classes. The Museum of Life state more similar to cells found in the Sciences has been established through embryo, which can go on to produce generous anonymous donations totalling all the cell types in the body. Although more than £30,000, plus a contribution the cells seem to have many, if not all, from the College, through an initiative the properties of embryonic stem cells, led by the College’s Development & there is still considerable work to be Alumni Office. done in terms of differentiating these cells and testing them in animal models of disease.

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photography: king]s health partners, phil sayer, chris george report 17 From bencH to bedside, & back ce re ien sea King’s Health Partners (KHP) is a pioneering sc rc h

collaboration between King’s College London, as one n

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i p t a improvements in health and well-being for patients, in London and world-wide. A major focus of KHP is on ‘translational research’: enabling research discoveries to be effectively converted or translated into new treatments for patients as quickly as possible – and ensuring that the outcomes for patients feed back into further research and into the education of future clinicians and researchers. The Cardiovascular Clinical Academic Group (CAG) of King’s Health Partners is one of the country’s leading centres for the study and treatment of heart and circulatory disease and shows translational research in practice.

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Patients from south-east London and … important beyond who suffer heart attacks are rushed to King’s College Hospital or St Thomas’ clinical questions Hospital to be treated by Professor Shah can be addressed and his clinical colleagues, using a new by academic The Director’s story technique called primary angioplasty. research, and ‘We were the first centre in the UK to our students Professor Ajay Shah is a clinician scientist establish primary angioplasty for all heart whose busy working life provides an attack patients’, Professor Shah explains. can be taught by example of the close relationship between ‘It has already saved hundreds of lives people whose the development of academic research, the and revolutionised the outcome for these research and treatment of patients, and the education of patients, and it is now spreading to hospitals clinical expertise the next generation of students, researchers all around the country.’ and clinicians. Angioplasty involves a half-hour keyhole is making a real A major part of his time is taken up with procedure, under local anaesthetic, in which difference to his role as Director of the British Heart a small balloon is inserted and inflated patients Foundation Centre of Research Excellence to unblock the artery whose narrowing at the Denmark Hill Campus of King’s or closure caused the heart attack. The College, but one or more days a week may re-opened artery is then reinforced with a also see him on call to treat heart attack stent. Most patients can be back at home

patients at King’s College Hospital, next again within three days of treatment. ‘This grundy paul door. treatment is vastly superior to the old Another day may catch him in the therapy with clot-busting drugs, which laboratory at the James Black Centre, often failed to re-open blocked arteries’, close to the Hospital, carrying out his own Professor Shah says. The James Black Centre research into the causes of heart failure; and Professor Shah’s experience in the the remaining days may find him lecturing operating theatre and by the bedside to students, supervising PhD candidates or feeds directly into his own research on planning future courses. fundamental questions about why heart The establishment of King’s Health failure still occurs after a heart attack Partners means two important things to in many patients, even after successful Professor Shah. ‘One is that it is enabling us treatment by angioplasty, or in patients to develop the UK’s leading high-quality whose aortic valve has been blocked or environment for research, education, narrowed. His research aims to develop new and clinical care and innovation in heart drugs to further improve the outcome for disease’, he explains. ‘We aim to be THE patients at risk of heart failure. place that people come to when they want Meanwhile other researchers in the the best in heart treatment, research or King’s Cardiovascular Division and teaching. BHF Centre are using many innovative ‘The other is that it reinforces the cycle technologies such as those involving that links basic scientific research with proteomics, stem cells and imaging, to make translational research and with clinical further advances in treating heart disease. research, innovation and care, which then ‘And beyond that, we are working hard to connects back to basic education and bring in knowledge from other disciplines, research. In this way important clinical such as bioinformatics, maths, physics and questions can be addressed by academic engineering, to develop new treatments. research, and our students can be taught by Recruiting bright PhD students with people whose research and clinical expertise expertise in these areas is an important part is making a real difference to patients.’ of our strategy.’ n

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How can one be certain that a cell really is a stem cell? The researcher’s story Dr Manuel Mayr is Head of Proteomics at The advent of novel technology allows us the BHF Centre at King’s. He is analysing to screen thousands of proteins and this proteins – the molecules of life – to find “proteomics”-led approach contributes better ways of using stem cells to improve towards a better classification of stem cells. the success rate of heart bypass operations ‘Our results suggest that cells used by growing new sections of blood vessel to in some clinical trials may have been replace or repair damaged arteries. masquerading as stem cells, but were ‘Stem cells are already used in clinical actually a different type of cell. We need trials for treating patients after heart to develop new ways of purifying stem attacks’, he explains. ‘But how can one cells and be sure that they are actually able be certain that a cell really is a stem cell? to contribute to the repair of heart tissue In practice, scientists and clinicians tend before they are tested in trials on people. to infer that a cell is a stem cell if it tests Within the King’s BHF centre, we are very positive for particular protein markers that fortunate to have state-of-the art proteomic are thought to be indicative of their stem cell equipment and funding possibilities that potential. According to our latest research, allow us to utilize the latest technologies for some of these markers are not reliable. our research.’ n

A diagram showing a typical proteomic workflow: proteins are prepared from cell cultures and cleaved into peptides. These peptides are separated by liquid chromatography and sprayed into a mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer first records the mass of the intact peptide (MS) and then induces a fragmentation process (tandem MS). The peptide fragments unambiguously identify the protein.

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Introducing oundation King’s Health Partners

King’s Health Partners was one of the UK’s first fiveA cademic Health Science ritish heart f b ritish heart Centres (AHSCs) to be accredited by the Department of Health in March 2009. It brings together King’s College London with the NHS Foundation Trusts of Guy’s and St Thomas’; King’s College Hospital, and the South London and Maudsley, which between them include seven hospitals and over 150 community-based services, Every year heart and have a joint annual turnover of some and circulatory £2 billion. It has access to around 60 per disease causes cent of London’s population, or around five million people, and serves a larger more than one in number of patients than any other AHSC. The funder’s story three deaths in The diversity of its population base the UK provides a microcosm for studying world Professor Peter Weissberg is Medical health issues and developing treatments Director of the British Heart Foundation, of international benefit. which funds the BHF Centre of Research Excellence at King’s. Strengths in neuroscience, psychiatry and mental health, together with ‘Every year heart and circulatory disease complementary disciplines such as causes more than one in three deaths in medical and molecular genetics, public the UK’, he points out. ‘Our mission is health sciences and imaging, enable King’s to play a leading role in the fight against Health Partners to deliver better health cardiovascular disease so that it is no longer and well-being for the mind and body, a major cause of disability and premature for the whole person. This combination death. Our investment in four Centres of of strengths helps to attract significant Research Excellence is helping us towards support from a wide range of partners, that goal, and we were delighted to award including many of the world’s leading King’s £9 million over six years from 2008. pharmaceutical companies and biotech ‘King’s has brought together a team of industries. scientists and clinicians from a wide variety of scientific disciplines to focus on different aspects of heart disease and to train a new generation of researchers. In particular their strengths in structural and cellular biology provide a real opportunity for “bench-to- bedside” translational research into new treatments for heart disease. The BHF believes that the Academic Health Sciences ethos at King’s can only add value to the BHF Centre of Research Excellence and facilitate the interaction between laboratory science and patient care.’ n

King’s Health Partners boroughs population Bexley...... 222,100 Bromley ...... 300,700 Croydon...... 339,500 Greenwich...... 223,100 Lambeth ...... 273,200 Lewisham ...... 258,500 Southwark...... 274,400 Total 1,891,500

16 report 17 jo mieszkowski jo mieszkowski

TAVI offers a new treatment option for high risk patients The clinicians’ story Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Olaf Wendler (left) and Martyn Thomas. (TAVI) is another new and highly innovative operating technique pioneered in cardiologists with a track record in driving the King’s Health Partners Cardiovascular innovative technique brought our Centre Edwards Sapien CAG. into the spotlight when this technique valve ‘TAVI offers a new treatment option was introduced in the UK’, Olaf Wendler for high risk patients with aortic stenosis comments. A larger multidisciplinary team, – a narrowing of the aortic valve which including cardiologists with a particular Ascendra connects the heart to the major blood vessel interest in imaging; cardiac anaesthetists; (transapical carrying oxygenated blood to the body’, research nurses; technicians and specialised delivery system) says Mr Olaf Wendler, Clinical Director nurses for pre- and post-operative care was for Cardiac Services and Consultant formed and this guaranteed that strengths Cardiothoracic Surgeon at King’s College from all different areas could contribute to Hospital. the programme. ‘The TAVI programme at King’s ‘We are convinced that this is the started in August 2007 as part of the largest reason we were able to achieve excellent European feasibility trial for this technique, results and shorten our learning curve’, and so far more than 140 implantations Wendler adds. In addition to successful TM Transapical using the Edwards Sapien valve have contribution to the first trials, the academic approach been performed at King’s and St Thomas’ side of the programme is analysing impact hospitals, making the King’s Health on heart function and patient outcomes, Partners programme the largest in the UK.’ supported by research fellows, and clinical Instead of open-heart surgery, keyhole and academic data has been presented at surgery is performed through a leg artery national and international meetings. (the so-called ‘transfemoral’ approach) King’s Health Partners is currently seen Edwards Sapien or through the apex of the heart (the as a centre of excellence for TAVI treatment. valve ‘transapical’ approach). ‘This avoids the ‘In our centre we facilitate teaching for opening of the patient’s breast bone and the other clinical groups who develop new temporary by-passing of their own heart and programmes’, points out Martyn Thomas. lungs by a machine’, explains Dr Martyn ‘We act as supervisors in other centres to Retroflex Thomas, Clinical Director for Cardiac assist with their first implantations and (transfemoral delivery system) Services and Consultant Cardiologist at St have been invited to become primary Thomas’ Hospital. ‘TAVI has therefore the investigators in forthcoming trials and potential to reduce the side effects of the European registries. This is enabling us operation and can be a particularly helpful to pursue further development of this treatment for patients – such as those who technique at our campuses and also to offer are older and have other health conditions these new techniques to our patients. – for whom conventional surgery would be ‘Our experience at King’s Health very high-risk.’ Partners shows that, with the adequate ‘The excellent interaction between support of a multi-disciplinary team, Transfemoral approach cardiac surgeons with a particular expertise excellent clinical and academic results can in aortic valve surgery and interventional be achieved.’ n

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You’re the man that’s going to save my life

The patient’s story Bernie Irvine describes how angioplasty treatment from Professor Shah saved his life. ‘The treatment I received at King’s College Hospital was simply outstanding. Professor Shah and his team were absolutely brilliant and did a wonderful job of saving partners king’s health my life, for which I shall be eternally grateful, as is my family. Before my heart attack, I had no history of any heart problem, although I have been asthmatic since childhood. As to what caused it, I can now honestly say it was my life-style – I was a heavy smoker and drinker and ate a lot of junk food with very little fruit and vegetables. I wasn’t the most active person in the world either! I also think stress played a factor – that day (9 October 2008) had been particularly bad. ‘I was first taken to Princess Royal ‘Because of my heart attack, I developed Hospital, in Farnborough, where they diabetes and angina. I’ve also gained weight discovered I was actually still having the due to the steroids, and find I get breathless heart attack. So I was then taken to King’s, because of this. I’ve been on diets to bring where Professor Shah and his team were my weight down, without much success. waiting. From the moment I met him, he But I have successfully stopped smoking as a just filled me with so much confidence direct result of the attack. with his calming and reassuring manner. ‘My life is good. I got married in March I knew that I’d get through this. He asked this year, and have recently started back to “Do you know who I am”, and I replied work as a self-employed driver. I also dabble “Yes. You’re the man that’s going to save my in buying and selling antiques. life.” This was greeted with a positive nod. ‘I have a second chance of life; my kids That gave me the courage to “let go” and let still have their dad and my then fiancée got For more information them do their job. to marry me!’ n about king’s health ‘On the day of the attack I had two stents partners placed via my groin into my arteries. I was in www.kingshealth hospital for a week and on the seventh day I partners.org had another two stents put in. The staff were so professional and reassuring. They made the stay more bearable.

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I study the function of more than 20,000 genes and 20 million potential The student’s story interactions Ignat Drozdov is a PhD student supervised e nce duca during cardiac by Professor Shah and Professor Christos rie ti e on response to Ouzounis, Head of the Centre for xp e t stress Bioinformatics at King’s. With first degrees n e s in physics and music from American i c t i e a

n University, Washington DC, he is one year p

into his PhD on Redox signalling networks

in cardiac response to stress.

n r

‘Rapid and ubiquitous genome e

sequencing allows scientists to monitor a

expression levels of thousands of genes in

f g u n i n conditions such as cancer, diabetes, or heart d disease’, he explains. ‘When applied to the study of cardiac response to stress (eg hypertension), these technologies make it possible to explore how genes interact with this model may lead to identification of each other and identify key mechanisms novel drug targets, assessment of patients’ that either protect the heart or lead to heart response to treatment, and more thorough failure. The end product of such studies will understanding of molecular signalling not only result in molecular understanding cascades in the heart. of heart function, but may also elucidate ‘I feel very privileged to be working novel treatments that could be tailored to with multi-disciplinary experts to help individual patients – a much more effective to understand why heart failure occurs alternative to a one-treatment-fits-all and how it can be prevented. The thrill of approach.’ experiencing the genomic era in medical Ignat’s knowledge of physics and research first-hand, on more than one ability to model a real-world system using occasion has placed me at the centre of a mathematical concepts is a valuable adjunct fast-paced science fiction story rather than to experimental biology. ‘In my research the reality of modern day research.’ n I study the function of more than 20,000 genes and 20 million potential interactions during cardiac response to stress. ‘I integrate mathematical modelling of this system with validated biological data (eg transcript/protein expression levels, gene sequences, and known protein-protein interactions) to create a reliable overview of heart failure. Further assessment of

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‘Earth hath not anything to show more fair’ wrote William Wordsworth of the view from Westminster Bridge, after he saw it early one morning in 1802, ‘all bright and glittering in the smokeless air’. Now, however, poor air quality is responsible for up to 3,000 premature deaths in the capital each year, and a new research centre has just been established close to Westminster to tackle the problem.

20 below Westminster (c1871). Claude Monet, TheThames report 17 report 21

ir pollution kills more Londoners than traffic accidents – and reduces the life expectancy The ‘omics’ of health and of the average Londoner by more than eight environment research months’, points out Professor Frank Kelly, Director of the Environmental Research Genomics measure an individual’s genetic A‘ Group at King’s and Deputy Director of the make-up. new MRC-HPA Centre for Environment Proteomics gauge how the production & Health, based in Waterloo. ‘Wordsworth and clearance of proteins in the body is might not have known it, but London is a changed following exposure to specific prime location to study the impact of air pollutants. pollution on health, and here in the capital we are, quite literally, in the middle of a huge Metabonomics chart the whole body’s public health experiment.’ metabolic response to changes following In the 1950s, the deadly smog hanging exposure. over the capital was a mixture of smoke and fog. ‘Fifty years on, the air may look cleaner, but the problem hasn’t gone away’, health. ‘My aim is to bring scientists from Professor Kelly explains. ‘Today’s haze different but complementary backgrounds is a complex mix of traffic and industrial and disciplines together and to enable pollutants including tiny particles and gases them to work on the major public health such as nitrogen dioxide and ozone which issue of urban traffic pollution’, Professor also pose a significant danger to our health. Kelly says. ‘Our plans include conducting Traffic pollution contributes to respiratory epidemiological studies involving large and cardiovascular diseases and is a major numbers of people living and working player in the increasing incidence of in London, and detailed analysis of the childhood asthma.’ pollutants they are exposed to each day. Earlier this year, King’s and Imperial The researchers will use new tools in areas College won £5 million from the Medical such as mapping, modelling, toxicology, Research Council and the Health Protection genomics, proteomics and metabonomics to Agency to investigate the damage that our answer questions such as which pollutants modern living and working environment is people are being exposed to, what their doing to our health. Overall, the research reactions are to these and how this may lead will analyse the effects of traffic fumes, noise to tissue injury and disease development in from overhead aircraft and chemicals in future years.’ the environment such as the by-products of disinfection in the water supply. It will Monitoring focus particularly on vulnerable people, including children and the elderly, and how The King’s team has been monitoring environmental factors outside their control air quality across London’s 33 boroughs could be increasing their risk of respiratory since 1995 when the London Air Quality problems, heart disease and cancer. Network (LAQN) was established (see London’s Low Emission At King’s the work will concentrate on www.londonair.org.uk). This Network now Zone has changed the impact of poor air quality on people’s has over 160 monitoring sites, and Professor pollution patterns in Kelly has already been instrumental in the capital. advising the government on ways to reduce pollution in London. ‘The introduction of the Low Emission Zone has deterred the worst polluters from the city’, he says. ‘And already the positive effects of the Congestion Charging scheme are being seen. In a recent study we showed that the scheme is helping to reduce pollution levels in the most deprived areas of London, and that this is increasing life expectancy.’ But cutting air pollution by reducing the number of vehicles is not enough, and traffic pollution will remain a fact of city life for many years to come. Professor Kelly is therefore keen to understand how individual pollutants cause health problems, so that changes can be made to fuels to reduce our exposure to the worst culprits.

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‘Every breath we take has the potential to introduce dangerous gases and particles into our lungs. To improve understanding in this area, we’ll be using advanced mapping and modelling techniques which can assess the actual exposure of individuals to a range of air pollutants. This improved “exposure assessment” information will assist our understanding of individual responses to specific pollutants and help clarify the links between environmental exposure and health outcomes.’

Size matters Other members of the team are focusing on the tiny particles emitted from vehicle The air quality exhaust and from brake and tyre wear. The monitoring station in smallest particles in the air are less than 10 Marylebone Road, one of London’s busiest High six micrometres (a hundredth of a millimetre) streets. in diameter, and this ‘particulate matter’ or The new Centre brings the number of PM10 can penetrate deep into the lungs. Medical Research Council centres at However, it’s not just size that matters when King’s to six – more than at any other it comes to causing health problems, but university. The six centres are: also the make-up of the particle, as the team • MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and have demonstrated. They have developed Health a synthetic assay system that mimics the • MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic lining fluid on the surface of the lung and Mechanisms of Asthma the protective molecules it contains, and • MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology this toxicological assay is used as a read- • MRC Centre for Neurodegenerative out to test air samples containing different Research pollutants from a range of urban and rural • MRC Social, Genetic and Development settings. Psychiatry Centre ‘The results show that it’s not the size of • MRC Centre for Transplantation the particles per se, or their concentration, but their biological toxicity that has

in my view

Simon Birkett is monitoring stations. grow. In no other per year since the the founder of the I was amazed to team, have I found late 1990s. Campaign for Clean find reliable air greater passion, Air in London. ‘In my quality monitoring breadth and depth ‘In the years up to view, the excellent information readily of expertise and the London 2012 London Air Quality available on the commitment to Olympics, in part as Network (LAQN) and internet and updated communicating new air quality laws King’s Environmental every few minutes. clearly and in “bite”, I hope to see Research Group Better still, when I innovative ways monitored levels of (ERG) form the had questions, I was the trends in air air quality improve “bedrock” on delighted to find a pollution and its and many lives which all air quality helpful and highly harmful effects on saved, all built on the matters in London professional team at Londoners. For success of the ERG are founded’, he King’s keen to assist example, the LAQN at King’s.’ says. ‘The Campaign me. was the first to for Clean Air in report formally that London began its ‘After more than levels of dangerous work in 2006 by three years of airborne particles studying levels of air campaigning, my have been rising in pollution recorded respect for King’s London at a mean

jo mieszkowski on local LAQN ERG continues to rate of 0.4 per cent

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300 significant effects on our health’, Professor CCZ CCZ boundary boundary Kelly says. ‘Metals such as copper and iron are the worst offenders, and when they stick 250 Charing Cross New Oxford Street to the outside of PM10s the result can be Bloomsbury highly toxic. I hope this research will lead 200 to legislative changes that will encourage car manufacturers to develop engines, brake linings and tyres that emit lower levels of the 150 worst pollutants.’

100 Susceptibility Even though these tiny particles are toxic to 50 our lungs it appears that some of us are a lot better at defending ourselves from damage concentration (parts per billion) per (parts concentration X when we inhale pollutants than others. This NO 0 so-called susceptibility to air pollutants is 177000 178000 179000 180000 181000 182000 183000 a subtle outcome, and very sophisticated Street location within CCZ (metres from UK southern boundary) techniques are required to detect different

A diagram showing oxides of nitrogen (NOX) by source within the London responses between individuals. Here again, Congestion Charging Zone (CCZ). NOX arriving from outside London modern technologies have been developed are shown in dark grey; London background NOX in light grey, and NOX arising from vehicles on the local road in black. Inhalation of oxides of which help researchers identify susceptible nitrogen causes a range of respiratory symptoms and leads to increased people. The technologies of genomics, susceptibility to respiratory infection. proteomics and metabonomics, combined with large epidemiological studies, will put the Centre’s activity at the cutting edge of environment and health research. Professor Kelly believes that the breadth of research taking place in the MRC-HPA Centre for Environment & Health will ensure that London continues to lead the drive to improve air quality in our cities. ‘With all eyes on London as it prepares for the 2012 Olympics, this comes at an opportune time’, he says. ‘Air quality was a hugely important issue at the Beijing Games, and the establishment of this Centre provides the UK with a world-class research facility, capable of assessing the impact of environmental factors on human health, which will greatly enhance our ability to provide accurate and timely advice to government for the Olympics and for many An analyst from other purposes in the years to come.’ n King’s Environmental Research Group examines emissions iPhone air quality from the exhaust of a diesel vehicle to The King’s Environmental measure the presence Research Group has developed of contaminating an iPhone/iPod touch application metals. which allows people to access air quality readings from across London while on For further the move: a first step towards real-time details of the air pollution measurements being MRC-HPA centre for provided to mobiles. The application environment & health is available free of charge through www.environment- iTunes and allows users to navigate health.ac.uk to any site in the London air quality network in three taps. See http://www. londonair.org.uk/london/asp/news. asp?NewsId=iPhoneUpdate

24 report 17 The right environment for innovation King’s College London Business Ltd provides a gateway for business and the public sector to access the wealth of knowledge and expertise available at King’s College London. King’s Business has a successful record of enabling academics to develop the results of their research to attract commercial partners, including a number of environmental projects. These include some that have received proof-of-concept funding, facilitated by King’s Business, from Innovation China UK (ICUK) of which King’s is a founding partner. ICUK is the first UK-China collaboration programme to promote joint innovation and knowledge transfer between British and Chinese universities and other national research institutes.

The forest fire and smoke pollution monitoring The Novel Early Flood Warning System (NEWS) was system was developed by a team led by Martin developed by Dr Hannah Cloke and Dr Yi He from Wooster, Professor of Earth Observation Science King’s Department of Geography working with in the Environmental Monitoring & Modelling colleagues from Hohai University, China. NEWS, Group of the Department of Geography. which was awarded proof-of-concept funding by Professor Wooster won the King’s Award for ICUK for development from a research prototype Innovation in 2009. The project, which is funded into a commercial system, will be the first by ICUK, allows the Chinese National Satellite commercially viable multi-purpose early flood Meteorological Centre access to the wild fire warning system to take account of both climate detection algorithms and software developed change and corresponding hydrological effects. at King’s, and enables the King’s team to access It will be able to warn of floods in the short-term real-time data from Chinese satellites in order to (a few hours) and in the medium-term (a few develop a forest fire emissions monitoring system days), and will also provide risk analysis, which is covering China and Asia. This information will be currently unachievable with conventional models sent back to the UK to act as a component of a and software. The software has already been global fire emissions monitoring system being demonstrated successfully in the Upper Severn developed by King’s and its collaborators for and Upper Huai river catchments. the purposes of global atmospheric monitoring For more information and air quality forecasting. The research was on King’s Business originally developed to exploit European satellite www.kcl.ac.uk/ data for the purposes of quantifying smoke business emissions from fires in Africa and Southern Europe (such as the huge fires in Greece that occurred in 2007 and 2009). However, its success led to it currently being tested on US satellite data covering the Americas. The information available from the Chinese satellites is an important step in building the world-wide coverage necessary for a truly global system.

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A castle of one’s own Recent research in the College Archives has revealed the previously undiscovered breadth, depth and length of Virginia Woolf’s studies at King’s Ladies’ Department between 1897 and 1901. Dr Anna Snaith and Dr Christine Kenyon Jones describe their findings.

With thanks to Frances Pattman and the staff of King’s College London Archives for their assistance and archival expertise.

26 report 17 COR B IS eutsch C ollection/ D eutsch © H ulton-

Virginia Woolf (née Stephen) in 1902, just after finishing her studies at King’s Ladies’ Department. Late 19th-century furnishing fabric by Owen Jones for Warner & Co. © V&A Images/Victoria and albert museum, london

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irginia Woolf’s well-known claim that ‘a that she was almost entirely self-educated. woman must have money and a room of Her nephew Quentin Bell’s biography her own if she is to write fiction’ reflects depicts a typical day as one in which the her constant concern for women’s young Virginia was left alone in the nursery at independence and education. She read and the top of the house reading Greek. Writing Vwrote widely about the historic exclusion in 1932, Woolf claimed, ‘Partly from reasons of women from higher education and of health I was never at any school or college. the prejudices that persisted even after My father allowed me to read any book in colleges opened their doors to women, his library when I was a girl; and it was a and her novels are full of female characters large library’. In the same year she described lamenting the insecurity and constraint bred herself as having been an ‘uneducated child by their lack of education. reading books in my room’. The King’s records show, however, that Adeline Virginia Stephen, as she then was, studied for a range of subjects at King’s Ladies’ Department for nearly five years

ondon A rchi v es between the ages of 15 and 19, reaching examination level standards in some of them, and that her sister Vanessa (later Vanessa Bell) also studied there from 1898

ollege L K ing’s C ollege to 1900.

Registrations for ‘Miss AV Stephen’ Kensington (Virginia) and ‘Miss Stephen’ (Vanessa) The Ladies’ Department at 13 Kensington from the King’s Ladies’ Square was part of King’s College London,

Department register. ondon A rchi v es which in 1871, in response to the growing movement for women’s higher education, had launched its ‘Lectures for Ladies’ in Richmond. This enterprise then

ollege L K ing’s C ollege moved to Kensington and was formally constituted as part of the College in 1885. By the time Virginia was there, the Ladies’ Department had over 500 students and was offering a wide variety of courses at a range of educational levels, including preparation for the degree examinations of London and Oxford universities. In 1902, just after Virginia left, the Ladies’ Class list showing Department became the King’s College Virginia Stephen’s Women’s Department and, in 1910, King’s result in a German examination from College for Women. The arts and sciences the Michaelmas departments of King’s College for Women term of 1899. were merged with the ‘main’ King’s College in 1915, when the women students joined Given this, it is curious that Woolf’s own their male colleagues at the Strand. formal education has received relatively A vivid picture is provided by Lilian little attention. Recently examined records Faithfull (1865-1952), the Vice-Principal in King’s Archives reveal that Woolf of King’s who was in charge of the Ladies’ had much more first-hand experience of Department from 1894 to 1907. In her women’s higher education than either she or memoirs she describes how her biographers have acknowledged. They [w]omen and girls of all ages from show that her studies at King’s College seventeen to seventy came to the lectures, Ladies’ Department extended over nearly some only to do one course, once a week, five years, took her up to degree level in and some to several. Old ladies followed a some subjects and brought her into direct favourite Professor and came year after contact with some of the early reformers of year. […] Married women arrived gasping women’s higher education. for a 10 o’clock lecture, having snatched an The impression given by Woolf’s hour with difficulty from their household biographers and indeed by Woolf herself is duties at that time in the morning.

28 in Italian and art. Vanessa also studied Latin, and took classes German, Greek and Latin. Her sister were History (Continental and English), The subjects Virginia was enrolled for ‘German Grammar and Reading’ passes in ‘German (Elementary)’ and the Ladies’ Department, achieving exam spring of 1901 Virginia studied German at to me with the masters [sic] corrections’. I am going to have my first essay given back subjects for my history class, and on Tuesday ‘I have to write essays upon historical beginning her studies in October 1897: route, writing to her brother Thoby about to have gone at least some way down this needed to pass these exams. Virginia seems have been necessary to acquire the standard further reading and written study would level, although a considerable amount of were pitched for students studying at degree 1898’, and it is clear that Laughton’s lectures prescribed for the London BA Examination, in the Department’s syllabus as ‘Subjects 1558 to 1789. These topics are described Woolf attended covered the period from History at King’s, whose lectures in the years Nelson expert and Professor of Modern Laughton (1830-1915): naval historian, taught by Professor (later Sir) John Knox English and Continental History were History photographed for The room at King’s Hall,a epartment, Ladies’ Department, ‘house ofresidence’‘house their lessons by lectures. this or that subject, and glad to supplement hands of governesses unable to teach them their education, and others who were in the just left school and were anxious to continue And there were innumerable girls who had Between the autumn of 1899 and the Girls’ Realm in1899. for studentsat the own’: abed-sitting ‘ A room ofone’s . These

himself studied at King’s between 1848 and Dictionary of National Biography Leslie Stephen (the founding editor of the University of London. for the final pass BA examinations of the Peloponnesian War and Book II of Thucydides’ Warr included Sophocles’ ‘Lectures for Ladies’. Her studies with mover in the establishment of the College’s Greek scholars of his day and a prime Literature at King’s: one of the foremost Winter Warr, Professor of Classical Virginia took Greek with George Charles University of London degree. the matriculation (or entrance exam) of the class did include subjects prescribed for but the German Grammar and Reading were College rather than University exams, In November 1897 Virginia’s father From autumn 1897 to summer 1900 , which were prescribed Oedipus Coloneus History of the , who had

King’s College London Archives attended in1897-8. Laughton that Virginia Professor JohnKnox lectureshistory by syllabus showing the Ladies’ Department report 17 report 29

Oxford University Library report 17

1850) wrote to his friend George Warr: COR B IS My daughter is attending your Greek class. I hope you will allow me to give you one

hint. She has been in a very nervous state, © Bettmann/ wh[ich], though […] explicable, has given me some anxiety. I have allowed her to go to the class, for wh[ich] she was very anxious; because I think that it does her some good to have the occupation. […] I should be grateful if you would just remember this & let her off with light work.

Breakdown Leslie Stephen had reason to be concerned about his daughter’s health. In 1895, Virginia and her father following the death of her mother, she had Pater that term read Plato’s Ion, another Sir Leslie Stephen in 1900. Leslie Stephen suffered a serious breakdown, and her subject prescribed for Intermediate also studied at King’s illness was exacerbated by the death of her London BA exams. By the summer of (1848-50). half-sister, Stella, in July 1897. However 1900 Virginia was referring to Pater as his fear that the classes would be too much ‘perfectly delightful’ and describing herself for Virginia, and his dismissive focus on the as ‘feeling a little triumph over the Latin therapeutic nature of his daughter’s study, language as though I had stolen a march underestimates the vigour with which she on it – great rough beast that it is’. ‘As for pursued her studies and the pleasure she Greek’, she wrote to her cousin, ‘it is my derived from the intellectual stimulation. daily bread, and a keen delight to me’. In In 1898 Virginia wrote to her cousin: spring 1901 Pater was forced to resign from I find that my beloved Warr gives his class teaching at the Ladies’ Department Latin classes on a day which is impossible on health grounds, but Virginia’s private for me, so that I mean to go to Miss Paters studies with her were registered through Intermediate Latin class, on Tuesdays at King’s until the end of 1901. 2. You only do reading Virgil – with her – wont you come to that? I should think it was House of residence quite amusing. This was the beginning of Virginia’s studies The copies of the Department’s syllabuses with Clara Pater (1841-1910), whose and magazine (published two or three times teaching fostered her lifelong engagement a year between 1896 and 1914) which with Classical literature. The history tutor, are now in the King’s Archives provide Miss Craddock, in Woolf’s 1937 novel, descriptions of the activities and facilities The Years, is modelled in part on Pater, as there. In 1897 the Department opened is the figure of Julia Craye in her short story King’s Hall, a ‘house of residence’ for ‘Moments of Being: “Slater’s Pins Have students at 28 Kensington Square, run by No Points”’ (1928), where the erotic desire Lilian Faithfull’s sister Eveline, ‘late student and adoration Fanny Wilmot feels for her of Somerville College Oxford’. ‘The House teacher perhaps speaks of the attraction is arranged on the usual College principles. Virginia felt for the independent, educated Each student has one bed-sitting room women who mentored her early in her fitted up as a study, besides having the use life. Pater had tutored students in classics of general sitting-rooms’, the Department’s at Oxford; had been Vice-President of syllabus for 1899-1900 explained. Somerville College, Oxford, and was active There was a busy extra-curricular life, For more information in the promotion of higher education for including hockey, tennis, boating and on king’s and the women. The ‘Latin Intermediate Reading’ bicycling clubs and a gymnasium class, development of classes that Virginia and Vanessa took a Ladies’ Orchestra, a Browning Society women’s higher with her in 1898-9 studied Virgil’s Aeneid and a dramatic club which aimed to give education Books IX and X, and Book X of Livy’s performances once a term. A King’s College www.kcl.ac.uk/ History of Rome, which were ‘prescribed for Guild supported the Women’s Settlement college/history/ Intermediate BA, London 1899’. in Stratford in the East End. There was a women.html In autumn 1899 Virginia began studying literary and debating society in which ‘party Greek as well as Latin with Pater, and the spirit’ ran high, and in 1901 a society for Greek Intermediate class she took with scientific discussion was formed.

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Some features in the magazine hint at found in the Ladies’ Department’s discussions held at the Ladies’ Department communal spaces. that may have contributed to Virginia’s A 1898 excerpt from the Ladies’ later thinking and writing on women’s Department magazine reads as though it lives and work, such as a 1900 article on comes straight out of Woolf’s Three Guineas, ‘College Education for Women’ by Lilian which dwells on the economic disparity in Faithfull, who had been an undergraduate at the funding for men and women’s colleges: Somerville College, Oxford, and had taught An anonymous friend has given £15,000 at the women’s residential Royal Holloway towards the liquidation of the College debt

ondon A rchi v es College in Egham for five years before […] We in Kensington, are, however, just a she came to King’s. When she left King’s little envious. A quarter of that sum would in 1907 she followed Dorothea Beale as enable the Committee to make all sorts of Principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College. improvements in the Ladies’ Department,

ollege L K ing’s C ollege – perhaps even to found Scholarships, and Fernham College to supply the Library with some of the many Lilian Faithfull, books of reference of which we stand so Vice-Principal of King’s Faithfull’s discussions of the benefits of sorely in need. and head of the Ladies’ Department from women’s education to some extent prefigure For Woolf, however, such poverty was 1894 to 1907. Woolf’s portrait of Fernham College in A something of a blessing, and she wrote in Room of One’s Own. Faithfull describes how, Three Guineas: in the ‘resident colleges’, The aim of the new college, the cheap [t]he greater part of each day is spent by college, should be not to segregate and the student in her own room. Sometimes specialize, but to combine. It should explore girls prefer to work together, but as a rule the ways in which mind and body can be they seem to find that solitude conduces made to cooperate; discover what new to concentration, and that a self-imposed combinations made good wholes in human isolation is advisable. This solitude in a life […] People who love learning for itself corporate life is surely most valuable, and would gladly come there. the necessity for it is too often forgotten in King’s Ladies’ Department was certainly home life. […] The possession of a castle of diverse in its constituency and adventurous one’s own is, perhaps, the first keen joy of in its aims, and it is curious that Woolf did College life. not draw more explicitly on her experience Woolf was never in residence at the King’s there in her writing. Perhaps she preferred Ladies’ Department, and she had to wait to think of herself as an autodidact, and until her move to Bloomsbury for a real felt that her real learning had taken place ‘room of her own’, but she must have outside institutional walls. n enjoyed the freedom and female company

in my view

Dr Anna Snaith is education is housed Educational reform Reader in Twentieth- at my own institution for women was at century Literature has meant an the heart of Woolf’s in the Department enormous amount feminism and it of English at King’s. to me. Archival and is fascinating to She is currently autobiographical discover her links editing The Years records about this to King’s College, a for the Cambridge early part of Woolf’s pioneering institution For more information University Press life are sparse, and in this context. on King’s college edition of Woolf’s this new evidence london archives work. relating to her ‘Our findings are nearly five years of causing some www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/ ‘I have a long- study in Classics, excitement in the archives/ standing research History and German Woolf world. They interest in Virginia at King’s College will be published in Woolf. To discover Ladies’ Department Woolf Studies Annual that substantial new significantly alters in 2010.’ archival material our understanding relating to Woolf’s of her early life. jo mieszkowski

31 32 17 report (Spitting Images, 1987). as PrimeMinister Margaret Thatcher

Thatcher’s Britain or Britain’s Thatcher?

Richard Vinen, Professor of History, ponders on his recent book, published to critical acclaim in May 2009.

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f I could change one thing about Thatcher’s Britain (Simon and Schuster, £20) it would be the title. ‘Thatcher’s Britain’ has a Dave Spartish feel of left-wing polemic about it. More seriously, it suggests that Thatcher I was responsible for everything that happened in Britain during the 1980s, and that British politics had been a smooth mill pond of consensus and continuity until the brick of the 1979 election splashed into it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Margaret Thatcher’s election as leader of the Conservative party, in 1975, did not mark a sharp break. She became leader, almost by default, because no more major figure was willing to challenge Heath. Tory front benchers did not feel optimistic about their chances under her leadership. Indeed, they seemed to be on the defensive during the late 1970s. Far from seeking to pave the way for a radical government of the right, their aim was often to prevent the country from moving to the left. ‘Elective dictatorship’ sounds like a phrase coined by the centrist opponents of Thatcherism; vision of the British economy. They thought actually it was coined in the mid 1970s that its future lay in manufacturing industry by Lord Hailsham (later Thatcher’s Lord and they believed that certain kinds of state Chancellor) to express the need that he intervention, such as the encouragement saw for constitutional safeguards against of technical education or even the use of dramatic political change. Conservative subsidies to encourage ‘industries of the front benchers occasionally fantasised about future’, might be useful. This was the last roll privatisation, but their real concern was that of some very well-used dice. John Hoskyns, there might be more nationalisation. the most intelligent of Thatcher’s advisers, went home early on the night of the 1979 Stumbling into government election victory. He wrote in his diary: ‘I somehow could not get excited about the The Conservatives stumbled into victory celebrations because I knew that the government in 1979. The election result was chances of the new government achieving more of a defeat for Labour (undermined anything where so many had failed were by the strikes of the previous winter) than small.’ it was a victory for the Tories. Much of The fears that Hoskyns expressed were what the Thatcherites seemed to promise well-founded, and he himself soon resigned in 1979 fitted with the orthodox opinions as Margaret Thatcher’s adviser, convinced of the British establishment – the kind of that the government had failed. Margaret opinions that had Thatcher’s first two years in office saw a Young men in inner cities been expressed deep recession. Young men in inner cities rioted, industrialists in the Finniston rioted, industrialists grumbled and the report on the state of patrician ‘wets’ inside the Cabinet dripped grumbled and the patrician British engineering ostentatiously. As it turned out, however, ‘wets’ inside the Cabinet (commissioned by the adversity was the making of Thatcherism. Labour government The severity of the crisis lent an air of dripped ostentatiously. in 1977) or in the drama to everything that the government leaked dispatch of did. High unemployment – something March 1979 by Sir Nicholas Henderson that the government had not planned or (the British ambassador to Paris) on ‘British wanted – played into its hands. Throughout Decline: its Causes and Consequences’. the previous decade, ministers had been The Conservatives saw salvation in Europe: haunted by the symbolic significance that in the sense that they were keen advocates they attributed to an unemployment figure of British membership of the EEC and in that exceeded one million – ministers in the sense that they thought that Britain the Heath government had backed away ought to become more like France or West from its early free-market policies because Germany. They also had a technocratic they were frightened that unemployment

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important changes of the early 1980s were those that happened on the left. The Labour Party, under Michael Foot, changed more dramatically than the Conservative Party under Thatcher. Labour turned away from Europe, nuclear weapons and the Atlantic Alliance. This increased the sense

turrock/reportdigital.co.uk of polarisation in British politics. It helped Thatcher by reducing the electoral appeal

© J ohn S of Labour. Left-wing attacks often gave the Thatcherite thinking an appearance of coherence that it did not really possess – the term ‘Thatcherism’ owed much to an article that was published in Marxism Today in 1979. Similarly, Labour attacks on ‘monetarism’ gave the impression that the government had a novel ideology, though monetarism was, in fact, a pretty good description of the economic policy practised by Denis Healey, the Labour Chancellor, in the mid 1970s.

Margaret Thatcher and Invasion her ministers at the would reach this level. Under Thatcher, Conservative Party Conference in 1988. unemployment rose to two and then Another kind of adversity helped form three times this figure. This gave the Thatcherism. The Argentine invasion of highly misleading impression that the the Falklands, which looked like a disaster government knew what it was doing. One when it first happened, turned Thatcher might, echoing Lady Bracknell, say: ‘one into a victorious warrior queen. This broke million unemployed might have looked like much of the opposition to Thatcher in her incompetence; two million unemployed own party – all of those ex-Guards officers looked like a policy’. Recession improved on the Tory benches found it less easy to productivity – if only by exercising a brutal sneer at Thatcher after British forces retook cull of the less profitable companies – and the Falklands. It also helped give her a very unemployment began to scare some trade large majority in the 1983 election and, unionists into thinking that they would this time, the large majority was seen as prefer to cross picket lines than join dole a mandate for a new kind of policy. This queues. meant, in particular, privatisation: the most Thatcherism did not develop in a important of the Tory legacies because it political vacuum. In some ways, the most was the most difficult to reverse.

The Prime Minister meets personnel aboard HMS Antrim in January 1983 during her five-day visit to the Falkland Islands. p/getty images f p/getty v en nackstrand/a s

35 report 17 © J ohn H arris (reportdigital.co.uk)

Police charge picketing miners at Orgreave Compromise and tactics Thatcher’s particular coke works during ability, however, was to the miners’ strike in What did Thatcher herself bring to all Sheffield in June 1984. this? She was not an exponent of radical combine pragmatism in thinking for its own sake. Indeed, it is worth comparing her with Enoch Powell what she did with a radical (sometimes regarded as the godfather of tone in what she said. Thatcherism) precisely because Powell did take every idea to, and sometimes beyond, its logical extreme. Thatcher once Nationalised industries had been sold off. snapped at Powell: ‘In strict academic logic, Most astonishingly, Soviet soldiers in central the Honourable Gentleman is right; in Europe were packing their kitbags and going everything else, he is wrong.’ The remark home. At this giddy moment of apparent says much about both of them. Thatcher triumph, Thatcher’s ability to distinguish knew how to wait, to compromise and make between radical rhetoric and pragmatic tactical retreats. She backed down in her action deserted her. In particular, she began first confrontation with the miners because to talk tough on Europe. This was not one she knew that she might not win; she kept of the vague ‘value’ issues, such as restoring men like Peter Walker, who disagreed the death penalty, on which Thatcher could with much of her economic policy, in the pretend to be a rebel opponent of her own Cabinet. Thatcher’s particular ability, establishment Cabinet. Europe was central however, was to combine pragmatism in to economic policy. Turning against Europe what she did with a radical tone in what she turned Thatcher against some of her most said. She adopted a radical tone on issues, important ministers and split the Tory party such as crime and race, which had electoral for a generation. appeal but which did not necessarily bind her to particular policies when in Legacy government. What went wrong? In part Thatcher I am sceptical about drawing too many became a victim of her own success. By lessons for the present because my 1989 the government had achieved things whole aim has been to root the study of beyond the wildest dreams of 1979. The Thatcherism in its times and to stress that National Union of Mineworkers, which had it is not some political essence that can be haunted the nightmares of so many middle- poured on the politics of the twenty-first class people (not all of them Thatcherites or century. Thatcher’s legacy lives on in the even Tories) since 1974, was now broken. acceptance of free-market economics but,

36 quickly if the 30-year rule is reformed), will be released over the next 10 years (more Cabinet papers for the period after 1979 as a subject of historical research. The project, but it is just becoming interesting time. were advocated by Thatcher’s critics at the stations in the late 1980s. Both these policies expanded the number of coal fired power import controls during the early 1980s or been a good thing if Britain had introduced not asked themselves whether it would have say, Yorkshire miners), left-wingers have for left-wing university professors than for, context has been much more comfortable (and one should say that ‘defeat’ in this Thatcher. Wallowing in the luxury of defeat failure means blaming everything on Mrs seem to think that accounting for their own of her opponents. English left-wingers often been to produce complacency on the part say about Gay rights, for example. – look at the things that leading Tories now once have been described as the extreme left ways that suggest victories for what would in other respects, politics has changed in Thatcherism may be over as a political One curious legacy of Thatcher has David Torrance and morethan often thematic chapters, Thatcher legacy in aspect ofthe weighs upeach He is. it certainly and dispassionate be dispassionate”, says, ‘“designedto ‘Vinen’s he bookis’, Thatcherism.’ Mrs Thatcher or many tomes about bias present inso rather unpleasant and devoid ofthe lucid, balanced book: well-written, it as‘amarvellous May 2009, describing the Scotsman on7 Thatcher’s Britain in (2009), reviewed a ColdClimate Thatcherism in In Scotland’ – author of‘We in my view , should have used first time round. on ‘Britain’s Thatcher’ – the title that I teaching. In particular, I now teach a course opportunities in my own research and available on line. I aim to exploit these to make the most important documents and the Thatcher Foundation will continue defender ofthe “Thatcher asthe prefers to see consensus”, he the “post-war or rejection of hinge onacceptance accounts which sceptical about legacy. Correctly into herhistorical original, insights valuable, andoften being, hedoesadd Thatcher asahuman reader muchabout tell the doesn’t ‘ Prime Minister. the particularly of theCabinet,and bravery onthepart involved considerable inevitable, andoften in somecases either unavoidable, what happenedwas not concludesthat Although Vinen rest oftheUK.’ S harm, asmuchin did more goodthan that Thatcherism historical consensus confirming agrowing especially significant, sympathiser is or was, not anatural history. That Vinenis, nation’s modern premierships inthis the mostsuccessful, and arguably oneof most controversial, assessment ofthe andsensible concise therefore,is, a ‘Thatcher’s Britain 1970s”. late 1960sandearly consensus’ ofthe ‘progressive … against the post-war consensus cotland asinthe n S at LeaHallcolliery, during thestrike P For For academic/vinen.html depts/history/staff/ schools/humanities/ www.kcl.ac.uk/ resear o olice andpickets taffordshire. f

david rees pro f ur f ch essor essor v th er de report 17 report i t nen’s nen’s a i ls ls 37

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Diagnosing the Alzheimer’s brain Finding a way of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease through a biomarker, such as a brain scan or blood test, is coming closer, and opens up possibilities for arresting or even preventing the illness. Simon Lovestone, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s, reviews current progress.

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uge efforts are being made to improve also considerable problems in measuring services for people with dementia, with progression. At present at least, the notion early diagnosis being a key part of the of predicting who will get AD remains government’s strategy. This is for good something of a pipedream. These problems reason, because early detection and early could seriously hinder and potentially even H diagnosis are critically important for people derail the progress that is being made both with dementia and their families. Early in the delivery of services for patients and diagnosis allows families to plan, patients to in the research drive towards therapies that come to terms with their condition and both can treat the disease. At present diagnosis is to get early support and help from services. an entirely clinical activity and, when faced Advances are also very rapidly being made with a person in clinic with mild memory in the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease problems, the best a clinician can do is to (AD), with clinical trials now well advanced administer a cognitive test and then wait six for 10 drugs designed to prevent early months or a year to see if the condition gets pathological changes and another 50 or so worse. drugs in earlier phases of development. If this remains the only means of This is all very promising, and a far cry diagnosis, the drive to find interventions from the situation a decade or two ago when that can be delivered at an early stage in the AD was rarely identified early, and when disease might falter. Equally, clinical trials, the prospect of treatments designed to affect hugely expensive already, are seriously the disease itself was not on the agenda. hampered by the difficulties created by However, as both developments in services having a cognitive test as the only measure for patients and research move, together, of output. Patients learn how to do well towards early diagnosis and hopefully one in such memory tests and have good days day intervention, then the limitations of our and bad days, and this makes these tests current practice to diagnose and monitor problematic, even if they are the best we AD become ever more apparent. have. Some years ago we did a study which showed that some patients apparently Problems improve on the most commonly-used cognitive test in dementia over the course of Despite the progress that has been made a year by more than the known effects of the and the optimism about developments in best drugs for Alzheimer’s available today. research in this area, there remains one If the ‘wobble’ in the test is greater than the outstanding problem. We cannot diagnose expected effect of a drug, then this tells us Alzheimer’s disease early or accurately. we have a problem. Actually, it is worse than this, because there are not only difficulties in diagnosis but Biomarkers Because of this, one of the most exciting and fast-moving areas of research in Alzheimer’s A biomarker is any over the past few years has become the characteristic that can be search for biomarkers. A biomarker is any characteristic that can be measured that measured that reflects the reflects the disease process: it could be the disease process: it could be result of a brain scan, or of a biochemical test of spinal fluid or blood. A biomarker might the result of a brain scan, make diagnosis more accurate; it might help or of a biochemical test of in predicting which patients with memory problems are most likely to get Alzheimer’s, spinal fluid or blood. or it might be used to measure the extent or progression of the disease. Any or all of these would be useful in clinical trials. A biomarker for better diagnosis would mean more accurate inclusion of patients into trials. A biomarker for prediction might help to decide which patients would best respond to a given treatment – selecting sub-groups of patients in this way is known as stratification. Finally the ultimate target for biomarkers is a test that could measure

40 some people we label as controls are almost it is a very slowly progressive disorder and things we know for certain about AD is that experimental design, because one of the the standard approach, but it is a flawed to people without it (‘controls’). This is are comparing people with AD (‘cases’) the approach we have used is that we in very large scale clinical studies. more robust assays of these proteins for use Research Council to develop better and and in a study funded by the Medical are now working with commercial partners subsequently replicated by others, and we confirm this in a large study. This work was be different in AD. We then went on to in immune regulation, which seemed to proteins in blood, including factors involved mass spectrometry, we identified a series of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and eight years working on a blood test. Using scanned. So we have also spent the past for various reasons not all patients can be But brain scans are still expensive, and B accuracy of a clinician using cognitive tests. accuracy on brain scans: close to the typical brain. We can achieve 85 per cent or more analysis of regional differences in the find the best technique for the automated Europe, partnered with a large US study, to We have been working on a major trial in using PET (positron emission tomography). MRI, or molecular imaging of pathology hunt for biomarkers are brain scans – either devastating disease. process of finding a better treatment for this biomarkers would therefore accelerate the and potentially cheaper. Any of these trials more accurate, shorter, more powerful surrogate. Any of these would make clinical assessment. Such a biomarker is known as a for (or more likely complement) clinical disease progression and even substitute lood test However, one of the problems with The most advanced technologies in the ventricles (shown inbluethecentre). (intheareasupper left coloured orange) andinthe of thebrain, but especiallyat theupperrightand hascausedatrophyof thedisease inboth halves brain at thetop. Thedegenerative progression with Alzheimer’s withthefront disease, ofthe (MRI) scanofthebrain ofa65-year-old patient A coloured axialmagneticresonance imaging 2050 2019 2009 Latin Americaand W than previously estimated for three world regions: SouthA older peopleexpected to beaffected are now significantlyhigher studies inlow- of andmiddle-incomecountries.Theproportions 2005. driven Thechangeis mainlyby new information from recent previous figure for theprevalence ofglobal dementia, in reported These updated figures represent a10percentincrease over the by Professor PrinceoftheInstitute ofP Martin 2009 World Alzheimer’s prepared Report by aresearch team led then nearlydoubleagain to 115.4 millionin2050, according to the double inthenext 20years, from 35millionto 65.7 million,andwill The numberofpeoplewithdementiaandAlzheimer’s willnearly saysDementia willdouble,report estern Europe. sychiatry at King’s. = 5million sia, report 17 report 41

zephyr/science photo library report 17 c/iwc media c/iwc bb

Terry Pratchett: living with Alzheimer’s

Sir Terry Pratchett was filmed visiting the met other Alzheimer’s sufferers.P rofessor Institute of Psychiatry at King’s in his two- Lovestone described Sir Terry’s immense part documentary, Living with Alzheimer’s, courage in making the programme. ‘We were screened by BBC2 in February 2009. The best- delighted to have the opportunity to show him selling author has early-onset Alzheimer’s our pioneering research, and grateful to him which he is determined to tackle head-on. for highlighting the importance of continued In the two-part series Sir Terry confronted research into this devastating illness. Many of his uncertain future, and the camera followed our team are fans of his work and they were his progress as he explored cutting-edge thrilled to meet a potential recipient of the science and alternative treatments and benefits of their research.’ certainly suffering from Alzheimer’s – they We have shown just don’t know it yet. Including these people in our studies weakens the scientific convincingly that such power and the ability of the study to find biomarkers using blood tests changes that indicate the disease. or brain scans are possible. Protein up our studies. As with our earlier studies To overcome this problem we used a novel we are collaborating with a large diagnostics approach where we only examined people company to develop a test that might be with Alzheimer’s, but this time compared widely used in biomarker studies. those with more aggressive disease to those This work, and that of other groups with a more indolent development of it, doing similar studies around the world, and also compared people whose disease is advancing the case for biomarkers in was verified through imaging, with those Alzheimer’s disease. We have shown whose was not. Using these two approaches, convincingly that such biomarkers using we identified one protein common to both, blood tests or brain scans are possible, and and went on to show that in mouse models there is no doubt that when we have such of Alzheimer’s and in people this blood markers they will be very useful both in protein was a marker of pathology in the drug trials and in the clinic. Work such as brain. At the same time, two very large this brings one step closer the future we all collaborative studies (one of which we are hope for, when Alzheimer’s disease can be part of) have shown in over 30,000 people confidently identified before it has begun that the protein we have identified is also a to cause a real problem for the patient and genetic risk factor for dementia. This is very when treatments can be started that will exciting, and is powerful evidence backing slow or even halt its progression. n

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The John and Lucille van Geest Foundation has supported Professor Lovestone’s work on biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease over several years,

paseika/science photo li b rary photo paseika/science and in 2009 pledged more than £400,000 to support his programme to develop a blood test for the disease. The King’s Development Office is seeking to match this sum through other donations and so fully fund the programme. The Foundation was established by the late John van Geest cbe A computer graphic of a vertical slice through the brain of a patient suffering and his wife, the late Lucille from Alzheimer’s disease (on the left) compared with a normal brain (on the van Geest mbe, and has made right). The brain of the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) sufferer is considerably shrunken and more deeply folded, because of the degeneration and death of grants of more than £18 million nerve cells. The causes of AD are poorly understood but are associated with the formation of plaques of an insoluble protein (amyloid) in the brain and since 1977. Some 75 per cent of decreased levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. AD is incurable, but the the Foundation’s expenditure symptoms can be treated with drugs that raise acetylcholine levels. is applied to medical research, with the other 25 per cent being used for welfare purposes.

in my view

John CS Breitner interests, showing biomarkers of is Professor in excellence in virtually AD pathogenesis. the Department all his pursuits, Paradoxically, the of Psychiatry and be they clinical urgency of this quest Behavioral Sciences care, education has increased in the in the University of and training, or past year or two as Washington School research. His the value of central of Medicine, and research portfolio is biomarkers (that’s Director of the astonishing in itself – to say, cerebrospinal Geriatric Research from clinical trials to fluid markers) Education and molecular genetics has become more Clinical Center of to imaging consortia apparent. Similarly the VA Puget Sound to molecular useful markers Health Care System pathophysiology of from blood or saliva in Seattle, USA. He is Alzheimer’s disease would represent an Study Chair for the to the search for enormous advance. Alzheimer’s Disease biomarkers for As someone who For further details Anti-Inflammatory same. Using the attempts trials of of professor Prevention Trial latest in technological agents for prevention lovestone’s work (ADAPT). advances, he is of AD, I follow www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/ fearless in tackling Simon’s biomarker staff/profile/default. He describes Simon the thorniest work closely and aspx?go=10554 Lovestone as ‘a force problems posed hope earnestly for its of Nature’, adding: by this disease. success.’ ‘It’s rare indeed I’m thinking here to find someone particularly of his so diverse in his search for peripheral

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surfing e h

t data tsunami

Research that crosses traditional subject boundaries has a long history at King’s, and is now more vital than ever for solving problems of all kinds. Report interviewed Professor Ton Coolen to find out how maths can be used to harness the power of the current giant wave of data in biomedicine.

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In 1953, cracking the code of the DNA Report: How does a mathematician come to be working in cancer research? molecule took the combined expertise of a Ton Coolen As an applied mathematician, physicist who had migrated into chemistry I’ve always enjoyed working on problems of (Francis Crick); of a former ornithologist a biological nature – my first ever research who forsook birds for viruses and molecules paper was on photo-pigment kinetics in the retina. My connection with cancer (James Watson), and of two physicists research came later. For several years I’d who had turned to solving biological been involved as a volunteer in cancer- problems using X-ray crystallography related activities, representing patients and carers in a London cancer hospital. (Nobel Prize winner Maurice Wilkins, and About three years ago I met a number of Rosalind Franklin, both from King’s). This researchers in the biomedical sciences here crucial cross-disciplinary approach was at King’s and found that there were many encapsulated in the Biophysics Unit founded problems in post-genome cancer research where mathematical tools could make a at King’s by John Randall 60 years ago, and significant impact. I became involved in is a key feature of today’s Randall Division several biomedical research collaborations, of Cell & Molecular Biophysics at King’s. generated by a spontaneously emerging multi-disciplinary research team at King’s, One of the latest recruits to the Randall and found these to be extremely enjoyable, Division is Ton Coolen, Professor of rewarding and fruitful. Mathematics in King’s School of Physical R: Is it new for mathematicians to be Sciences & Engineering. Over the past involved in solving biological problems? two years a half-time post in the Randall TC Mathematicians have always worked on biological problems and have Division, funded by a fellowship from contributed in the past to, for example, the Engineering and Physical Sciences genetics; population dynamics and the Research Council (ESPRC), has evolution of eco-systems; the analysis of pattern formation (the shapes of biological enabled him to develop ways of applying entities); predictions of the spread of mathematical analyses to biological diseases; the analysis of cell metabolism, and problems such as understanding cellular the modelling of information processing in signalling systems in normal and cancerous the brain – and many more! What’s changed, however, is that in cells. Report asked him about his work. recent years we’ve experienced a ‘data tsunami’, comparable to the one that transformed physics in the late 16th and early 17th century. We now have unprecedented and continually increasing amounts of sophisticated (and expensive) high quality data, such as genetic information, high-resolution in-vivo images of cell processes and large-scale population data. Just as the availability of extensive and precise astronomical observations in the 16th century paved the way for Kepler and Newton to revolutionise physics, the present storm of data in biomedicine has the potential to revolutionise medicine, provided we manage to use these data effectively for understanding the complex biological systems from which they are extracted.

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R: King’s has recently won a £4.5 million grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to research how new cancer drugs could match medication more precisely to individual patients. How can maths contribute to this new targeted therapeutics in cancer research? TC Cells are extremely complex entities. Their behaviour is controlled by a large number of nested microscopic reaction processes, involving tens of thousands of different species of complicated molecules. The reason why even now the default treatment for most cancers is still chemotherapy – the equivalent of trying to repair a watch with a hammer – is that as yet we have only a limited understanding of how a cell controls its behaviour and its response to stimuli. Even having a complete list of a cell’s components would not be enough: if we want to have any chance of repairing the system when it’s misbehaving, we need to understand how these Representation of a cell’s functional components work together. Much of what organisation in the goes on inside a cell is still a black box. form of a so-called In cancer research, one important ‘interaction network’. role of mathematics is therefore to R: Why is effective collaboration between Each node (red) represents a protein predict quantitatively how the shapes different kinds of scientists now more species, and each and the reaction rules of its interacting essential than ever? line marks pairs that molecules give rise to a cell’s functioning TC The sheer complexity of post- have the ability to at a macroscopic scale. Upon testing such genome biomedicine prompts us to work attach to each other. Much information predictions experimentally, we can decide in multi-disciplinary teams. If one spends about the differences whether or not our present assumptions a vast sum on a sophisticated new house, between cell types regarding the contents of the black box are one would prefer to have experts carrying and their (anomalous) true, and refine our picture in stages. out each building task (as opposed to functioning can be the bricklayers doing also the electricity, obtained from a If successful, we can then also work our way mathematical analysis back, and predict in a more targeted manner roofing, plumbing, and tiling …). Similarly, of the topologies of which microscopic intervention(s) would in 21st century biomedical experimentation such networks. be needed to affect a desired change in the one needs molecular and cell biologists cell’s behaviour. (for their knowledge of cellular structures, A second important application area of and the execution of gene interventions); mathematics is the detection of patterns and structural biologists and bio-informaticians relationships between variables that can be (to advise on which molecules to target for measured in patients (for example, genetic measurement); physicists and engineers information, concentrations of specific (for building imaging and data collection proteins), and the likely progression of their equipment); computer scientists (for fast disease and their response to treatment. The data collection and image processing), rationale is that even if we don’t yet know in and mathematicians (for statistical detail the contents of the black box, we can data analysis). The interpretation of still hunt for regularities between the input the results of experiments, in terms of For further details and the output of the box. If we can extract what they tell us about the processes of professor coolen’s such patterns reliably, we can target medical underlying our observations, again requires research interventions to those patients who are most biologists, physicists, mathematicians www.mth.kcl. likely to benefit from them (and prevent and bio-informaticians. It’s impossible ac.uk/~tcoolen/ many others from undergoing treatments for anyone to be an expert in all these index.html that reduce their quality of life without fields simultaneously, so without effective significant benefit). collaboration between different kinds of scientists the work can’t be done at the standard required, and no serious progress will be made.

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R: Are there other examples of the way this this limited time is under pressure from is happening in research at King’s? increasing bureaucracy. Secondly, we see TC There are very effective multi- no benefit in training people who know a disciplinary collaborations here, because the bit of everything but have no area in which College has the advantage of simultaneous they are specialists; we need our young strength in biomedicine and in the researchers to be experts in their own fields, mathematical and natural sciences, as well but want them to work efficiently with as access to vast amounts of biomedical experts from other fields. So we have chosen data via its clinical partners. One example to extend the PhD training period of each is the EPSRC-funded Optical Proteomics participating student by six months, and Consortium, which involves (bio) to invest this extra time in a programme physicists, medics, bio-informaticians and of lectures, seminars and apprenticeships. mathematicians. There are similar multi- The lectures and seminars give overviews disciplinary collaborations and networks of disciplines of relevance in biomedical in, for instance, medical imaging, and in research, but presented in a way that makes basic cellular and molecular biology, often them accessible to all. The apprenticeships working in association with teams from are three-month placements that take the other UK universities. students to departments other than their own, where they participate at the work- R: Tell us about the new PhD programme in floor level in research, carrying out small Systems Biomedicine. projects and/or ‘shadowing’ local PhD TC The programme was created to prepare a new generation of scientists for working on biomedical problems in multi-disciplinary The opportunity for these teams. We’d like our new researchers to be comfortable with such teams, to have a students to climb over basic awareness of the methods and styles of the fences that surround disciplines other than their own, and to form the traditional disciplines informal multidisciplinary networks of peers at an early stage in their careers. enriches their training by Our guiding principle was that we allowing them to find out shouldn’t take away any time from the PhD candidates’ training in their primary how adjoining disciplines disciplines. In the UK the time available work and think. for doing a PhD is often modest compared to that available overseas, and even

This image shows the result of using mathematical methods to extract predictive patterns from a large number of tumour cell measurements (for example, the concentration profiles of specific proteins, and cell shape information). At the end of the process each tumour is mapped to a point in this plane, and one looks for regions that consistently correspond to either a good (blue) or poor (red) response to a specific treatment, as an aid to individualising cancer medicine.

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Degree Distribution Degree-Degree Correlations students. Computer scientists get a taste of Degree distribution The structure of a biomedical experiments, experimentalists network (a collection get a taste of manipulating mathematical ● 40 of nodes and links 2.0 between them) can equations, and so on. 35 ● be characterised

Last year we had eight PhD students −2 ● 30 by the statistics of 1.5 ● following the programme, spanning a broad log(P(k)) its ‘degrees’, ie the spectrum of topics from four different ● 25 number of partners ● ● k` −4 ● of each node. One 1.0 Schools of the College (Biomedical & ● 20

● can, for instance, plot Health Sciences, Medicine, Physical ● ● 15 how many nodes have Sciences & Engineering and the Institute ● ● ● ● a given number of −6 0.5 ● ● ● 10 of Psychiatry). We have a similar number ●● ● partners (left above). ● ● ●● ● this year. The opportunity for these students 5 Similarly one can ●● ●●● ●●●●● ●●●●● ● show in a colour plot

to climb over the fences that surround the −8 1 0.0 the extent to which 0 1 2 3 4 1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 traditional disciplines enriches their training partner preferences by allowing them to find out how adjoining log(k) of nodes dependk disciplines work andDegree think. Student Distribution Degree-degreeDegree-Degree correlationsCorrelations on their respective feedback indicates that our candidates degrees (left below). Do high-degree nodes ● 40 2.0 value and enjoy this experience, and it will tend to be connected undoubtedly benefit the effectiveness of 35 to low degree nodes? ● the College’s multi-disciplinary−2 biomedical Or do they perhaps ● 30 1.5 ● prefer linking to other research teamslog(P(k) in) the future. n ● 25 high-degree nodes? ● The answers to such ● k` −4 ● 20 1.0 ● questions provide ● ● valuable information ● 15 ● ● on the organisation

● ● −6 0.5 ● ● ● 10 principles behind ●● ● networks. ● ● ●● ● 5

●● ●●● ●●●●● ●●●●● ●

−8 1 0.0 0 1 2 3 4 1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

log(k) k

in my view

Hanna Milewicz is one perspective, on bioinformatical topic because on the new PhD because there is analyses and wet-lab I’m interested in programme a communication experiments, we’ve leukaemia research in Systems barrier between been able to generate and at the same time Biomedicine. different disciplines, protein interaction I wanted to work in a Her PhD topic but this PhD allows networks of T cells. multi-disciplinary way. concerns scientists from many In my research, I’m understanding traditional disciplines aiming to understand My research involves how T cell proteins to collaborate. how those proteins not only carrying out interact with each interact with each traditional wet-lab other when entering ‘The T cells in the other and what experiments but the cell cycle. She blood (a specific functional role they also the opportunity took her first degree kind of white blood have. to co-operate with in biopharmaceutical cell) are typically bio-informaticians, technology at the in a ‘resting’ state, ‘In co-operation physicists and University of Applied but when triggered with the Randall medical scientists. Sciences at Giessen, by a stimulus such Division, at King’s, This gives me the Germany. as a pathogen they where I’m currently chance not only become activated being trained in to understand, ‘This novel and unique and enter the cell fluorescence lifetime for instance, the multi-disciplinary cycle. During this imaging microscopy, mechanism natural biomedicine PhD activation hundreds I’m planning to killer cells are using programme is the of proteins interact develop an optical to kill a target cell, main reason I chose with each other – a imaging method to but also how a laser King’s’, she says. process which visualise specific or a multiphoton ‘Scientists tend to is complicated protein interactions microscope works.’ look at research and poorly in T cells in real time. understood. Based I chose this research

jo mieszkowski projects only from

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Based in the Franklin- The Centre’s dental Wilkins building of skills training room King’s Waterloo is equipped with 27 Campus, the new dental workstations, £2.2 million London including state-of- Dental Education the-art ‘phantom Centre (LonDEC) heads’, and it also provides highly offers nine operating sophisticated microscopes of the equipment and a kind required for high congenial environment quality dentistry. for training London dental professionals and for developing Photography by samuel leadership skills in kirby, philip sayer and dentistry. brian lloyd duckett.

50 report 17 mastering dentistry The opening of LonDEC at King’s Waterloo Campus offers dentists world-class facilities for continuing professional education in the heart of London.

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A ‘model’ patient who can be programmed to choke, panic and have a heart attack is one of the high spec facilities available for training dental professionals at LonDEC. The realistic mannequin, named ‘iStan’, is part of a theatre-style, fully equipped dental surgery in which dental professionals can practise their skills and learn how to cope with emergency situations. Also available for training is a full suite of the facilities for infection control that are required in modern surgeries, and the opportunity for dentists and dental team members to learn together about the key areas of decontamination and infection control which can improve patient safety.

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As well as being the training base for some of the master’s degree programmes run by the King’s Dental Institute, LonDEC’s facilities for lectures and hands-on training are also available for hire. Contact Bill Sharpling, Director, LonDEC at bill.sharpling@ kcl.ac.uk

LonDEC is a joint enterprise between King’s and the NHS London Deanery, which is responsible for the management and delivery of postgraduate education and professional development for all London’s doctors and dentists up to consultant level. LonDEC was opened in July by Health Minister Ann Keen MP: pictured left, with Professor Nairn Wilson, Dean and Head of the Dental Institute and Deputy Vice-Principal (Health), and Liz Jones, Dean of Postgraduate Dentistry at the NHS London Deanery.

in my view

Dr Kyle Hogg, a ‘LonDEC provides an dental practitioner ideal environment for from Michigan both hands-on and USA and faculty didactic education’, member of the he says. ‘The Centre University of Florida integrates cutting College of Dentistry, edge technology, For further details Jacksonville, is excellent equipment, about londec also a second-year and a dedicated staff www.kcl.ac.uk/ master’s degree to really enhance your schools/dentistry/ student on the King’s learning experience. about/org/centres/ blended learning Having qualified in the londec/ programme, studying United States, I can towards a Master’s say that LonDEC is in Clinical Dentistry in a facility superior to Fixed and Removable any other that I have Prosthodontics. encountered.’

53 report 17 Student diary2008-9 Emily Rowe, Vice-President, Academic Affairs, at King’s College London Students’ Union (KCLSU), describes the year from the student point of view.

he year got off with a bang Trophies as usual with the annual T Welcome Weeks, the As the year went on, highlight of which was our students showed tremendous first ever Welcome Fair to dedication to their chosen be held off-site. Over the groups. Trophies and two days of the fair, held in a winners among the sports spacious marquee next door teams included King’s to Waterloo Campus, more Rugby winning Varsity than 6,000 new students (the annual grudge match got a taste of all that was on against University College offer through KCLSU. The London) for the first time in breadth of student activity five years. Other groups have at King’s goes from strength been recognised nationally. to strength, and there are KCL SIFE (Students in Free now over 200 different sports Enterprise) won the SIFE clubs, societies, volunteering national championships for and campaigning groups for their work in developing students to join, all supported sustainable projects which by KCLSU. create economic opportunity for others, while the Afro- Caribbean Society won the National Union of Students’ Black Students Campaign of the Year award ahead of stiff competition from many other universities. ‘KCL Marrow’ were also recognised by the Anthony Nolan Trust for their outstanding contribution to the Trust’s life-saving work. Students at King’s are clearly some of the most altruistic around: in addition to their studies, they spent more than 52,000 hours volunteering in their spare time, which is twice the national average. Working in conjunction with various student activity trophies and groups, KCLSU organised winners among a number of education and awareness campaigns the sports teams… for students, highlighting

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other campaigns included ‘Smashed’ around alcohol awareness… key issues that affect A number of partnerships young people. ‘Play Safe’ with national charities such as was supported by KCL Sense (supporting Deafblind Sexpression, a student group people), the British Heart working for better sexual Foundation, and Crisis (for health education. As part of single homeless people) ‘Get Well Now’ a campaign have also been established. to highlight the benefits of These links have opened physical activity, healthy up opportunities – such eating and stress reduction, as running the London the martial arts groups opened Marathon or cycling from up their training sessions to Vietnam to Cambodia – to all students. Other campaigns students who want to set included ‘Smashed’ around themselves an adventurous alcohol awareness and ‘Get challenge whilst fundraising Ahead’, encouraging students for these important causes. to develop soft skills in order belle mellor by illustrations to aid their careers.

Adventure KCLSU has also been able to launch a number of new initiatives this year to cater for the ever- diversifying interests of students. The recreational sports programme was a huge success, with over 300 students competing in the King of King’s five-a-side football tournament – a great platform to build on further over the coming year.

cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia…

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eveloping online services Finally, after a year-long an increasing need for students has been a key process, an entirely new for students to learn Dtheme for KCLSU this year. KCLSU website (www.kclsu. In September the KCLSU org) was launched to much financial planning Student Calculator (www. acclaim in July. The new skills… kclsu.org/calculator) was website allows students launched in response to an to access key information increasing need for students to much more easily as well as learn financial planning skills. giving them the ability to add The calculator is an innovative their own content. All these Centenary tool that interactively provides projects were made possible proactive advice for users on thanks to funding from the 2008-9 has been our managing both their money King’s College London centenary year, and with and time whilst studying. Annual Fund and ‘An evening various celebration activities Just a month later KCLSU with Rory Bremner’: an being held throughout the was the first students’ union event organised by the King’s year, it has been fantastic in the country to introduce Development & Alumni to re-connect with many epetitioning (www.kclsu.org/ Office in October 2007. ex-students who have been epetitions), allowing any involved with the Union over King’s student to petition the years. A personal highlight KCLSU or the College on for me was the black tie dinner any issue. and charity auction (which Nearly 2,000 students have raised over £2,000 for the signed online petitions over our centenary KCLSU Sports Volunteering the course of the year on issues year Fund) held in the Great Hall ranging from bicycle rack at Lincoln’s Inn. With over space to changes to teaching 30 past KCLSU executive in the School of Law. officers and more than 100 current students in attendance, it was a chance to reminisce about times gone by, celebrate all that KCLSU has achieved and hear how it continues to provide support for students at King’s. n

56 report 17 Facts & acts & figures figures F olicy sychiatry B iomedical & H ealth Sciences D ental Institute E nglish L anguage Centre L aw M edicine P hysical Sciences & E ngineering 14.3% Arts & H umanities 13.1% 5% 0.4% 4.7% 0.8% Institute of P King’s L earning Institute 10.8% 12.9% 11.2% Nursing & M idwifery 9.7% 16.9% Social Science & P ublic % % % % % % 7% 1.0% 13 .7 5.4% 14.5 4.2% 10.2 13.5 11 .7 9. 16 .1

students in schools of study Headcount on 1 December 2008

School Campus Number of students Undergraduate Graduate Total Taught research Arts & Humanities Strand 2,171 542 318 3,031 Biomedical & Health Sciences Guy’s, Waterloo 2,203 313 256 2,772 Dental Institute Guy’s, Denmark Hill, Strand, St Thomas’ 842 155 68 1,065 English Language Centre strand 83 83 Institute of Psychiatry Denmark Hill 94 549 355 998 King’s Learning Institute Waterloo 41 131 172 Law Strand 1,143 1,075 67 2,285 Medicine Guy’s, Denmark Hill, St Thomas’ 2,177 292 262 2,731 Nursing & Midwifery Waterloo 2,018 284 59 2,361 Physical Sciences & Engineering strand 1,577 328 154 2,059 Social Science & Public Policy strand, Waterloo 1,165 1,964 440 3,569 Total graduate students 7,612 Grand total 13,514 5,633 1,979 21,126

57 report 17 acts & figures F

59.7% 40.3% e at start o f 2008-9 start g e at a student numbers by gender 2008-9 gender Undergraduate Graduate Taught Research Total Female 8,403 3,157 1,046 12,606 Male 5,111 2,476 933 8,520 total 13,514 5,633 1,979 21,126

student numbers by age 2008-9 age Undergraduate Graduate Taught Research Total 46.7% 20 and under 9,844 30 9,874

32.2% 21-29 2,376 3,292 1,132 6,800

13% 30-39 765 1,444 537 2,746

6.1% 40-49 393 692 203 1,288

1.8% 50 and over 106 172 107 385

0.2% unknown 30 3 33 total 13,514 5,633 1,979 21,126

58 report 17 acts & figures 9 F

Nine people from King’s and its constituent Academic & research staff Other staff institutions have become 2,874 2,841 Nobel laureates staff numbers 2008-9 on 10 October 2008 (excluding senior students, honorary and occasional staff), King’s had a total of 5,715 staff.

student domicile % United Kingdom 15,708 74.3 European Union 2,174 10.3 Other countries 3,244 15.4 total 21,126 King’s students in students’ country of domicile 2008-9 College residences 2,605

King’s students in University of London intercollegiate residences 729

King’s students 1 in 4 students in Liberty Living accommodation at King’s is from 59 outside the UK students in halls of residence On 1 December 2008, a total of 3,393 King’s students were in halls of residence.

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F inances Finances

income & expenditure for the year ended 31 July 2008 and the year ended 31 July 2009.

In 2009 King’s received a financial credit rating of ‘AA’ from Standard & Poor’s.

2008-9 2007-8 £000 £000 income Funding Council grants 150,207 144,970 Tuition fees and education contracts 100,480 84,594 Research grants and contracts 134,955 118,865 Other operating income 88,197 88,388 Endowment income and interest receivable 11,783 11,054 Total income 485,622 447,871

expenditure Staff costs 303,084 275,665 Depreciation 21,631 21,377 Other operating expenses 147,503 136,511 Interest payable 12,665 10,866 Total expenditure 484,883 444,419

Surplus on ordinary activities 739 3,452 Taxation (5) (7) Surplus on ordinary activities after taxation 734 3,445 and before exceptional items Surplus on disposal of property – 5,717 surplus after depreciation of assets at cost, 734 9,162 disposal of property and tax

60 report 17 Acknowledgements We are grateful to all those who have generously supported the College over

the last academic year. Support from individuals, grant-making trusts and other Acknowledgements organisations has opened up new areas for clinical and academic research, established scholarship opportunities for our students, and created new academic posts and better facilities. We thank all our supporters (including those who prefer to remain anonymous) who are helping us to fulfil our vision for the College. In particular, we warmly acknowledge the support of the following:

Donations ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc ACE Study Tours buck trend Alzheimer’s Research Trust Alzheimer’s Society Donations from alumni, staff Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association and friends to the College’s Arthritis Research Campaign Annual Fund showed record Association for International Cancer Research growth in the year from August Asthma UK 2008. The Fund enables alumni The Atkin Foundation and friends to recall their own Atlantic Philanthropies student days and renew their Autism Speaks An alumni reunion at the Beit Memorial Fellowships for Medical Research ties with their department Strand Campus. James Black Foundation or School by making annual Mr John Black gifts that provide teaching EE Blackwell Trust innovations, extra-curricular activities and scholarships for Breakthrough Breast Cancer students. This year the Fund made grants and awards of over Breast Cancer Campaign £325,000, including one award to the College’s student-run Bristol-Myers Squibb Anatomical Society for seminars, career events and student- British Heart Foundation led learning activities, and support for the International Student British Lung Foundation Network website which will offer information and a supportive British Skin Foundation Mr and Mrs John Burton presence for overseas students on a wide range of issues and Cancer Research UK activities. Carnegie Corporation of New York Clifford Chance LLP Clore Duffield Foundation John S Cohen Foundation African Leadership Mr Stephen Conway Mr Dennis Cope Centre CORE – The Digestive Disorders Foundation Department of Health With the support of the Diabetes Foundation Carnegie Corporation of New Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation York and the Foundation Open Diabetes UK Society Institute (Zug), King’s Dimbleby Cancer Care has established an African The Dinwoodie Settlement Leadership Centre which Mr Bill Dodwell European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes Dr ’Funmi Olonisakin, Director will work closely with African partners and institutions Esmée Fairbairn Foundation of the Conflict, Security & Foundation for Allergy Information & Research Development Group at King’s, to create a new generation Fight for Sight which includes the African of young, talented African Friends of Guy’s Hospital Leadership Centre, with General leaders who will bring about Friends of King’s College London (Canada) Martin Luther Agwai, Force transformative and positive Commander of the UN African Friends of King’s College London (USA) Union Mission in Darfur, at change in the continent. T.F.C. Frost Charitable Trust King’s in September 2008. Through a training and Sir Ian Gainsford FKC mentoring programme, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Centre will seek home-grown The John & Lucille van Geest Foundation solutions to African issues, promote long-term efforts to build Mr Paul Getty III Douglas Glanfield Memorial Trust capacity in peace, security and development and provide GlaxoSmithKline Research & Development Ltd a forum for sharing ideas and a platform for transferring Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity knowledge. Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital Kidney Patients’ Association Mrs Elizabeth Hart The Heaton-Ellis Trust

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Heritage Lottery Fund Parkinson’s Christine Hewson Memorial Foundation disease and The late Revd Canon Colin Hickling neurodegeneration High Q Foundation The late Mr Raphael Honnor research Dr Robert Howes International Consortium on Anti-Virals Research at the College International Spinal Research Trust

oto L ibrary gj lp / Sc ien c e Ph oto into Parkinson’s and other Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation Acknowledgements neurodegenerative diseases Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International is extremely broad, and Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund CT scan of the brain of a patient aims to address all aspects Kidney Research UK suffering from Parkinson’s of alleviating the effects of King’s College Hospital Charity disease. these destructive conditions. King’s College London Hong Kong Foundation It includes developing an King’s Medical Research Trust understanding of disease Alicia Koplowitz Foundation Mr Willie Kwan FKC & Mrs Irene Kwan neuropathology using models and imaging in human patients Mr Him Lee and the clinical application of cutting-edge science techniques Leukaemia Research Fund such as the use of neural stem cells to repair damaged brain The A G Leventis Foundation tissue. The support received from Mrs Lily Safra and The Leverhulme Trust Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation for Parkinson’s Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine disease and neuroscience research at King’s has enabled a Dr Zudong Liu range of these projects to be undertaken. In recognition of this The London Law Trust support, annual lectures are held at the College to showcase John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation innovative Parkinson’s research from around the world. Macmillan Cancer Support Mrs Elizabeth Madgen The Andrew W Mellon Foundation Motor Neurone Disease Association Moulton Charitable Trust Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Chair in Natural Medicine Research UK Robotic Surgery Stavros Niarchos Foundation Nuffield Foundation Medical robotics is a Oak Foundation specialism of the Centre for Foundation Open Society Institute (Zug) Mechatronics & Manufacturing Parkinson’s Disease Society Systems at King’s. The focus The Peltz Trust Pfizer Inc, Global Research and Development of the Centre’s research is The late Mrs Eunice Phillips LIBRARY CK / S C IEN E P H OTO GH ELU on the creation and study of Thomas Pocklington Trust miniaturised force sensors A surgeon performing a brain Priory Group Limited AL G OET operation using a robotic for robot-assisted minimally Psychiatry Research Trust C PAS microscope system. invasive surgery, and the Research Autism identification of the mechanical Research into Ageing properties of soft tissue – Dr Maurice Rothschild principally for tumour detection. The aim is to assist surgeons The Jeremy and John Sacher Charitable Trust performing keyhole surgery and provide them with tactile Mrs Lily Safra FKC The Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation feedback from the operating site inside the patient’s body. St Mark’s Hospital Foundation The support received from John Black, Stephen Conway, Cicely Saunders International Dennis Cope and Sir Harry Solomon has enabled the Dr Angela Scott technology to be applied in surgery to remove tumours Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust of the prostate. Santander Society for Mucopolysacchardide Diseases Sir Harry Solomon South London and Maudsley Charitable Funds Sir Halley Stewart Trust Stroke Association Mr Henry Sweetbaum Charles Sykes Memorial Fund for Epilepsy Research Tate & Lyle plc John Templeton Foundation Tommy’s The Baby Charity Tubney Charitable Trust The Vandervell Foundation Wellchild Wellcome Trust The Garfield Weston Foundation Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust The Wolfson Foundation Mr Dieter Yih FKC