Overview

The Head of College Scholars’ List Scheme was founded in 2012 by Prof. Anna Dominiczak, Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences. The 'Scholars’ List' Scheme is aimed at recognizing outstanding undergraduate Level 2 and Level 3 scholars from across all areas of the College including medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine and life sciences (see 'History/Background' tab).  Students who are placed in the top 10% of their class in assessments in the previous year and who take an active part in the associated extracurricular scheme will be added to the Scholars List, an achievement that will be noted on their Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR).

The Scholars’ List Scheme is intended as an extracurricular vehicle to foster the next generation of biomedical researchers. It is intended to stimulate awareness of modern biomedical research and to expose students to the reality, excitement and challenge of research. All students placing in the top 10% of their cohort in Level 1 and Level 2 will be invited to take part in a number of collective and small group events aimed at exposing them to cutting edge biomedical research underway at the University of Glasgow (see 'Events' tab).

A cornerstone of modern biomedical research is its interdisciplinary nature: methods, approaches, collaborators are chosen on the basis of their appropriateness to address the question at hand, and are not restricted by narrow or even broad disciplinary constraints.  Indeed, the broad and integrated nature of the College reflects the importance of interdisciplinarity in modern research. To help foster an interdisciplinary mindset in the next generation of researchers, the Scholars List Scheme will involve mixing groups of students from across the College and exposing them to the breath of research from across the College (see 'Recent Research Highlights' tab).

Finally, some funds have been put aside to support students undertaking short Summer Research placements. The number of funded placements will be limited. Students and mentors will have the opportunity to apply and compete for placements which will be allocated on the basis of merit and strength of proposal (see 'Events' tab).

Recent Research Highlights from Across MVLS

Nutritionally balanced pizza

Professor Mike Lean, Chair of Nutrition in the School of Medicine, has joined forces with Donnie MacLean, founder and managing director of Eat Balanced food company, to create what they believe is the world's first nutritionally-balanced pizza. The project between Professor Lean, Dr Emilie Combet-Aspray and Mr MacLean was supported by a £5,000 'First Step Award' from the University of Glasgow, including £2,000 from the Scottish Government. The University's £2.3 million First Step Award Scheme is aimed at stimulating academic and industrial engagement. Professor Mike Lean and Donnie Maclean, founder and managing director of food company Eat Balanced, created the pizza after analyzing existing pizzas and finding them to be nutritionally lacking. Further information can be found on the University website.

 
BBSRC funds Food Security research at Glasgow

Most species on earth are insects, so it is inevitable that they impinge on food security and animal health in both positive and negative ways. Two recent grants from the BBSRC allow researchers in the Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology to identify targets for new, more selective and thus ‘greener’ insecticides.

Although humans run their guts at a highly acidic pH, several important orders of insect – notably the biting flies and caterpillar crop pests – have evolved the exact opposite strategy, and their guts can exceed pH 12 (the same as oven cleaner!). For one of the grants, Professors Julian Dow & Shireen Davies, with Dr Pawel Herzyk, will identify the mechanism that underlies this remarkable piece of biology, and to screen for compounds that target the process. If successful, the work could lead to insecticides that target major agricultural pests or vectors of animal and human disease, while sparing other insects – notably bees, which are vital pollinators around the world.
 
Julian Dow explains “We have a dual strategy. One strand is to genetically target the major transport processes we already know about, to find out if any of them play a role in alkalinisation. The other strategy is to use the University’s excellent Polyomics facility to profile gene expression in the alkaline regions of fruit flies, caterpillars and mosquitoes. This comparative approach will identify genes that are common to the high pH region in all species. This may provide additional, unexpected leads in our search for mechanism, and thus for new targets.”
 
Davies and Dow have also been awarded a prestigious three-year BBSRC UK-Japan Partnering Award, ‘Systems Approaches to Food Security’, linked with a Japan Science and Technology Agency grant awarded to their research partner, Professor Shoichiro Kurata. Professor Kurata is an internationally- renowned Drosophila immune biologist, at Tohoku University, Japan and this exciting collaboration will allow development of ‘green insecticides’ for insect crop pest species from natural microbial compounds. The researchers will also uncover new modes of action for novel insecticidal compounds via metabolomics, which as in the ‘high pH’ award, will be carried out at Glasgow Polyomics facility. Shireen Davies explains “It’s exciting to be able to exploit our fundamental research in this way, and the technologies available in Glasgow are highly enabling for this work.”
 

Beatson Pebble Appeal reaches funding milestone

Cancer research in the West of Scotland has been given a major boost with the announcement that the Beatson Pebble Appeal has reached its £10m funding goal. The Appeal, launched in 2008, is raising money to support the development of new cancer treatments. The money raised is being used to fully fund the construction of the Beatson Translational Research Centre in Garscube, Glasgow. However, the success of the campaign to date has encouraged Appeal staff to continue fundraising to help pay for new equipment for the centre along with infrastructure and staffing costs so that the centre can achieve its ambitious goals.

The centre, which is due to open in spring 2013, will provide a suite of state-of-the-art facilities for researchers working to develop new and more targeted treatments for a wide range of common types of the disease including breast, prostate, pancreatic and ovarian cancers. It is hoped that more effective treatments can be created through the development of drugs specifically tailored to individual patients’ requirements and accelerating implementation in the clinic. This personalised medicine approach aims to provide the right treatment, to the right patient, at the right time, for the right cost and with the right outcome.
 
The development of the Centre is a collaboration between the University of Glasgow, the Beatson Institute, Cancer Research UK and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The Centre will be headed by Director Professor Andrew Biankin, who will also take up the role of Chair of Surgery early next year. Further information is available on the University website. For more information on the Beatson Pebble Appeal, visit www.beatsonpebbleappeal.org
 

Green light for next stage of stem cell stroke trial

The world’s first clinical safety trial of a human neural stem cell therapy for stroke patients has been given the go-ahead to progress to its next stage. The PISCES trial is being conducted at the Southern General Hospital in partnership with pharmaceutical company ReNeuron. The Phase I trial is looking at the safety of injecting expanded neural stem cells, in increasing doses, into the brains of a total of 12 patients left disabled by an ischaemic stroke, the most common form of the condition, and monitoring them over a period of two years.

The PISCES study is the world’s first fully-regulated clinical trial of a neural stem cell therapy for disabled stroke patients. Stroke is the third largest cause of death and the single largest cause of adult disability in the developed world. The trial is being conducted at the Institute of Neurological Sciences, Southern General Hospital, Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board, led by Prof Keith Muir, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology. Further information can be found on the University website.
 

New research examines health and wellbeing outcomes from Glasgow’s East End regeneration

A team from the College has embarked on research to examine the impact that the 2014 Commonwealth Games and related regeneration will have on the east end of the city. Unprecedented levels of investment to develop infrastructure for the Games is being made, alongside investment in improved housing, neighbourhoods and communities in Bridgeton, Calton, Camlachie, Dalmarnock, Gallowgate and Parkhead.

Researchers from the Centre for Population Health and the Medical Research Council – who form the collaborative partnership GoWell – will investigate what benefits these changes might offer to the health and quality of life of local people. They will also consider whether the Games will stimulate interest in sport and leisure activities in the area.

Professor Ade Kearns, Principal Investigator on the project and Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow said: “The current investment and development activity in the East End of Glasgow represents the best opportunity since the 1970s to change the lives of some of the city’s most disadvantaged communities. It is important that we find out how, and to what extent, the East End residents themselves can gain from what is happening.” The University web pages have further information.
 

Glasgow secures new experimental research centre for arthritis

The University of Glasgow has been named as an Arthritis Research UK (ARUK) Experimental Arthritis Treatment Centre – the first in Scotland. The Centre will recruit local patients to test new and existing drugs and to find new approaches that can predict which treatment works best in individuals. With joint start-up funding of £225,000 over three years from medical research charity Arthritis Research UK and the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office, the centre aims to take forward the recent advances in the treatments available for people with arthritis.

Principal investigator Professor Iain McInnes said: “Glasgow has a long tradition of excellence in the investigation of arthritis treatments, and we’re delighted that the Scottish government has decided to work together with a major medical research charity for the good of Scottish patients. We want to use our expertise to answer some important questions: to discover how established medicines work and allow us to use them even more effectively; and to find out why people with arthritis are more disposed to developing heart attacks and strokes, and to becoming depressed. Above all we want to try and understand why arthritis happens in the first place.”

Rheumatoid arthritis affects nearly half a million people in the UK. It is a chronic, disabling condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the joints. Although newer biologic treatments such as anti-TNF therapies pioneered by Arthritis Research UK have made a huge difference to patients’ lives, a significant proportion of patients still do not respond to such treatment. Further information is available here.
 

Test can identify patients with hypertension at higher risk of death

An inexpensive and routinely performed blood test could help identify patients with high blood pressure who are at increased risk of dying from the condition. Scientists have found that one of the parameters in the routine full blood count – the volume percentage of red blood cells in blood known as haematocrit (hct) – is an independent biomarker for early death in patients with high blood pressure. While high haematocrit has been known to be associated with increased risk of thrombosis, the threshold level for action is usually when it exceeds very high levels of over 55%.

Hypertension is the most common preventable cause of premature death in the UK affecting over a quarter of adults – and over half of those over 60 years of age. Dr Sandosh Padmanabhan, Reader in the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, who led the study said: “Finding new biomarkers that predict disease or risk is the Holy Grail for medical researchers.

“This study shows that there is valuable predictive information that can be obtained from blood tests that are routinely performed in out-patient clinics and primary care. Haematocrit, for example, is very useful in assessment and management of hospital in-patients who are very sick, but we show that this parameter can also be useful in predicting risk in out-patient and primary care settings.” Further information is available from the University’s news pages.
 

‘Toxic’ oestrogen by-product linked with fatal lung condition

In a study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in American Heart Association journal Circulation, Professor Mandy MacLean et al showed that high levels of an enzyme in the lungs called CYP1B1 – which breaks down oestrogen into harmful smaller molecules – could play a role in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. The joint first authors were two ICAMS PhD students, Kevin White who recently moved to Harvard and was funded by the Integrative Mammalian Biology Initiative, and Anne Katrine Johansen, a BHF funded PhD student.

Around 3,000 people in the UK have pulmonary arterial hypertension, when overactive cell growth in blood vessel walls reduces the space for blood flow in the lungs. Often affecting younger, pre-menopausal women, symptoms include breathlessness and chest pain. The signs worsen as lung blood pressure increases, and the disorder is often fatal. More than one in ten patients dies within the first year of diagnosis. Although there are treatments available, they are often not effective.

This new study shows a link between high levels of a harmful molecule produced from the breakdown of oestrogen by CYP1B1 and the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. The findings could help lead to new treatments to tackle the disease. The University’s web site has more information.

History / Background

The Head of College Scholars list was founded in 2012 by the Head of College, Prof. Anna Dominiczak, with the support of the senior management group of the College.  The scheme is run by a steering committee convened by Prof. Jill Morrison, Dean of Learning and Teaching, and comprising representatives of the Undergraduate Schools and degrees within the College: Prof. Alan Jardine (School of Medicine), Prof. Jim Anderson (School of Veterinary Medicine) and Dr. Joe Gray (School of Life Sciences).

The nucleus of the Scholars’ List began in the old Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences (FBLS). In 2007, the FBLS Dean, Prof. Paul Hagan and the Head of the Life Sciences Teaching, Dr. Rob Aitken, founded the Dean’s Group scheme intended to expose L1 students to research and researchers in FBLS.  Dr. Joseph Gray took over the running of the Dean’s Group in 2008 and the scheme rapidly expanded to include both L1 and L2 students from across FBLS.  Leading researchers volunteered to host small group laboratory visits/tutorials intended to expose students to the excitement of modern biological research.  A small number of Summer Research Placements were also made available. The scheme has been hugely successful and has involved over 100 students and 20-30 staff in any one year. One of the students, Mr. Alan Passey, surveyed his fellow students who took part in the scheme and wrote an opinion piece on the Dean’s Group for the FBLS newsletter (see “The student perspective” tab). Mr. Passey is now a PhD student at Imperial College London.

The formation of the MVLS College in 2010 provided the opportunity to adopt and modify the ethos of the Dean’s Group for the needs of the College. This has lead to the formation of the HoC Scholars’ List Scheme in 2012 for students from across the College of MVLS.

Events

Students who agree to take part in the HoC Scholar’s List Scheme will be invited to large, collective meetings as well as small group meetings:

Large Meetings:
There will be two large meetings of the HoC Scholar’s List in the 2012-2013 academic year, one in each Semester: These meetings are intended to allow for social interaction between talented students and students and staff from across the College. Guest academics from the College will give plenary talks at each meeting

The first meeting was held on the 22nd of November at 6.30pm in the Sir Charles Wilson lecture theatre. The keynote speakers were Professor Anna Dominiczak, Head of College of MVLS and Vice Principal, and Professor Massimo Palmarini, Director of the Medical Research Council – University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research

Small-Group Meetings:
Small, mixed groups of students from across the College, will meet with active researchers from across the spectrum MVLS.  The format of these small-group meetings is flexible, with the aim of exposing students to the excitement of research and exploration, and to stimulate both an appreciation for research involves as well as an open, questioning mind.

Summer Research Placements:
Each year, ~8 funded Summer Research Placements will be awarded as part of the HoC Scholars’ List Scheme.  Students taking active part in the Scholars’ List Scheme will compete for these prestigious placements by submitting a short research proposal written with their intended supervisor. Further details about these awards and the application process will be posted here in the near future.

The Student Perspective

What follows in an extract from the FBLS newsletter (2010) written by one of the students, Mr. Alun Passey, who took part in the Dean’s Group, the forerunner of the Head of College Scholars’ List Scheme:

My experience of the scheme began with a trip to the Parasitology research laboratories where I met the first of my three tutors: Prof. Jeremy Mottram who studies Trypanosomiasis, famous for causing Sleeping Sickness in Sub-Saharan Africa.  He opened my eyes to the shocking truth of neglected tropical diseases. This is a world outside the classroom of which I had not been aware. After the discussion we were given a tour of the microbiology labs, not the “you’re a first/second year and are going to break things” tour but one that allowed us to see these laboratories in action.

My second tutor was Prof. Neil Metcalfe of the Division of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He lead a broad-ranging discussion that encouraged us students to think laterally about the relationships between birth weight and the tendency to develop cardiovascular disorders later in life. This analytical approach was refreshingly different and challenging for us and opened a window on how scientists really think.

My last tutor was Prof. Marshall Stark of the Division of Molecular Genetics. He explored cutting edge Zinc Finger Nuclease biotechnology in great molecular detail. This exciting technology has the potential to completely remove HIV DNA from human cells. This final window into the world of scientific discovery allowed me to see the how basic research can be translated into practical use.

As you can, the Dean’s Group has exposed me and my fellow tutees to an array of new exciting experiences. For me, the fun continues: I am also one of the lucky students to be offered a Summer Placement and am greatly looking forward to that challenge. The Dean’s Group is much more than an extra opportunity for students to gain biological knowledge. It is portal through which we students can view active scientific research. It may not help us with our exams in the short term, but we really do value the experience. You don’t have to take my word.  The testimonies of others participating in this scheme speak for themselves. The following are representative of the feedback I have received while preparing this article:

• “The tutors were talking about the actual topics of their research, and so they were really passionate about it and were happy to talk with us. Since then I can't stop thinking how interesting it would be to take a PhD at our Uni.”

• “The tutor was able to give me helpful advice and a good insight into where my degree can take me in the future.”

• “Too bad there were only three meetings.”

• “One of the good things about tutorials of this sort is that it allows the participants to mould the session to suit their own passions.”

Applications for Summer Studentships 2013

• Guidance notes‌
  

• Application form for Summer Studentship 2013