Less climate mitigation will increase the spread of fungal pathogens in certain areas, putting more people at risk.

• Novel projections show that in 15 years, if we rely on fossil fuels instead of clean power (scenario of *), we are likely to see the significant spread of certain fungal pathogens in Europe
• Under this scenario, the spread of Aspergillus flavus, for example, could increase by about 16%, putting 1 million more people at risk of infection in Europe. Infections affect the respiratory system, and this fungus infects a broad range of agricultural crops
• The predictions also show that the spread of another fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus, could increase by 77.5% and potentially expose 9 million people in Europe
• This is a concerning trend due to a rise in antifungal resistance and a severe lack of diagnostics and treatment options for fungal infections

In a new study, published on  and funded by , the effects of rising temperatures on infection-causing fungi have been mapped under different climate change mitigation scenarios until the year 2100. Using climate modelling and forecasts, at the University of Manchester and colleagues have mapped how the global distributions of three fungal pathogens (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger) could be expected to change as a result.

The rise of pathogenic fungi is a real concern and is being driven by climate change. Fungi are incredibly adaptable organisms, with large, malleable genomes that allow them to colonize new geographies and survive as their environment changes.

Dr. Norman van Rhijn said: 鈥淐hanges in environmental factors, such as humidity and extreme weather events, will change habitats and drive fungal adaptation and spread.

鈥淲e鈥檝e already seen the emergence of the fungus Candida auris due to rising temperatures, but, until now, we had little information of how other fungi might respond to this change in the environment.  Fungi are relatively under researched compared to viruses and parasites, but these maps show that fungal pathogens will likely impact most areas of the world in the future. Raising awareness and developing effective interventions for fungal pathogens will be essential to mitigate the consequences of this.鈥�

The maps show that in a fossil fuel dependent economy, as outlined in the IPCC scenario of , the climate will change to become suitable for fungal pathogens to spread to new geographies, with a marked increase in Europe.

The spread of Aspergillus flavus could increase by about 16%, putting 1 million more people at risk of infection from this deadly fungal pathogen in Europe. This fungus is known to cause severe infections and is resistant to many antifungals available.

This is an especially concerning trend as many fungal infections have high mortality rates, partly because of the lack of diagnostics, vaccines and treatment options as well as a lack of awareness of fungal infections. Additionally, as fungi are more similar to humans than other pathogens, developing anti-fungal treatments without toxic side effects is challenging.

The predictions also show that the spread of Aspergillus fumigatus could increase by 77.5% and potentially expose 9 million people in Europe. This is one of the most common fungal pathogens responsible for life-threatening infections in humans and affects the lungs.

Whilst the rise in global temperatures will increase the spread of fungi in Europe, temperatures in Africa could become so high that some fungi will not be able to survive on the continent. Fungi are an essential component to a functioning ecosystem, decomposing plant and animal matter to reintroduce nutrients into the soil. They also contribute to the carbon cycle which regulates the global climate and temperatures.  

Antifungal resistance is also being driven by the use of fungicides in agriculture, which are used to protect crops and support food production. The researchers also looked at the how the changing environment impacts our use of fungicides.

Viv Goosens, 天美影视 Manager at Wellcome said: 鈥淔ungal pathogens pose a serious threat to human health by causing infections and disrupting food systems. Climate change will make these risks worse. To address these challenges, we must fill important research gaps. By using models and maps to track the spread of fungi, we can better direct resources and prepare for the future." 

Fungal infections are transmitted through fungal spores in the air we breathe. People with weakened immune systems, co-morbidities and other risk factors are most vulnerable to infections, although fungi could adapt to become more pathogenic due to rising temperatures and could result in more infections in healthy people.

Despite this mounting threat, fungal infections receive little attention or resources. Less than 10% of an estimated 1.5 to 3.8 million species have been described, and a tiny fraction has had their genome sequenced. Wellcome is awarding over 拢50mn in funding towards fungal research over the next year. 

The study has been published on preprint platform 天美影视 Square, available here

The compound, developed by the scientists and known as caADAMTS13, could be a breakthrough for patients who have brain blood clots with an overabundance of platelets-  the tiny cell fragments that help form clots and are often not treatable by existing therapies. 

The study, funded by a British Heart Foundation 4-Year PhD Studentship Program and The University of Manchester Innovation Factory is published in the leading journal in the field, Stroke. 

It is the first potential new treatment for stroke in the UK since the clotbusting drug recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) was licensed in September 2002. 

According to existing research, rtPA is only effective in as few as 10% to 35% of patients and is associated with a significant risk of bleeding. 

Another clotbuster called Tenecteplase (TNK), a variant of rtPA, was recently approved for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in the United States but has similar limitations to rtPA. 

Both rtPA and TNK have similar efficacy and risk of haemorrhage. 

Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), a protein involved in blood clotting, helps platelets stick to damaged blood vessels and form the structure of blood clots. 

The greater the proportion of platelet and VWF components in a clot, the less effective rtPA is in dissolving it. 

The scientists investigated an alternative strategy which utilises caADAMTS13, an enzyme that reduces the size of VWF and helps break down blood clots. 

In previous mouse studies they have already shown that caADAMTS13 improves cerebral blood flow, reduces damage in the brain, reduces the depositing of both platelets and a clot promoting protein called fibrin, as well displaying anti-inflammatory properties. 

However, until now, a head to head comparison with the existing therapies of rtPA and  TNK had not been carried out. 

The scientists directly compared caADAMTS13 with rtPA and TNK in mice with a cerebral artery blockage from platelet and VWF rich clots, to mimick rtPA-resistance. 

They found that the restoration of cerebral blood flow 1 hour after treatment was the greatest in the mice treated by caADAMTS13 and that at 24 hours the caADAMTS13 mice had reduced brain damage.

Lead author Lucy Roberts, from The University of Manchester, said: 鈥淲hen someone has an acute ischemic stroke, doctors need to quickly remove the clot blocking cerebral arteries in the brain.

鈥淭o avoid  severe and potentially life-threatening complications, the need to act fast is acute. Unfortunately, current treatments are only sometimes effective.

鈥淗owever, our findings show that the compound we developed, called caADAMTS13, is more effective than current stroke treatments

鈥淭hat is why it is tremendously exciting that this compound could one day meet an unmet clinical need for stroke patients.鈥�

Co-author and principle investigator Professor Stuart Allan from The University of Manchester said: 鈥淲e know that removing blood clots can improve outcomes in stroke and that current treatments don鈥檛 always work.

鈥淭herefore, the approach is proven to work and we just need better drugs that can break down all types of blood clots. We think caADAMTS13 may allow this to happen.鈥�

Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: "A stroke is a medical emergency. For every minute blood flow to the brain is disrupted during a stroke, millions of nerve cells can become damaged and die. Stroke remains the single biggest cause of severe disability in the UK and we urgently need new treatments.

鈥淢ore research will be needed to understand how these early results in mice can be translated to humans, but this study gives us a promising glimpse into a future where the compound caADAMTS13 could potentially be developed as a new therapy to safely and effectively dissolve blood clots in the brain.鈥�

The paper Comparison of the Novel Thrombolytic Constitutively Active ADAMTS13 With Clinical Thrombolytics in a Murine Stroke Model , DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.125.050848, is available

• The  video animation  illustrates the formation of a clot. Please credit the .
• For the image of the brain, please credit the .

For over 30 years Professor Itzhaki, professorial fellow emerita, University of Manchester and visiting professorial fellow, University of Oxford, has pursued the idea that HSV1, the herpes virus that causes cold sores, is a precursor to the development of AD. 

The 2025 STATUS List features 50 influential people shaping the future of health and life sciences across biotech, medicine, health care, policy, and health tech. 

The list is wide-ranging: from the biotech and health system executives who lead the market, to scientists developing AI technologies and breakthrough therapies, to patient advocates and activists.  

At  the University of Manchester, Professor Itzhaki鈥檚 team discovered that HSV-1 DNA is present in the human brain in a high proportion of older people - the first microbe to be detected definitively in normal human brains.

The researchers later indicated that the virus when in the brain, in combination with a specific genetic factor, confers a high risk of developing AD.

She recently co-authored a that suggested that repeated head injuries could reawaken dormant HSV1 virus in the brain, triggering the onset of the disease.

The research team found that even mild brain trauma can trigger this chain reaction, leading to harmful changes associated with memory loss and cognitive decline.

The idea is winning purchase as the 鈥渁myloid hypothesis鈥� 鈥� which proposes that Alzheimer鈥檚 is caused by a protein buildup in the brain 鈥� loosens its grip on the scientific community.

The researchers hope their work will pave the way for new treatments to protect against neurodegeneration, particularly for those at high risk due to repeated concussions.

Professor Itzhaki said: 鈥淚 am delighted to be included in this year鈥檚 STATUS list. It is a great honour and a recognition that my work is finally being accepted by the scientific community.

鈥淢ost people now accept that dormant Herpes Simplex Virus in the brain  can become reactivated and in so doing can trigger the symptoms of Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease.鈥�

What distinguishes these University entrepreneurs? Each finalist has identified real-world challenges and developed innovative approaches that show great potential. From sustainable environmental solutions to ground-breaking healthcare technologies, these ideas showcase the incredible talent nurturing within our university walls.

In this milestone 25th Anniversary year of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, the competition holds special significance as we reflect on a quarter-century of fostering innovation and entrepreneurial excellence at The University of Manchester.

After an intense selection process, the finalists are competing for funding of up to 拢15,000 in one of the five categories: Environment, Healthcare, Services, Social & Technology. The winners will be announced at our awards ceremony on 11 June.

Environment Category

Josiah Edebiri - UrbanWatt 

School of Engineering, PhD EEE 

UrbanWatt is revolutionising sustainable urban logistics by simplifying the commercial adoption of Light-EVs through integrated wireless power technology, AI-driven optimisation, and smart charging systems.

Farah Frikha - Vesta Capsules 

School of Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering 

Inspired by Japanese capsule hotels, Vesta Capsules offers affordable, eco-friendly sleeping pods built with smart technology and sustainable materials, providing a modern alternative to traditional accommodations.

Mohammad Israil Hossain - Aqua Graph 

School of Natural Sciences, Nano and Functional Materials 

Aqua Graph has developed graphene-based filtration technology where micro-sponges can adsorb harmful chemicals from wastewater up to their own weight, with a reversible process allowing for material recovery and reuse.

Thando Mathe - Khuluma 

School of Environment, Education and Development, MSc Global Development Environment and Climate Change 

Khuluma uses AI-driven climate communication to break language barriers across Africa, making critical climate information accessible to diverse communities.

Healthcare Category

Adrian Perez Barreto - Revine 

CDT-Advanced Biomedical Materials 

Revine addresses diabetic limb ulcers with a graphene-based electrostimulation patch that enhances tissue regeneration while preventing infection, with integrated biosensors providing real-time wound data.

Indu Khemchandani - abetesCareAI 

Alliance Manchester Business School, MBA 

abetesCareAI is an AI-powered app helping users manage diabetes through real-time insights, personalised recommendations, and seamless device integration, with a freemium model and B2B partnerships.

Grigorii Rodionov - FlashAid AI 

School of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering BEng 

FlashAid AI tackles ambulance delays with an AI-powered platform for emergency response featuring instant triage, smart dispatch, real-time tracking, and dynamic routing optimised for traffic conditions.

Jasper Beaumont - Mend 

School of Medical Sciences, MBChB Medicine 

Mend is an AI-powered digital mental health platform helping patients build positive lifestyle habits through automated tracking, personalised care insights, and data-driven recommendations.

Services Category

Usman Aziz - JIFFL

Alliance Manchester Business School, PhD Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 

JIFFL is a SaaS platform revolutionising part-time recruitment with an end-to-end solution enabling all recruitment stages on a mobile app and website, supported by machine learning and NLP for automated interviews.

Xiang Zheng - Purfetch 

Alliance Manchester Business School, MBA 

Purfetch combines an AI-powered app and pet robot to help owners better understand their pets' emotional changes, behaviours, and health needs through real-time analysis and personalised care advice.

Matilde Lerias - Syncit

Alliance Manchester Business School, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship

Syncit is a fitness app that considers the menstrual cycle, providing science-backed personalised fitness, nutrition, and wellbeing plans to help women maintain consistent routines.

Sebastian Contreras - Unisights

Alliance Manchester Business School, BSc Management (Innovation, Strategy & Entrepreneurship) with Placement

Unisights connects Latin American high school students with UK universities through insights from current students, direct access to university representatives, and AI-powered university matching.

Social Category

Alex Kapadia - Pomelo

School of Natural Sciences, Earth and Planetary Science 

Pomelo is an AI-powered platform making local shopping more affordable and convenient by connecting users with nearby food suppliers and chefs, with smart meal planning to reduce food waste.

Bohyuck Han - The Senior Vision Project

Alliance Manchester Business School, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship

The Senior Vision Project addresses elderly poverty by creating meaningful part-time employment and providing AI-powered dementia prevention training, with data sales reinvested into senior employment projects.

Derry Duffy - Cause

School of Social Sciences, BSocSc Politics and International Relations

Cause is the first online giving platform built specifically for small charities, removing fundraising barriers with no platform fees and enabling connections through data-driven recommendations.

Oboroghene Ogbevire - PalmPro

School of Biological Sciences, Biochemistry BSc (Hons)

PalmPro is pioneering sustainable palm oil extraction through extremophile-derived enzymes that enhance oil yield while reducing environmental impact, with profits reinvested in small-scale producers.

Technology Category

Patrick Johansen Sarsfield - Graphene Thermal

School of Natural Sciences, Graphene NOWNANO CDT

Graphene Thermal specialises in cutting-edge graphene heated floor panels that reach their target temperature in seconds while consuming over 50% less power than conventional underfloor heating.

Dr Sangeethsivan Sivakumar - Ardhann

School of Natural Sciences, PhD Materials

Ardhann develops advanced carbon fibre composites and graphene-based solutions for hydrogen and hydrocarbon storage systems, with integrated monitoring and a SAAS platform for predictive maintenance.

Leo Benjamin Feasby - PulsR

School of Natural Sciences, MPhys Physics with Astrophysics

PulsR offers a suite of AI-powered GPTs including Image Generator Pro and Excel AI, with over 10 million chats and top rankings on ChatGPT's store, enhancing productivity across various fields.

Eduardo Marques - Amplify

School of Engineering, BEng Mechatronic Engineering

Amplify is building a non-invasive Brain-Computer Interface wearable that reads brain signals and uses AI to decode them into commands, streamlining repetitive tasks for 10x productivity.

MEC would like to invite the community at The University of Manchester in congratulating these remarkable entrepreneurs on reaching the finals of the Venture Further Awards 2025. Their innovative ideas showcase the exceptional talent and entrepreneurial spirit within the University ecosystem.

Stay tuned for the announcement of winners on 11 June!

#VentureFurtherAwards2025 #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #StartupCompetition

Find out more about the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) on our website .

The researchers suggest that policymakers should increase funding so that deprivation is taken into account as a factor in general practice funding to address income disparities between GPs in more deprived and less deprived areas.

Published in the today (22/04/25) and funded by the , the researchers analysed data from over 8,500 GPs between 2015 and 2021 in the GP work life

They looked at the relationship between deprivation of practice population and job pressures, job satisfaction, reported income, working hours, and intentions to leave direct patient care.

The lead researcher is , an NIHR Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester and practicing GP.

He said: 鈥淭his study shows how the socioeconomic deprivation of practice populations in England is adversely linked to the working conditions of the GPs that work there.

鈥淲e highlight a clear and persistent challenge in ensuring equitable healthcare provision.

鈥淲ithout targeted investment and policy interventions, the difficulties faced by GPs in deprived areas will only continue to worsen, exacerbating health inequalities.鈥�

Key Findings also included:

• GPs in the most deprived areas earn less than those in wealthier areas with an average difference of 拢5,525 less per year.
• Despite higher job pressures, there were no differences in overall job satisfaction, hours worked per week, or intentions to leave patient care between GPs working in more deprived and less deprived areas.

from The University of Manchester, senior author of the study, added: 鈥淭hough deprived populations have higher needs for GP services, we know these areas have the most difficulty recruiting and retaining GPs.

鈥淥ur study is the first to examine how working in deprived areas affects the working lives of GPs. Addressing their concerns about increased job pressure and decreased resources would help reduce health inequalities.鈥�

According to the researchers, the findings explain why working in areas of greater deprivation is less attractive to GPs, exacerbating workforce recruitment and retention issues.

Dr Anderson added: 鈥淎longside financial incentives, non-financial incentives such as enhanced career development opportunities including fellowships that incorporate time for additional training, research, and leadership responsibilities could be a useful lever to promote GP recruitment and retention in areas of greater deprivation鈥�.

鈥淲e also think it鈥檚 important to acknowledge we find no differences in hours worked per week, job satisfaction, and intention to quit direct patient care in more deprived and less deprived areas.

鈥淒espite the challenges experienced by GPs working in areas of greater deprivation, this suggests that there are many rewarding aspects of working in areas of greater deprivation.  A broader recognition by the GP community of the potential advantages of working in areas of greater deprivation would therefore be helpful to promote recruitment and retention.鈥�

This article reports the findings from independent research commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care and carried out by the Policy 天美影视 Unit in Health and Social Care Systems and Commissioning (PRUComm). The research was conducted by the Health Organisation, Policy, and Economics (HOPE) group within the Centre for Primary Care & Health Services 天美影视 at The University of Manchester. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视 (NIHR) Policy 天美影视 Programme. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Policy 天美影视 Programme, NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care

• Deprivation and General Practitioners鈥� working lives: Repeated cross-sectional study is published in the  Journal of the , DOI: JRSM-24-0273.R2 and is available here.

Funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences 天美影视 Council (BBSRC), the study on mice shows that the brain鈥檚 hypothalamus controls how the immune system adapts during fasting, through a handful of highly specialized neurons responsible for making animals hungry.

Published today (04/04/25) in 鈥攐ne of the world鈥檚 leading immunology journals鈥攖he study shows the brain鈥檚 perception of hunger or fullness, rather than actual eating or caloric restriction, is enough to drive changes in the body鈥檚 immune cells.

The findings cast doubt on the current view that a lack of nutrients alone controls how the immune system responds to fasting, indicating the brain has a critical role, beyond the simple absence of food.

By artificially switching on specific brain neurons in mice鈥攚hich typically signal low energy levels鈥攕cientists induced a synthetic sense of hunger. Remarkably, within hours, they saw a fast reorganization of immune cells in the blood, with a noticeable drop in inflammatory monocytes. These artificially hungry mice looked, from an immune perspective, just like mice that had fasted for real.

This discovery could have important implications for developing new therapies to treat a range of inflammatory diseases as well as for treating wasting syndromes seen in cancer, in which individuals lose weight despite eating normally.

It may also explain why obesity often accompanies inflammatory conditions and why malnourished individuals are more prone to infections and inflammation.

The lead senior researcher, Dr Giuseppe D鈥橝gostino, who coordinated the study, said: 鈥淥ur perceptions can shape our bodies in ways we don鈥檛 always notice. It鈥檚 easy to see how thoughts guide our actions, but this study reminds us that even our internal body adjustments that are not under conscious control respond to the brain鈥檚 signals.

鈥淭his study underlines how important the brain is in regulating the immune system. But if internal or external factors alter the brain鈥檚 perception, these processes can go awry, reminding us how deeply the mind and body are鈥攁nd should remain鈥攃onnected.

"In addition to BBSRC who funded the work, we are grateful to the Medical 天美影视 Council for providing early-stage seed funding that helped the lab explore completely novel areas 鈥� a small but truly visionary contribution that still resonates today."

Collaborator and Manchester immunologist Professor Matt Hepworth added: 鈥淭his work challenges the long-standing view that fasting鈥檚 immunological impact is driven purely by nutrient levels. It highlights the nervous system鈥檚 profound influence on how the immune system adapts during fasting.鈥�

Lead author Dr Cavalcanti de Albuquerque said: 鈥淏y showing how the brain exerts top-down control over immune cells, we can further explore when and how fasting might deliver health benefits. It also opens up potential ways to treat infectious, inflammatory, metabolic, and psychiatric conditions.鈥�

The paper Brain Sensing of Metabolic State Regulates Circulating Monocytes   is available

The study of 15.7 million patient records, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视 and published in the prestigious Journal of the R, implies there could be scope to prescribe far fewer antibiotics. 

The researchers found the probability of being prescribed antibiotics for a lower respiratory tract or urinary tract infection was unrelated to hospital admission risk. 

And the probability of being prescribed an antibiotic for an upper respiratory tract infection was only weakly related to hospital admission risk. 

The study also showed that patient characteristics such as age and the presence of other health problems were only weakly associated with the probability of being prescribed an antibiotic treatment of common infection. 

The most elderly patients in the sample were 31% less likely than the youngest patients to receive an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections. 

That inevitably means, say the researchers, that because many younger people are being prescribed antibiotics, even though they are often fit enough to recover without them, potentially  leading to resistance. 

Conversely,  many older people may not be able to deal with infections without antibiotics are not  receiving them, with the potential of complication and hospital admissions. 

Patients with combinations of diseases were 7% less likely than people without major health problems  to receive an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections. 

Lead authors are  Professor Tjeerd van Staa and Dr Ali Fahmi, from The University of Manchester. 

Professor Tjeerd van Staa said: 鈥淎ntibiotics are effective in treating bacterial infections, but they carry the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and loss of effectiveness when used inappropriately. 

鈥淭hat is why AMR to antibiotics has been recognised as one of the biggest threats to global public health. 

鈥淕iven the threat of resistance, there is a need to better target antibiotics in primary care to patients with higher risks of infection-related complications such as sepsis. 

鈥淏ut this study finds that antibiotics for common infections are commonly not prescribed according to complication risk and that suggests there is plenty of scope to do more on reducing antibiotic prescribing.鈥� 

The study also showed that the probability of being prescribed an antibiotic for lower respiratory infections was even more unrelated to complication risk during the pandemic, however they were only minor changes for urinary tract infections. 

The research team accessed anonymised patient-level electronic health records of primary care data from The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) through OpenSAFELY, a secure platform for electronic health records in the NHS. 

They included adults registered at general practices in England from January 2019 to March 2023 diagnosed with upper respiratory, lower respiratory and urinary tract infections. 

Patient-specific risks of infection-related hospital admission were estimated for each infection using risk prediction scores for patients who were not prescribed an antibiotic. 

Dr Ali Fahmi added: 鈥淩ather than imposing targets for reducing inappropriate prescribing, we argue that it is far more viable for clinicians to focus on improving risk-based antibiotic prescribing for infections that are less severe and typically self-limiting. 

鈥淧rognosis and harm should explicitly be considered in treatment guidelines, alongside better personalised information for clinicians and patients to support shared decision making.鈥�

鈥淎 Knowledge Support (KSS) led by Professor Tjeerd van Staa, which provides personalised information to clinicians is  now being tested in the North-West England

鈥淲e hope it could provide a workable solution to the problem of untargeted antibiotic prescribing.鈥�

Antibiotics for common infections in primary care before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: cohort study of extent of prescribing based on risks of infection-related hospital admissions  is published in  DOI: 10.1177/01410768251328997

The study team at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and The University of Manchester (UoM) implemented the new technology across MFT hospitals in December 2023, which provides specialist liver care to the Greater Manchester region. The technology aims to improve early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) 鈥� the most common cancer affecting the liver and the third most common cause of cancer death.

Developed by Roche Diagnostics, the pioneering test, known as Elecsys庐GAAD, combines blood tests with gender and age, which can increase the detection rate of HCC at an early, curable stage. This is being used alongside routine surveillance tests to see how it can benefit patients, so they have the best chance of surviving this type of cancer.

One of the risks for developing HCC is a pre-existing liver disease and scarring of the liver, known as cirrhosis. Approximately 3,000 people are found to have HCC in the UK every year. Less than 1,000 are identified at a stage when they can have curative treatment, leaving over 2,000 people per year with a cancer that cannot be cured.

More than 600 patients with cirrhosis have been tested using Elecsys庐GAAD within clinics at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital, all part of MFT, and four patients have been detected with early-stage liver cancer at a treatable stage, which would not have been found without the new technology.

Gerry鈥檚 story

Father of three, Gerry, 67 was diagnosed with hemochromatosis approximately 15 years ago, a hereditary condition where the body stores too much iron, which has led to scarring on his liver, cirrhosis.

Whilst attending his routine screening appointment at Wythenshawe Hospital, Gerry joined the research trial using the Elecsys庐GAAD technology, which detected the early stages of liver cancer.

Following a number of CT scans at Manchester Royal Infirmary, it was confirmed that there is a small tumour on the upper part of his liver, which he has now had removed and remains cancer free.

Gerry said: 鈥淚 was shocked to find out that I had liver cancer, but also relieved that it had been found early and it hadn鈥檛 spread any further. I didn鈥檛 have any symptoms that would make me think that there was anything wrong, so I am grateful that the cancer has been caught early, where a number of treatment options are available to me.

鈥淚t isn鈥檛 until you鈥檙e in this position, that you truly realise how cancer can affect anyone, and detecting it early can save your life. I would encourage others to take part in this research trial, if given the opportunity, as this new technology will save lives. I am grateful to be in a position where curative treatment is available and I am now cancer free.鈥�

How the technology works

In early, curable stages, HCC can have no symptoms and so it is recommended that everyone with known cirrhosis is tested every six months which involves an ultrasound scan and a blood test (alpha fetoprotein 鈥� AFP) to screen for primary liver cancer 鈥� HCC.

The new test is an algorithm used in addition to the current standard of care, which uses the AFP information alongside another blood test (Elecsys庐PIVKA-II), age and gender to calculate a risk score. Data suggests that this test increases the likelihood of detecting liver cancer at an earlier stage where curative treatments are far more likely. 

Principal Investigator for the study, Dr Varinder Athwal, Consultant Hepatologist at MFT and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester, said: 鈥淢anchester has some of the highest rates of liver disease and liver cancer in the UK and far too many people are diagnosed when curative treatment is not possible.

鈥淭his innovation is a non-invasive test that easily fits into our current pathway. Early results from the project are very promising and show we are able to detect more cases of HCC at earlier, treatable stages which would have been missed by standard routine care 鈥� so it truly has the potential to save lives.

鈥淯sing this new test and with additional improvements to the surveillance pathway, we believe more than 1,000 people per year could be additionally detected at an earlier stage when their cancer is potentially curable. This number could be increased if more people are offered the test and stay in surveillance, which is something we are addressing in this project.鈥�

Vic鈥檚 story
 

Vic joined the research trial at MFT and was detected in the early, curable stages of liver cancer and despite not being fit enough for common therapies to cure his cancer, Vic has since received a treatment called transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) which cuts off the tumour鈥檚 blood supply with little or no effect to liver functioning.

Detecting his cancer early through Elecsys庐GAAD means that it has prevented the spread of his cancer and there is currently no sign of his cancer on repeat scans.

He said: 鈥淲hen I agreed to join the trial, I had been being monitored routinely because of the presence of liver disease but the last thing that I thought I would ever develop was cancer. I had been stable for some years and had not experienced any new symptoms to suggest anything had changed.

鈥淭he GAAD test changed all that. The results were high and detected that I had a primary liver cancer which turned out to be a Stage 2 liver cancer. I had no symptoms. I was referred immediately for expert treatment.

鈥淏ecause the GAAD test detected the cancer early I have been able to access one of several treatment options quickly, before the cancer had the chance to spread outside the liver. Early diagnosis and treatment has meant that I can also benefit from the care and support of an amazing multidisciplinary team.

鈥淚t has also meant that I have been given time to involve my family, especially my children, to navigate this journey together. Without the GAAD test, the diagnosis of cancer may have come too late for all of us.鈥�

Through the study, researchers aim to find out if the Elecsys庐GAAD test reduces unnecessary further scans and if it improves earlier detection of HCC. They will also investigate if a six-monthly ultrasound adds any further benefit to Elecsys庐GAAD to detect HCC 鈥� or if Elecsys庐GAAD could be used on its own, which would provide a considerable cost saving to the NHS and a significant improvement to current standard of care. 

Director of Access and Innovation at Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland, Chris Hudson said: 鈥淩oche Diagnostics is committed to early disease diagnosis and to ensuring our innovations reach the people who need them. Working with the team in Manchester, we are taking the learnings from this hugely successful trial to help other NHS Trusts implement the Elecsys庐GAAD digital diagnostic solution and enable more patients with liver cancer to access timely diagnostics and potentially curative treatments.鈥�

Dr Katherine Boylan, Director of Innovation at MFT said: 鈥淎s one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, MFT is uniquely placed to test the innovation, which brings together the knowledge and expertise of academic, medical and industry partners 鈥� strengthening our position as a leader in research and innovation in the UK. We are proud to partner with Roche Diagnostics to address this unmet clinical need for the benefit of our patients, which has the potential to revolutionise early cancer diagnosis for HCC.鈥�

Elecsys庐GAAD was fast-tracked into the NHS at MFT, following 拢1million funding from NHS England, to test the accuracy and benefits of technology over a two-year period.

Project Managers at NHS England visited MFT alongside Roche Diagnostics, to see the progress of the project and how we are utilising the test alongside current pathways.

Dr Michael Gregory, Regional Medical Director for NHS England 鈥� North West, said: 鈥淭his is a great example of how the NHS can transform health outcomes and save lives through the use of cutting-edge technology and a greater focus on prevention.

鈥淭he stories of the patients who have already benefited from this new test highlight why it is so important that we diagnose and treat cancers at the earliest possible opportunity and I鈥檓 excited to see how it could be made more widely available in the future.

鈥淚n the meantime, I would continue to encourage people with potential signs of cancer to come forward and speak to their general practice as soon as possible.鈥�

The study is running until April 2025, recruiting more than 600 patients to the research project. Findings from the implementation at MFT will be used to co-develop a plan for the national roll out within the NHS.

This work is supported by Imperial College London who are observing the economic impact of the new technology on the NHS, and Unity Insights who are carrying out an independent evaluation of the findings across the project.

Photo: Photo: Patrick Ezean (NHS England Cancer Programme Manager), Emily Corser (NHS England Cancer Programme Manager), Dr Varinder Athwal (Principal Investigator for the study), Darren Banks (MFT Interim Deputy Trust Chief Executive), Chris Hudson (Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland), Delphine Scokaert (Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland), Oliver Street (Programme Manager, The University of Manchester), Dr Katherine Boylan (Director of Innovation at MFT), Laura Tornatore (Senior Programme Manager, LGC).

Led by Health Innovation Manchester, the University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, this collaborative project has helped bridge the gap between research and clinical implementation of advanced diagnostic technologies.

ADA is one of ten projects funded within the Greater Manchester portfolio of the Innovation Accelerator (IA) programme, which is transforming the innovation landscape in the UK and paving the way for the future of place-based research and development (R&D) investment.

Since its launch, the IA programme has invested 拢100m in 26 transformative R&D projects between 2022-25, focusing on high-potential innovation clusters across three UK regions - Greater Manchester, West Midlands and Glasgow City Region and has been extended by 拢30m for 2025/26. The programme builds on regional cluster strengths and brings together the innovation ecosystem, to drive economic growth and technological advancement.

The programme is led by Innovate UK, on behalf of UK 天美影视 and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and co-created in Greater Manchester with regional leadership to ensure it is locally led and focused on harnessing the region鈥檚 strengths in high performance materials, health innovation, advanced manufacturing and digital technology.

The IA programme in Greater Manchester provided a unique opportunity to test hypotheses in real-world settings, and those projects emerging from the programme have made significant impacts in just two years. The programme has supported more than 500 businesses to take forward innovations, while over 1000 Greater Manchester residents have accessed skills support 鈥� to either upskill or begin their journey to a career in a high-growth sector.

The work delivered has been highly output-focused, resulting in the creation of meaningful networks and lasting relationships. Partners and stakeholders have embarked on a collective learning journey, creating something new that they can be proud of whilst adding tangible value to a new paradigm shift in ways of working. An approach that has proven to be highly effective in bringing together diverse stakeholders, while strengthening key relationships.

Two years since its launch the projects are demonstrating globally competitive research and development that is putting the region鈥檚 innovation strengths on the map including Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator (ADA)..

ADA has various work streams from public and patient involvement through focus groups to the development of data-driven advanced diagnostics, point-of-care testing and rapid, cost-effective diagnostic tests for conditions like heart failure and lung cancer. By utilising Greater Manchester鈥檚 academic and industry excellence from frontier sectors of Bioinformatics and Genomics, and AI, the project builds on assets already in existence within the city-region鈥檚 ecosystem, including validating and translating biomarkers and therapeutic assets into clinical use.

Key achievements include attracting 拢2.7m in co-investment to date, the development of a new MedTech product, deployment of new engagement techniques, alongside the identification and creation of at least three new products and services. The programme has strengthened Greater Manchester鈥檚 research, innovation, and data landscape through four submitted grants, two network events, and 26 digital communications assets. It has also expanded access to screening and diagnostic services, engaging over 1200 patients in treatment or research activities, while fostering greater research participation and early diagnosis for underserved communities, with over 400 patients engaged in community events.

By enhancing early diagnosis, boosting business sustainability, and tackling health inequalities, Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator is contributing to increased productivity, reduced economic inactivity due to poor health, and longer life expectancy for Greater Manchester residents and created multiple high value jobs.

Building on this momentum, Health Innovation Manchester, the University of Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and the industry partners have together secured a further 拢1.6 million Innovate UK grant for the Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator in Greater Manchester.

Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said: 鈥淭he Innovation Accelerator programme is unlocking new opportunities for growth in regions across the UK and this 拢30m investment backs further collaboration between business, academia and government to build on local innovation that can improve lives across the country.

鈥淕reater Manchester鈥檚 Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator鈥檚 work to support early disease detection and targeted care will support our NHS and with further investment is driving up local jobs, benefiting the local economy and helping to deliver our Plan for Change.鈥�

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic to see the innovation happening in Greater Manchester having such a wide-ranging impact. The Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator is improving the diagnosis and treatment of diseases while also delivering a significant economic boost, creating high-value jobs, driving investment, and encouraging closer collaboration between industry and academia. It is also doing great work in getting more of our residents involved in supporting medical trials, and speeding up access to the newest treatments and diagnostics being developed in our universities and research hospitals.

鈥淭he wider Innovation Accelerator programme has been an important catalyst for locally led innovation, and we鈥檝e seen that translate into business growth, new jobs and investment, and advances in technology across a range of sectors. The extension of funding for Greater Manchester鈥檚 10 projects will help them build on the success they鈥檝e already achieved.鈥�

Professor Ben Bridgewater, Chief Executive at Health Innovation Manchester, commented: 鈥淭he investment we have received from the Innovation Accelerator programme for Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator was a catalyst to progress in our mission for improved population health. For each of our focus areas from liver disease and lung cancer to heart failure and chest pain we had a shared ethos to reduce inequalities, build on assets in existence and drive productivity through collaboration. To reach over 1,200 patients, create high-value jobs and establish a spin out in just two years shows the potential of projects like ours to make a meaningful impact on health outcomes.鈥�

The Innovation Accelerator programme has helped to catalyse transformative innovation projects and bolster the UK鈥檚 global competitiveness. For more information and find out about other projects that have been funded through the programme, visit the website.

Working in partnership with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Roche, the team developed the project - REVISE-HCC.

The REVISE-HCC project, funded by SBRI Healthcare /NHS England, was established to explore the use of an innovative test for liver cancer, which will help patients access earlier care and potentially save lives.

This project focused on implementing an improved strategy for liver cancer surveillance in patients who are at high risk by using the GAAD algorithm developed by Roche.

GAAD is an accurate test that combines blood tests with gender and age to indicate the presence of HCC (Hepatocellular carcinoma), which is the most common cause of cancer affecting the liver and a leading  cause for cancer-related deaths worldwide. The test is used alongside routine HCC surveillance tests to see how it can benefit patients.

With the  combined purpose to improve the detection rate for this deadly cancer at curable stages and improve the quality of life for these patients, we鈥檙e thrilled to receive this recognition.

Healthcare is rapidly shifting, towards more personalised care that鈥檚 more in tune with patients, embracing digital technologies that enable new possibilities. We鈥檙e excited to be at the forefront of this new class of diagnostic algorithms that our teams are helping to shape.

Programme Manager  Oliver Street said:  鈥淢anchester has some of the highest rates of liver disease and liver cancer in the UK and is a significant healthcare and societal burden. Far too many people are diagnosed too late when curative treatment is not possible.

鈥淲e were thrilled to be recognised at this year鈥檚 HSJ Partnership Awards for our partnership with Roche and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust that implemented this innovative technology at MFT and allows for more patients with liver cancer to be detected an early stage when their cancer is potentially curable.鈥�

University of Manchester students embraced entrepreneurial spirit with this innovative online challenge-based programme, which creates a unique platform for students to explore their entrepreneurial potential, offering participants the opportunity to win up to 拢500 and develop critical entrepreneurial and employability skills.

Turning Ideas into Opportunities

The programme's inaugural run demonstrated remarkable traction, attracting 113 students from across The University and generating 38 innovative project submissions with a total prize pool of 拢10,500.

The inaugural programme generated impressive interest and students submitted exceptional quality work:

• Total Participants: 113 students enrolled
• Submissions: 38 innovative project proposals
• Prize Pool: 拢10,500 to fuel student innovation

University-Wide Participation

Participants spanned the entire academic spectrum - all nine Schools were represented in enrolments and participants spanned undergraduate to PhD - showcasing the programme's broad appeal. As it continues to evolve, Get Started promises to be a pivotal platform for student innovation, acting as an accessible first-step to explore entrepreneurial creativity.

• 9 schools represented in enrolments
• 8 schools submitted innovative proposals
• Participants spanning undergraduate to PhD levels

All Levels of 天美影视: Undergraduate students formed the largest cohort at 52.2% of participants, with taught master's students making up 39.8% of the programme's participants. PhD and doctoral candidates rounded out the group, bringing their specialised knowledge and research-driven approach to the entrepreneurial landscape.

Top Three Schools: Alliance Manchester Business School was the most represented School with 43 students (38.1% of total participants). The School of Engineering followed closely with 23 students (20.4%), while the School of Social Sciences rounded out the top three with 15 students (13.3%).

Gaining Momentum

As opposed to a competition, Get Started submissions are awarded funding and feedback based on individual progress and potential. The programme serves as a catalyst for innovation, providing as many students as possible with the tools, support, and motivation to explore their entrepreneurial ideas. The programme embraces digital learning, embeds skills development within real-world problem-solving, and breaks down barriers to taking early steps in a business journey.

By bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world innovation, the University of Manchester is nurturing the next generation of creative thinkers and business leaders. Get Started will run eaech semester and has now also opened to The University of Manchester鈥檚 international partner institutions.

For more information about the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, head to .

According to their study published today (25/03/25), satisfaction levels were lower in practices that rely more both on telephone appointments and consultations with non-GP staff.

Advanced nurse practitioners, physician associates, practice-based pharmacists and even paramedics, are among the roles who over the past few years have increasingly worked in place of GPs.

The study also theorises that patient satisfaction could increase by 1% when 10 additional face to face GP appointments per 1000 patients per month are added.

The findings are released amid recent changes to Government policy which aims to place more emphasis on non-GP roles to fill gaps in primary care provision.

However, critics of the policy argue that the new roles can be a cheap substitute which blur the lines between doctors and non-doctors.

The study is the first to use national appointment data to investigate the complex relationships between patient satisfaction, access, preference for a specific GP, and support for managing long-term conditions against appointment volume, modality (telephone or face-to-face), and practitioner type.

The data set of over half a million English patients from 5,500 practices was taken from the General Practice Patient Survey (GPPS) and  NHS Digital's practice level appointment data, covering August 2022 to March 2023.

The study found that 69.5% of appointments were face-to-face and 27.2% were on the telephone. Only 29.6% of appointments were face-to-face with a GP and 18.4% were GP telephone appointments.

The researchers also found that practices with a larger amount of telephone consultations had less satisfied patients. This dissatisfaction was still present and decreased only slightly when telephone calls were carried out by GPs, rather than non-GP staff.

The  correlation coefficient between face-to-face appointments and overall satisfaction was 0.096, showing that  practices with a greater percentage of face-to-face appointments were  more likely to have patients with higher overall satisfaction.

However the figure for GP face-to-face appointments was 0.167 showing that GP face-to-face appointments have an even stronger correlation.

The study also found that:

• Practices offering more on the day appointments had reduced satisfaction with access compared to practices that offered appointments days or weeks in advance.
• Greater numbers of appointments of any type with any staff member overall resulted in improved patients satisfaction.
• Greater numbers of GP appointments at a practice were associated with reduced unmet health needs.

Dr Patrick Burch is an academic clinical lecturer at The University of Manchester and a practising GP.

He said: 鈥淭his study of appointments from over 5,500 practices showed that more appointments, particularly with face-to-face with GPs, tended to be associated with more satisfied patients who were better able to meet their health needs.

鈥淲hile telephone and IT assisted appointments have an important role to play in general practice, we would cautiously welcome an overall increase in the proportion of face-to-face consultations.

鈥淯ntil recently, simply employing more GPs was not seen as feasible. However, given six out of 10 job-seeking GPs have to find a vacancy to apply for over the past year, this may now be a potential option.

鈥淲e would also welcome measures that free up GP time to enable more patient appointments.鈥�

He added: 鈥淎 greater proportion of telephone appointments were associated with decreased satisfaction in general, especially when provided by non-doctor roles.

鈥淣on-GP clinicians employed in primary care since 2019 has increased by 21,600 full time equivalent staff members.

鈥淎s primary care funding has not gone up significantly, arguably this cash is now being used to pay other less expensive clinicians rather than GPs.

鈥淭he reasons for the findings behind this study are likely to be complex, but there is undoubtedly an important role for non-GP clinicians in primary care.

鈥淧atient satisfaction is not the only measure of success in general practice but it is important that policy makers take note of the link between patient satisfaction and numbers of appointments with GPs.鈥�

In the paper, appointments were only divided into GP or non-GP, with no other categories used. As a proportion, if one goes up, the other goes down.

The paper What is the relationship between the volume and type of appointments in general practice and patient experience? An observational study of general practice in England is published in the British Journal of General Practice . DOI:

The research looks, for the first time, into how to assess the range of ongoing needs after having a brain tumour for young people between 16-39 year olds.

Using a questionnaire designed with the help of nearly 130 patients, detailed information is now going to be gathered from 100 brain tumour survivors as part of their follow-up consultation. 天美影视ers will then assess the impact the survey has on providing personalised care to improve the long-term support after treatment. If this trial improves the experience for patients at The Christie, then the plan is to roll it out at to other hospitals around the UK.

Dr Kate Law, a research fellow and specialist nurse at The Christie and honorary research associate at The University of Manchester, who is leading on the research study known as YOU-CAN said: 鈥淎 third of all childhood cancers are brain tumours and survival is highest for 15 鈥� 39 year olds. Currently there is no assessment tailored specifically for young people with a brain tumour.  We have identified an unmet need, and want to address this to make life better for young brain tumour survivors in the future.

鈥淎t The Christie alone we see approximately 550 patients who were diagnosed with brain cancer as a child or young adult every year on long-term follow-up. What is fantastic is that people are living longer and recovering from brain tumours, but we are aware that often these very determined and resilient young people need help with independent living, forming relationships and friendships, starting a family and managing the emotions associated with the long-term effects of a brain tumour. They want to make the most out of life and we need to support them in doing this.

鈥淚t is hoped that the evidence gathered from the YOU-CAN study will be a step towards a change in clinical practice in the future where every young person has access to a multi-disciplinary team for on-going support after being treated for a brain tumour.

Claudia Laird (27), a children鈥檚 nurse from Burnley in Lancashire was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January 2022 when she was 24. Her tumour was 7cm by 5cm and doctors believed it had been growing in her head for 15 years. Claudia went to the GP several times due to headaches, fatigue, memory loss, hallucinations and sickness. She initially thought she had a virus, but a scan revealed she had an astrocytoma, a form of brain cancer.

鈥淚 was a healthy person, so it was hard at first to get a diagnosis. But when I did, from the scan to surgery was like a whirlwind and I had emergency neurosurgery.  Thankfully the surgeon believed he鈥檇 removed the whole tumour. Now I just go for six-monthly scans. While I feel well physically, and no longer on treatment, you鈥檙e left with psychological trauma and you worry about what will happen if the tumour grows back. You have to pick up your life where you left off but it鈥檚 a 鈥榥ew normal鈥�. Forming relationships is hard and I haven鈥檛 had a partner since all this happened. I鈥檓 not 100 per cent back to where I was, and have some short term memory loss and I can get overwhelmed easily.  Hopefully that will improve in time and the brain can re-learn things. It鈥檚 still quite early days and it鈥檚 still hard for me but I take it day by day.

鈥淚 was discharged two days after surgery and I didn鈥檛 even take any time off work. My mum has been a massive support system, and I don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be here without her, but having a professional like a support worker you can go to with questions would be so useful. I鈥檝e been writing poetry which has been great therapy. I do a lot of charity work and fundraising to give back and next month I鈥檓 helping with a creative workshop for other young people who have brain injuries. I also do a lot of yoga, pilates and relaxation classes which really help. I鈥檓 enjoying life and see things differently now and appreciate everything so much more than before.鈥�

The chances of a dental appointment resulting in an antibiotic prescription increased dramatically during the pandemic, and new led by Dr Wendy Thompson from The University of Manchester shows prescribing levels across each of the UK鈥檚 four nations have been slow to return to where they would have been if the pandemic hadn鈥檛 happened.

Though the Government has begun commissioning 700,000 urgent appointments, the British Dental Association says the total unmet need is far higher.

Dr Thompson also leads on antimicrobial stewardship for the College of General Dentistry and chairs the FDI World Dental Federation's Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Infections task team.

She said: 鈥淭oo many people have been unable to access urgent dental treatment for toothache, and have ended up with antibiotics. The best way to protect us all from the existential threat of antibiotic resistance is to ensure patients have timely access to urgent care.

鈥淓ven before the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew that dentistry was responsible for around 10% of antibiotic prescriptions and that rates of unnecessary use were high. During the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of antibiotic prescribing by NHS dentists

鈥淥ur research has shown how were at this situation which UK Health Security Agency researchers have linked to the use of , where care is given remotely. Our latest shows just how slowly antibiotic prescribing in NHS dentistry is returning to its pre-pandemic pattern.

鈥淎ntibiotics don't cure toothache although our research shows that many people wrongly believe they are necessary. Unnecessary use puts patients and the public at risk from the spread of infections which don't respond to antibiotics. The for toothache and dental infections is generally a procedure rather than a prescription, although sometimes antibiotics are vital. found that appointments where dentists provide procedures take more time than just giving antibiotics.鈥�

鈥淭hat is why FDI World Dental Federation argues that to the right oral health care at the right time to prevent and treat toothache and dental infection should be an essential part of national efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance by reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics.鈥�

She added: 鈥淩outine monitoring of antibiotic prescribing by dentists providing care to NHS patients is key, but until prescribing by dentists is digitised, this will be impossible. Integrating high-street dentistry into NHS digital systems will be an important part of national efforts to help keep patients safe by ensuring antibiotics are only prescribed when strictly necessary.鈥�

A highlight of the life sciences calendar, the awards dinner was held at the Concorde Conference Centre on 6 March, with over 340 attendees gathering for an evening of celebration and achievement.

The University and Saraco Industries received the Project of the Year Award in recognition of taking a major step forward in the area of research, by demonstrating an innovative and novel approach for a collaborative project - marking a breakthrough in sustainable healthcare products.

An interdisciplinary team from Manchester comprising of materials science, biological physics and microbiology experts collaborated with Saraco Industries, a UK-based SME wet wipe manufacturer, to achieve a breakthrough first 鈥� a plastic-free wet wipe meeting EN standards against bacteria, yeast, and viruses under dirty conditions with a 1-minute contact time. This innovative clinical disinfection wipe has now been commercialised and submitted against an NHS tender.

The collaborative partnership has continued to develop and grow, including securing a 3-year Centre for Doctoral Training PhD project in Advanced Biomedical Materials, a follow-on UKRI IAA Advance Fund project to further optimise the existing wipe formulation, and a recent second Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) submission to develop bacteriophage-infused wipes for healthcare applications.

Sarah Cartmell, Professor of Bioengineering, The University of Manchester said: 鈥淲e are so proud to be recognised for our achievements in this important interdisciplinary project. Our progress is a result of the synergy of University and industry collaboration. We look forward to building on our success with our continuing teamwork.鈥�

Andrew McBain, Professor of Microbiology at The University of Manchester said: 鈥淜TP has enabled The University of Manchester to make a tangible, positive contribution to a highly dynamic local business. It has been so rewarding to see the KTP Associate, Carolina Angulo Pineda, develop through considerable talent and tenacity, into a mature scientist who is now employed full-time as a Senior R&D Materials Scientist at Saraco.鈥�

Dr Carolina Angulo Pineda, KTP Associate and now Senior R&D Materials Scientist, Saraco Industries, commented: 鈥淚 will always be honoured and grateful to have been part of this fantastic KTP Team. This opportunity allowed me to grow both personally and professionally, and I look forward to continuing to work together on innovative solutions for real-life challenges.鈥�

Idris M Bapu, Managing Director, Saraco Industries, added: 鈥淭his is a wonderful honour and acknowledgment of all the hard work put in by the KTP team, the Academics at The University of Manchester and our Saraco team members. This award will be prominently displayed in our offices with great pride.鈥�

The project was funded through an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership; celebrating its 50th year in 2025 of bringing together forward-thinking businesses and organisations, academics, and graduates to solve complex innovation challenges which help our economy, society, and environment. Delivered through the Knowledge Exchange Partnerships team, part of Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange, The University of Manchester has collaborated on more than 300 KTPs and in the last five years alone, has supported 42 KTPs with a total research value of 拢11 million.

If you would like to discuss how KTP can help your business innovate for growth, please contact collaborate@manchester.ac.uk.

R2I is a bespoke entrepreneurship training programme for final-year PhD students, PDRAs and early-career researchers from across all faculties with ambitions to develop commercial ventures or to create impact from their academic studies.

The programme includes a series of interactive personal and professional development sessions, which introduce the concept of commercialisation, equipping researchers with strategies to take ideas forward and discover new pathways to funding.

Read more about the researchers from cohort 1 supported to further their ideas.

and register now to attend one of our short where we鈥檒l introduce you to the R2I programme. You鈥檒l hear from researchers about their experiences and explore the opportunities and benefits of joining the programme and how to apply.

Key Dates

Cohort 2:

• Information Sessions: In person and online across 26^th and 27^th March 
• Applications Open: 27^th March 2025
• Application Deadline: 23:59, 8^th April 2025
• Full Programme: 28^th April 鈥� 17^th July 2025

The MEC 天美影视er to Innovator (R2I) programme is supported by the University鈥檚 Innovation Academy. The Innovation Academy is a pan University initiative and joint venture between the , the  and the Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange team, bringing together knowledge, expertise and routes to facilitate the commercialisation of research.

天美影视ers at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and The University of Manchester, with colleagues in Newcastle, Germany and the USA, collaborated with clinicians across the world to identify changes in two different genes, that both result in Perrault syndrome.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视 (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical 天美影视 Centre (BRC), Action Medical 天美影视, The Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) and the Medical 天美影视 Council, the results from two separate studies, which identified changes to the DAP3 and MRPL49 genes, have been published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Professor Bill Newman, Consultant in Genomic Medicine at MFT, and Rare Conditions Co-Theme Lead at the NIHR Manchester BRC, who co-led the research, said: 鈥淔inding the causes of rare conditions like Perrault syndrome are the first steps in understanding why people are affected, providing clearer diagnosis, and developing novel treatments.

鈥淧reviously up to half of all people with Perrault syndrome could not have this diagnosis confirmed by a genetic test. These new discoveries through this research will provide an accurate diagnosis to more affected people.鈥�

Initial research into the condition began in 2011 at The Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Saint Mary鈥檚 Hospital, part of MFT, when researchers led by Professor Newman undertook genetic studies on a local family with Perrault syndrome. Their research identified a novel gene and changes within the gene which led to the diagnosis of the syndrome. Further studies by the Manchester group and other researchers around the world have found eight different genes that cause Perrault syndrome.

Sam鈥檚 story

56-year-old Sam was diagnosed with Perrault syndrome when she was 28 years old, after being under the care of various hospitals to diagnose her rare genetic condition. 

Sam is profoundly deaf and was fitted with hearing aids before the age of one, which is a common feature of the condition. Other symptoms that led to her diagnosis include short stature, very small ovaries and the absence of periods.

 Sam was identified with a DAP3 genetic change through this research in August 2024.

DAP3 is found in every cell of the body and is important in a part of the cell called the mitochondria, often referred to as the powerhouses of the cell. Some tissues in the body are very susceptible to when the mitochondria do not work properly, and it is why researchers believe hearing and ovarian problems occur in Perrault syndrome.

Sam said: 鈥淲hen I was told I had DAP3 gene changes I was pleased as it helped me make sense of my symptoms and better understand Perrault syndrome.  

鈥淭his research is incredible and will help others who are in a similar position to me. I struggled for years not knowing what was wrong with me so, I hope it will help others too 鈥� especially those who are younger so they can get an earlier diagnosis and access to the help they need. 

鈥淚 would advise anybody who is concerned to get advice as soon as possible. Thanks to this research, family members will also be tested which will provide an early diagnosis for more people potentially affected by the condition.鈥�

This research will now be used globally to provide an accurate diagnosis for those at risk or undiagnosed with the condition.

Professor Ray O鈥橩eefe, Professor of Molecular Genetics at The University of Manchester co-led the work. Professor O鈥橩eefe said: 鈥淕enetic testing helps families to get diagnosed earlier and to access the right care and support sooner.

鈥淲hen patients 鈥� particularly children, are presenting with hearing loss or changes on their brain scan, they can be genetically tested to see if their health problems are caused by changes in these genes.

鈥淕enetic testing removes the need for unnecessary investigations, allows closer monitoring to spot problems earlier and enables accurate genetic counselling for other family members who may be at risk.鈥�

Dr Ralph Holme, Director of 天美影视 at RNID said: 鈥淲e are delighted to have been able to support this important research.

鈥淎s ovarian problems are a key feature of the diagnosis, men are rarely diagnosed even though they have the same risk of being affected. Early, accurate diagnosis can result in improved hearing outcomes.

鈥淯nderstanding rare types of hearing loss, such as Perrault Syndrome, also gives us important insights that may be relevant to more common forms of hearing loss.鈥�

Professor Newman, who is also Professor of Translational Genomic Medicine at The Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine at The University of Manchester, added: 鈥淎lthough genetic research into Perrault syndrome is complex, this new information provides important pieces in the jigsaw. We are continuing to look at all the genes that cause Perrault syndrome as understanding how these genes are all linked together means that perhaps it would be possible to create a treatment that would work for all of them.

鈥淲e have also started to make hearing nerve cells from skin cells of individuals with Perrault syndrome. This is exciting as testing the cells that are actually affected by the condition will help us to develop treatments targeted to the correct cell type.鈥� 
 

Both research papers are available to read in the American Journal of Human Genetics:

(published 2 January 2025).

Published 4 March 2025).

These body ideals continue to be influenced by visual exposure to different body weights into adulthood, the research also found.

The results show that people鈥檚 perceptions of body weight are flexible and adult-like from seven years of age onwards and have implications for our understanding of body size and the perceptions, and possible misperceptions, of weight in health and wellbeing.

Professor Lynda Boothroyd, from Durham University鈥檚 Department of Psychology, carried out a first-of-its-kind study to examine the flexibility of body weight perceptions in children and young adults.

The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, found that children as young as seven years old adjust how heavy or light they rate other people鈥檚 bodies after seeing a series of pictures of low or high weight bodies.

The analysis uncovered a significant shift in weight perceptions after exposure to images depicting various body weights. The results showed that the manner in which our brains represent what constitutes 鈥渉eavy鈥� or 鈥渓ight鈥� develops at a very young age.

The research, which involved more than 200 individuals aged seven through to adulthood, also indicated that media influences known to shape adult body perceptions can almost certainly impact children to the same degree, starting from early childhood and continuing to evolve into adulthood.

Lead author, Professor Lynda Boothroyd said: 鈥淚t has been clear for many years that we need to be wary about visual media which present only a narrow range of bodies, because this affects adults鈥� body perceptions. 

鈥淣ow we know that鈥檚 true for children, too. Even very neutral images can adjust their ideas about what is heavy or thin if they see enough of the same kind of body.鈥� 

C-author Dr Amelia Parchment from The University of Manchester said: 鈥淭his was such an interesting study to work on and highlights that body-weight perceptions are shaped early on in life and continue into adulthood. Our findings have important implications, including the potential impact of unrealistic body weights, typically seen in visual media, on the lifelong body weight perceptions of children as young as 7-years old. 鈥�

Professor Boothroyd鈥檚 team at Durham has previously shown that adults鈥� ideas about what is an 鈥榓ttractive鈥� body weight or muscle mass are affected by visual experience. This includes the effect of television access on body perceptions among remote communities in Latin America and, in a separate study, finding that White Western women have lower body appreciation and experience greater pressure from the media to be thin compared to Black Nigerian and Chinese women across all ages.

Looking ahead, the team is now investigating how best to address body image concerns in young adults across the globe in a major 拢2 million (鈧�2.5M) research project and developing novel play-based techniques to investigate children鈥檚 understandings of body weight and body ideals from a younger age.

Professor Boothroyd added: 鈥溙烀烙笆觘rs often assume that children鈥檚 body perceptions and their ideas about body image work the same way as adults. We鈥檝e shown that that鈥檚 true, down to seven years, for basic perceptual impacts on body weight perception. But there鈥檚 more to explore in how that converts into their own body image and their own feelings about weight.鈥�

This new study included data gathered during the University鈥檚 鈥楯unior Scientist鈥� event, which actively involves families from the local communities around Durham, UK, in various research and educational activities.

Additionally, the research involved stimuli provided by Northumbria University and contributions from a Post-doctoral 天美影视 Associate at the University of Manchester.

Dr Lucy Buckley, a leading figure in the Greater Manchester business community, will start the Royal Society , part of its , on 1 March 2025. 

Dr Buckley, who has over 20 years of experience in business across diverse sectors of healthcare, will spend one day a week at the university, developing bespoke projects with university staff and students. 

Her career spans the healthcare system from academic drug discovery to all aspects of the product life cycle in the pharmaceutical industry. 

Latterly, she has turned her hand to digital health, launching a Care Quality Commission-registered online fertility clinic. She has also held clinical roles in both the NHS and private sector. 

Throughout her professional life, Lucy has been committed to her values of strong governance, ethics and compliance and has experience of a wide range of regulations across healthcare and data security. 

She will provide support and expert advice on promoting innovation and the translation of research, as well as research and development. 

And she will pass on her extensive knowledge on the scientific challenges faced by industry in the health sector. 

After qualifying as a pharmacist at Cardiff University, and working in community and hospital pharmacy, she went on to take a PhD in drug discovery at The University of Manchester鈥檚 for applied pharmacokinetic research in 2006.

 The PhD was sponsored by a major pharmaceutical company which meant she spent time in their labs, her first taste of working across academic and industry.

 From 2014, she worked at a major pharmaceutical company and built relationships with both clinical and academic key opinion leaders and worked with them as advisors to help drive scientific projects and improve patient outcomes. 

Soon, she was in a position to set up her own business, called Dr Fertility, the first online primary care provider for fertility to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. 

The company raised over two-and-a half million pounds to make the transition from ecommerce into a digital health provider for fertility. Dr Fertility provided fertility care delivered by both Doctors and nurses for anyone trying for a baby. 

Her new venture, The was launched in November 2023 to improve quality of care in digital health while supporting businesses to grow and scale.

The company has brought together a diverse range of experts and healthcare professionals with experience in academia, the pharmaceutical industry and the private and public healthcare sector.

Dr Buckley said: 鈥淚 have experienced the roller coaster of raising venture capital and the challenges of being an executive.鈥�

鈥淪o, I have lots of experience to pass on to the scientific community in the Faculty of biology, medicine and health.鈥�

She added: 鈥淪cientists are sometimes regarded by investors as not having commercial acumen. Many often undersell themselves.鈥�

鈥淎cademics have many transferable skills that are essential in business such as identifying problems, developing innovative solutions, testing hypotheses, gathering and analysing data and making evidence-based decisions鈥�

鈥淥ne of my key aims of this role is to help bridge that gap between academia and industry.

鈥淚f your business idea is strong, I passionately believe there are always opportunities to make that dream happen.鈥�

Professor Allan Pacey, Interim Dean and Vice President of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health said 鈥淚t is very exciting to welcome Lucy to the Faculty though this prestigious Royal Society scheme鈥�

鈥淚 first met Lucy over 10 years ago when I helped with the first start-up company Dr Fertility. It鈥檚 been great to see her go from strength to strength and be recognised by The Royal Society by being awarded this prestigious Royal Society scheme

鈥淭he University of Manchester is a global leader in Digital Health, being ranked by the Times Higher Education as first in the UK and fourth in the world.

鈥淚 hope that Lucy will be able to help us capitalise on this and held our researchers to navigate the tricky path of commercialisation.鈥�

University of Manchester Scientists are among the researchers at the Cancer 天美影视 UK National Biomarker Centre in Manchester have developed a simple blood test which can tell doctors at a very early stage if the melanoma is back even if a scan looks normal.

The test is now being used as part of a Cancer 天美影视 UK funded clinical trial, led by researchers at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, for patients across the region which could mean quicker diagnosis for people at risk of a relapse.

Among those taking part is mum of two Karen Dickinson, who was at a routine appointment for her arthritic knee, when her osteopath pointed out an irregular looking mole on her lower back.

The next day, the 57-year-old IT manager, now living in Lancaster, went to see her GP, who referred her for tests which revealed that Karen had melanoma 鈥� the most serious form of skin cancer.

Unfortunately, she was also told that the melanoma 鈥� which affects 2,200 people in the North West every year* - had spread to her lymph nodes.

Karen had surgery to remove the mole including a wider area of skin as well as the affected lymph nodes and she was unable to work for a month.

She said: 鈥淚t was such a shock. I had noticed the mole one day getting out of the shower and wondered if it was slightly darker. I thought it may have been due to the fact we鈥檇 been on holiday, even though it had been covered up. So, I had decided to keep an eye on it, but when my osteopath pointed it out and said I should get it checked sooner rather than later, I went straight to my GP. Then it all just happened so fast. They had removed it and diagnosed me with melanoma skin cancer all within a few weeks.

鈥淚 had no idea how serious melanoma was, and you do worry that you could die. Telling my husband Stephen and my two girls Chelsea and Alex was hard. Having cancer has changed my outlook on life. You do worry it might come back, but it absolutely doesn鈥檛 define who I am. It鈥檚 made me prioritise my time and not take my health for granted anymore. My time is precious, and I value what is most important to me more than ever.鈥�

Now Karen is one of 50 people to sign up to the DETECTION-2 clinical trial which aims to prevent people from having unnecessary treatment if their cancer is unlikely to return.

For most people who are diagnosed with melanoma at an early stage, the cancer will be successfully removed by surgery. But in a small percentage of patients the cancer will come back.

On the NHS, patients are currently offered a one-year preventative drug treatment aimed at reducing the risk of recurrence. But with this new blood test, it could be possible to identify patients most at risk, so that further treatment is only given to those who really need it. 

The blood test spot can spot small fragments of DNA shed by cancer cells - known as circulating tumour DNA or ctDNA.

The trial, which launched last month, is led by teams of researchers from The University of Manchester, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit.

Consultant medical oncologist at The Christie, Professor Paul Lorigan is leading on the trial. He said: 鈥淲hile immunotherapy or targeted therapy after surgery can help to prevent cancer returning, the majority of patients do not need this.  Giving this treatment to everyone means that many patients may unnecessarily receive additional treatment, which can have serious and long-term side effects. Ideally, only patients likely to have the melanoma return would receive the additional treatment and we therefore want to see if we can use a simple blood test to spot those patients who are most at risk.鈥�

Senior Lecturer in medical oncology at The University of Manchester and Principal Investigator on the trial, Dr Rebecca Lee added: 鈥淚f ctDNA is detected, then we can fast-track patients on to treatment and this would mean that only those patients who really need drug treatment receive it.鈥�

The research team, which is working closely with the charity Melanoma Focus and its patient groups, has recently begun recruiting patients at eight hospitals across the UK, including The Royal Preston Hospital where Karen had her first blood test which has shown no signs of melanoma.

Patients who decide to take part will be randomly assigned to one of two groups, half will receive the standard NHS care and the other half will have regular ctDNA blood tests following surgery instead. The results will be compared at the end of the study and if successful, the trial will be expanded to more hospital sites and more patients.

All patients will continue to have regular scans and skin checks and will be followed up for 5 years.

Karen added: 鈥淭he benefit for me of this brand-new trial is that I don鈥檛 need to go on medication, that could make feel very ill, if I don鈥檛 need it. Also, I have that reassurance that alongside the regular scans and checks, I will have these fantastic blood tests every three months that show up signs of the cancer coming back up to 12-months earlier than a scan. So for me it鈥檚 hugely beneficial both mentally and physically.鈥�

Analysis by Cancer 天美影视 UK showed that rates of melanoma have increased by almost a third over the past decade with around 16,000 people diagnosed with melanoma every year in the UK.**

With melanoma cases in the UK on the rise, this clinical trial has come at a crucial time according to Cancer 天美影视 UK鈥檚 Executive Director of 天美影视 and Innovation Dr Iain Foulkes. He said: 鈥淐ancer 天美影视 UK is dedicated to discovery science while ensuring our findings in the laboratory have patient benefit. This project is an important step towards ensuring that our understanding of cancer can provide more personalised treatment for people diagnosed with melanoma, whilst sustaining their quality of life."

Melanoma Focus CEO Susanna Daniels added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 hoped that by using these ctDNA blood tests, doctors will be able to identify very early on which patients have a high chance of the melanoma returning and treat those patients accordingly. Doctors will also be able to provide reassurance to those patients that do not have ctDNA in their blood that their melanoma is not returning, and therefore avoid unnecessary treatment and potential side effects for many patients.鈥�

Image: Karen Dickinson

The Options Roundabout event on the 19^th February 2025 was the culmination of the which saw our researchers pitch to a panel of commercialisation experts, entrepreneurs and funders. The event was a resounding success and an opportunity for the cohort to network and celebrate their achievements with peers and supporters of the programme.

The programme aims to inspire and accelerate the translation of the knowledge created through academic research into products, services or processes to deliver tangible benefit through a series of bespoke workshops and mentoring opportunities. The workshops helped researchers articulate their ideas by taking them through a lean start-up pathway to explore the commercial potential of their research.

The Innovation Enabling Awards were granted to acknowledge the impact and growth potential with early career researchers receiving between 拢1000 to 拢8000 to further develop the commercial potential of their ideas and businesses.

Aline Miller, Professor of Biomolecular Engineering and Associate Dean for Business Engagement and Innovation, presented the Innovation Enabling Awards to the six winning projects.

Award Winners

Innovation Enabling Award: 拢8,000

Tiny Human Dramas 

Dr Meghan Rose Donnelly (School of Social Sciences)

鈥�The R2I programme provided me with the skills I needed to take my research out into the world and make a real impact: connecting with industry, refining ideas, building a plan for the future, pitching to potential investors, and much more. R2I absolutely brought me from researcher to innovator.鈥�

Innovation Enabling Award: 拢5,000

Antenatal Education

Dr Holly Reid (School of Medical Sciences)

"The programme and the award have meant that the little idea with which I started R2I, could now be a commercially viable business very soon and that's really exciting."

Innovation Enabling Awards: 拢3,000

Graphene Vision

Dr Rui Zhang and Dr Matthew Lindley (School of Natural Sciences)

"The R2I programme has equipped us with the skills and confidence needed to navigate the entrepreneurial journey. The Innovation Enabling Award will help accelerate the commercialization of our innovation and has given us even more motivation to succeed." 

AI- GPR

Dr Frank Podd (School of Engineering)

鈥淩2I was a fantastic way to learn about the best approach to starting a company, from the inception of an innovation through to the collaborative development of a product with customers鈥� 

Innovation Enabling Awards: 拢1,000

Green Terra Energy Storage

Camilo Salazar (School of Engineering)

&苍产蝉辫;鈥�R2I is a very user-friendly program that provides you with the fundamental tools to start becoming an entrepreneur. The key is to believe in your role, you are already the best.鈥�

Battery Waste Recycling

Dr Amal Nadri (School of Engineering)

The prize winners will also receive expert support and signposting to regional and national accelerator programmes and all the participants on the MEC R2I programme will be connected to the wider ecosystem for further support, mentoring and guidance in taking their research ideas forward.

The organisers wish to thank the  Fellowship for their sponsorship of the Innovation Enabling Awards.

Get Involved

If you are an early career researcher looking for an exciting opportunity to develop your innovative thinking and enhance your understanding of creating and developing impact join the next round of the R2I programme. Find out more .

The is supported by the University鈥檚 Innovation Academy. The Innovation Academy is a pan University initiative and joint venture between the , the and the Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange team, bringing together knowledge, expertise and routes to facilitate the commercialisation of research.

The  guideline establishes new standards for managing fungal infections, which affect millions of people worldwide every year, and was recently published in Lancet Infectious Diseases. 

The new guideline contains detailed recommendations on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of various forms of candidiasis 鈥� from superficial infections to life-threatening invasive infections 鈥� for clinicians, including innovative diagnostic procedures and the latest therapeutic approaches. 

Particular attention is paid to new challenges such as resistance to common antifungals and the increasing spread of Candida auris, a multiresistant pathogen 

鈥淲ith this guideline, we have taken an important step towards improving treatment for patients worldwide,鈥� said Professor Cornely, head of the global initiative. Co-lead Dr Sprute added: 鈥淥ur aim was to pool the expertise of a global network to provide doctors and healthcare professionals with a practical and scientifically sound tool. 

The document is the result of four years of intensive collaboration among more than one hundred experts from 35 countries. Supported by the expert associations ECMM (European Confederation of Medical Mycology), ISHAM (International Society for Human and Animal Mycology) and ASM (American Society for Microbiology).

Dr Cornely invited potential authors for the guideline based on speciality, geography, and gender. Six coordinators were appointed to ensure the structure of the guideline, assign topics, identify missing aspects and monitor progress.

The guideline has been endorsed worldwide by seventy six international expert associations as an important guide for practising physicians and meets the highest standards of quality and relevance to clinical care.

鈥淥ur compilation is unprecedented and provides a basis for improving the treatment and chances of survival of affected patients worldwide,鈥� said Cornely, underlining the significance of the work.

Dr Riina Rautemaa-Richardson, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Infectious Diseases and Medical Education at The University of Manchester said: 鈥�"It was a mammoth project to bring practically the world together to agree how to diagnose and manage the most common invasive fungal disease. For the first time, all continents are represented and all aspects of Candida infections covered, including the very common superficial ones (thrush).鈥�

"It was amazing to see how much more evidence there is to support the recommendations made compared to the previous European guideline 10 years ago. Although we had over 100 expert authors in the group it was easy to agree on the recommendations.鈥�

Published in the and led by David Denning, Professor of Infectious Diseases in Global Health at The University of Manchester, the team analysed fungal infection management policies from the Netherlands,Italy, South Korea, China, and India. 

The contrast between the countries gives a representative picture of policies around the world according to Professor Denning. 

The research focussed on recognition and prioritization, awareness and education, prevention and monitoring, diagnosis and coordinated care, access to appropriate treatment, and diagnostic and treatment innovation. 

They also found worrying gaps in policy coverage, including low prioritization of diagnostics and omission of fungal pathogens from antimicrobial resistance policies.

There was also a general lack of awareness, poor healthcare professional training on optimal management of the potentially deadly infection which often presents with minimal, vague, or nonspecific symptoms.

Professor Denning said: 鈥淒evelopment of efficient and coordinated national systems to reduce avoidable deaths from fungal diseases has lagged behind other infectious diseases.

鈥淎 key element is timely and appropriate use of antifungal agents, based on diagnostic results, prevailing resistance trends and stewardship.

鈥淲e hope this article will provide a stimulus for all countries to put in place comprehensive plans for fungal diseases and monitor their implementation.鈥�

The policy framework that was developed is summarised in 6 areas: policy recognition, awareness and education, prevention and monitoring, diagnosis and coordinated care, access to appropriate treatment and innovation.

Each item in each country was scored using a traffic light system.

Founded by University of Manchester graduates Prithveesh Reddy and Harvey Lowe, Arcube has already caught the attention of industry insiders by winning the Venture Further Awards in the Technology category. Their platform leverages artificial intelligence to boost loyalty and ancillary revenue for airlines.

Making loyalty pay

Arcube鈥檚 flagship product, the 鈥淧assenger Intelligence Platform鈥� is the world鈥檚 first post-flight solution. It uses advanced data analytics to track passenger behaviour and suggest personalised upsells immediately after a flight. The technology was trialled by Etihad Airways, generating $1.6 million in extra revenue from just 1,300 passengers over the course of a year and achieving a notable 10.3% increase in average order value.

Airlines have long struggled to build loyalty among infrequent flyers. Many passengers hold dormant loyalty accounts with insufficient points to redeem meaningful rewards. Arcube鈥檚 solution enables passengers to convert their unused miles into ancillaries such as priority boarding, fast-track security and lounge access. These ancillaries are reserved for a future booking, to incentivise the passengers return to the same airline.

Reddy explained, 鈥淎irlines have vast amounts of passenger data鈥攚hat people eat on board, how early they arrive at the airport, how long they spend in lounges鈥攂ut much of it goes unused. Our platform bridges that gap by offering tailored, real-time options to passengers as soon as they get off the flight.鈥�

 From student project to startup success

Arcube鈥檚 journey began at The University of Manchester鈥檚 Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC), which was established by Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) enterprise lecturers in 2000 and provides resources and support for budding entrepreneurs. The duo started by taking part in the Centre鈥檚 entrepreneurship courses and later secured early-stage funding through MEC鈥檚 Kickstarter scheme. Earlier this year, Arcube took first place in the prestigious Venture Further Awards, one of the UK鈥檚 leading university startup competitions. 鈥淭he Masood Entrepreneurship Centre gave us a vital platform,鈥� said Lowe. 鈥淭heir mentorship and financial support have played a crucial role in our progress.鈥�

The company has also recently secured the Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester AI innovation grant.

Building trust with industry giants

Breaking into the airline industry is notoriously difficult for newcomers, but Arcube managed to convince Etihad Airways to pilot its technology. Lowe reflected on the challenge: 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a track record, so we offered to build the software at our own risk, asking only for a share of the additional revenue we could generate. It was a bold approach, but after months of negotiations, Etihad agreed.鈥� The pilot scheme鈥檚 results speak for themselves. With Etihad handling over 17 million passengers annually, the potential for rolling out the solution on a larger scale is substantial.

Looking ahead

Having recently graduated, Reddy and Lowe are now focusing on scaling their operation. They are in discussions with 14 airlines globally and aim to establish Arcube as a leader in the burgeoning travel ancillary data market. 鈥淥ur ambition is to create the world鈥檚 largest data set for travel ancillaries,鈥� Reddy said. 鈥淎ncillaries already account for up to 20% of revenue for traditional airlines, and for low-cost carriers, it鈥檚 often more than 50%. We鈥檙e starting with airlines, but our vision extends to the entire travel ecosystem鈥攃ar rentals, cruise lines, hotels.鈥� With a combination of technical expertise, entrepreneurial grit, and early success, Arcube looks set to become a major player in travel tech. As the startup scales its platform and expands its client base, it鈥檚 poised to offer a smarter, data-driven approach to airline loyalty and revenue generation.

Read more about Arcube's success .

Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC)

The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) is the focal point for enterprise and entrepreneurship teaching, learning and startup support at The University of Manchester. Find out more about our on- and co-curricular activities .

These findings underscore the importance of addressing sleep issues to support the mental health of young people and that gender is an important factor when considering how sleep and wellbeing are connected. 

The #BeeWell survey, which made this study possible, continues to provide valuable insights into the lives of young people, informing better policies and practices to improve outcomes. The programme is a collaboration between The University of Manchester, The Gregson Family Foundation, and Anna Freud. Visit  to find out more.

A 拢1m funding award from the Medical 天美影视 Council in collaboration with Innovate UK will accompany 拢1.2 million of in-kind support from 85 partners to fund the pilot phase of the UK Centre of Excellence on In-Silico Regulatory Science and Innovation (UK CEiRSI). This Centre will collaborate globally to address some of the sector's most pressing challenges and target unmet patient outcomes and safety needs. 

The consortium will work with computational modelling and simulation and AI techniques鈥攁ll of which are poised to revolutionise the healthcare landscape. The UK CEiRSI will contribute to making the UK the best milieu for delivering medical innovations using in silico evidence and regulatory science. 

The Centre will consist of leading universities from the UK鈥檚 four nations, world-class companies, and health systems and regulatory bodies, including the UK鈥檚 Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Health 天美影视 Authority (HRA) but will also collaborate with colleagues in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in mainland Europe.

Professor Alex Frangi, Bicentennial Turing Chair in Computational Medicine at The University of Manchester, will direct the Centre.

He said: 鈥淗uman and animal trials often face high failure rates resulting in delays, increased costs, and potential risks to patients.

鈥淥n average, pharmaceutical products take 12  years to develop, with testing consuming up to 30% of costs.

鈥淗owever, we will seek to address these critical inefficiencies by developing in-silico technologies that produce digital evidence for the digital age. Our aim is to reflect engineering practices in other sectors where physical testing is complemented by virtual testing and product optimisation. This will result in improved medical products (drugs or devices), faster and more affordable lifesaving therapies for patients, and innovative regulatory approval processes.鈥�

He added: 鈥淭hese cutting-edge tools can greatly enhance reliability in testing, while substantially reducing development time and costs, as well as improving the diversity of testing conditions, leading to more equitable care.鈥�

鈥淎nd that will benefit patients through reduced failure rates and recalls, while fostering economic growth by driving innovation in pharmaceuticals and medical technologies.鈥�

However, despite their transformative potential, a regulatory deadlock for in-silico technologies means the technologies face barriers to adoption. Regulators lack frameworks to assess in-silico evidence, while developers hesitate to invest without clear pathways to approval.

The UK CEiRSI aims to break the deadlock and position in-silico technology and virtual trials as a mainstream approach to eliminate risk from future medical and pharmaceutical innovation developments. To tackle this impasse, the Pilot phase will implement an In Silico Airlock Initiative where actors from industry, academia and regulatory bodies will explore 10 industry-led pre-commercial regulatory pilots and assess the opportunities and limitations of current credibility frameworks.

Building on the success of a six-month discovery phase, UK CEiRSI will bring together industry leaders, regulators, Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and standardisation bodies, academics, and patient representatives - to test and refine frameworks for assessing in-silico evidence.

Reports from the project will address key issues such as regulatory frameworks, legal and ethical implications, and patient risk reduction, paving the way for in-silico technologies to make a real impact on our lives.

• "in silico"  is a term used to describe experiments or studies that are performed using computer simulations or software. 

For more information visit:

• UK CEiRSI LinkedIn
• InSilicoUK
• InSilicoUK
• InSilicoUK
• InSilicoUK L 

Alex Theodossiadis, 25, died five years ago on 28 January 2020, after struggling to get a GP appointment. 

Reception staff had failed to realise  that the DJ鈥檚 symptoms needed urgent evaluation and offered him an appointment in three weeks. 

Alex had developed a severe and debilitating headache, and felt so ill and weak he was unable to eat properly or go out, which can be symptoms of meningitis in which the three thin layers of tissue that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord become inflamed, usually by an infection. 

Symptoms also include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, confusion and drowsiness muscle pain, stomach cramps and fever with cold hands and feet, and a rash, though they may appear in any order. Some may not appear at all. 

Alex was taken by a friend to Leeds General Infirmary and then transferred across the city to St James' Hospital where he stopped breathing after falling from his hospital bed and banging his head on the floor.

 An inquest heard he was likely to have already succumbed to the infectious disease, which was complicated by the head injury. 

His mother, Professor Sue Astley Theodossiadis, a medical imaging expert at The University of Manchester, has been working with the charities Meningitis Now and the PSHE Association to develop the resources. 

They consist of two lessons which teach 16 to 18-year-olds  how to recognise serious illness in themselves and others, and to have the confidence and knowledge to navigate the healthcare system. One section includes role playing on how to get a doctor鈥檚 appointment. 

The pack was part-funded by the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health  at The University of Manchester and part-funded by Meningitis Now. 

She said: 鈥淲e strongly feel Alex鈥檚 care could have been better, and that his death might have been preventable. 

鈥淗e was told he had to wait for three weeks for a GP appointment. But after becoming progressively unwell, he went to a walk-in clinic where the first words written by the nurse at the appointment were 'cough and cold' symptoms, despite his most concerning symptoms including a new, debilitating headache. 

鈥淗e was so ill he couldn't even climb the stairs to his bedroom, but the duration and severity of his symptoms wasn鈥檛 discussed at the appointment. 

鈥淚t's likely that his inexperience in presenting his symptoms contributed to a presumption of a flu type viral infection; he left the surgery with painkillers for the headache.鈥�

A record of his Facebook messages to his friends and family, compiled by Professor Astley Theodossiadis, reveals the heartbreaking progression of the symptoms caused by the disease.

After posting one message to a friend in Germany which said he was 'in and out of naps', another friend took him to hospital, where he died three days later.

She added: "The coroner picked up the need for GP receptionists to ask questions and help people to be clearer about their symptoms so they can triage them more appropriately to get urgent appointments.

"This resource pack draws on Alex鈥檚 experience to help young people recognise serious illness in themselves and others, and to have the confidence and knowledge to navigate the healthcare system.

鈥淯ntil the time of his illness, Alex鈥檚 interactions with the NHS had mainly been for sports injuries, and many of those were when he was young, so I was there with him.

鈥淢y hope is that this will help prevent others dying in a similar way.  All healthcare professionals, including receptionists, need to be aware of the difficulties young people have in explaining themselves. The resources also highlight when to seek help urgently, either for yourself or for someone else鈥�

Director of Meningitis Now Dr Tom Nutt said: 鈥淲e welcome this valuable resource and thank Alex鈥檚 mother Sue for her tireless efforts to raise awareness and fight back against the disease that sadly took her son鈥檚 life.

鈥淵oung people are an at-risk group of meningitis and research tells us that up to a quarter of 15 to 24-year-olds carry the bacteria that cause meningococcal meningitis in the back of their throats, compared with one in 10 of the general population.

鈥淐ommon complaints such as a hangover and Freshers鈥� Flu are often given as reasons for a person not feeling too well 鈥� but we are asking young people not to simply assume this is the case. A headache and fever are also common signs of meningitis.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important that young people have the confidence and the knowledge to understand what may be happening to them when they are unwell and to know when to seek medical help or the help of others. This means taking a few minutes to learn the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia, and to know that it鈥檚 OK to seek urgent medical help if you are concerned that someone maybe unwell and getting worse.  This new resource will give young people the knowledge and confidence on how best to go about this.鈥�

Monica Perry from PSHE Association said: 鈥淭hese lessons will help students to develop responsibility for monitoring and maintaining their health and wellbeing; learning how to access reliable health information, recognising when to seek medical care, and rehearsing communication with healthcare professionals.

鈥淵oung adults have an increased risk of contracting meningitis or meningococcal disease 鈥� this resource will support students to be aware of vaccinations available, common signs and symptoms of the disease and what to do if someone is seriously unwell.鈥�

The May Davidson Award 2024 has been presented to Dr Sarah Parry by the British Psychological Society (BPS) for her exceptional early career achievements.

Dr Parry is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Academic Director for the Clinical Psychology Doctorate at The University of Manchester. Her research focuses on young people鈥檚 mental health and advancing care for children and families.

Alongside this, Dr Parry co-leads a research centre at , where she works with young people and families to develop evidence-based improvements to mental health services.

Dr Parry鈥檚 current research studies include exploring joint responses for young people experiencing mental health crises, supporting young people with distressing sensory experiences, identifying and overcoming barriers to inclusive research, and developing a trauma-informed care approach for use in homes for cared for children.

Dr Sarah Parry said: 鈥淚 am truly grateful to receive the May Davidson Award, especially when I think of the inspiring previous recipients of the award, whose work I greatly admire.

The BPS seeks to represent psychology and psychological professions, with the aim of promoting the incredible impact the field can have on individuals and society.

The May Davidson Award is presented to clinical psychologists who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of clinical psychology within the first 10 years of their work as a qualified clinical psychologist. The late May Davidson was president of the BPS in 1976 and was actively involved in government discussions about the role of clinical psychologists.

The BPS said: 鈥淪arah has championed a reflective and compassionate approach to training in mental health and clinical psychology. She has pioneered leading on clinical research in under researched areas in the field of youth mental health using a collaborative approach in developing communities of support and co-creating research with experts by experience.

鈥淭he Award is in recognition of the dedication and thoughtfulness shown and the quality of the work in improving children and young people's mental health.鈥�

The Young People鈥檚 天美影视 Centre at Pennine Care reports an increasing number of young people are reporting mental health concerns, with one in six 7-16 year-olds experiencing a mental health difficulty in 2022. The centre recognises that early access to support is crucial, as around 50% of mental health challenges emerge by the age of 14.

Through the vital research Dr Parry is championing, she hopes to learn how to improve the quality and accessibility of mental health services, to support and advocate for young people with a range of different needs.

The HDRC is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视 (NIHR). It will connect the Council, University of Manchester researchers and other academic institutions to give local people an equal say in research and the ability to influence decisions made from that research, using both real-life experiences and building on current ways of doing things, to make sure the benefits last long after the programme ends.

The funding approval given today  follows last year鈥檚 submission to the National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视.

The collaboration, led by Manchester City Council, University of Manchester and partner organisations, is a significant step in uniting Manchester academic institutions and residents with other key players including voluntary and faith organisations, and public and private sector partners.

It aims to enhance better understanding of the factors affecting health and health inequalities, increase research capacity and use this evidence to inform future policy and planning and improve health outcomes in areas of high deprivation.

Councillor Thomas Robinson, Executive Manchester for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care said: 鈥淭his is a wonderful opportunity for Manchester to lead the way in tackling health inequalities by ensuring that local people鈥檚 voices are at the heart of shaping policy. By building our research capacity and working closely with partners and local people across the city we can develop a deeper understanding of the challenges our communities face and create evidence-based solutions that will have a real and lasting impact on people鈥檚 lives.

"This collaboration allows us to continue to shape the future of health and wellbeing in our city which is the central tenet of our Making Manchester Fairer Programme to address health inequity and preventable deaths by looking at all the social factors that mean that some people in the city die earlier than others.鈥�

Professor Arpana Verma from The University of Manchester, Academic Lead for the HDRC, said: 鈥淲e are so proud that Manchester has been awarded full HDRC status. This is a testament to our communities and public contributors who have helped us as the HDRC team create a plan of work that will strengthen our partnership. The HDRC will ensure we continue to hear the voices of the unheard, make the invisible, visible and making sure that we don鈥檛 leave anyone behind.

鈥淧utting people at the heart of this exciting initiative is vital for inclusive research and improving health and wellbeing. As we look to the next 5 years, we will continue to build our research-active communities and research-responsive policies to tackle inequalities together."

This commitment to addressing health inequalities across Manchester is echoed in the University's recent investment in interdisciplinary research focused on delivering fairer health outcomes for all through its  research platform.

The study of special bacteria, which have evolved nanoscopic syringes 鈥揟ype 6 Secretion Systems (T6SSs) 鈥� that inject cocktails of deadly toxins into rival microorganisms, is published today in the journal PNAS. 

Microbes been fighting their own wars on germs for Millions of years  鈥� battling for survival against each other.

The new Wellcome Trust-funded research shows that toxin cocktails used in these fights have a highly valuable property 鈥� they limit resistance evolution to T6SS attacks.

In both computer simulations and lab experiments, the researchers found that microbes readily evolved resistance to individual T6SS toxins, but that resistance did not occur when the toxins were injected together.

That means multi-toxin T6SSs might be ideal candidates for resistance-busting antimicrobials of the future.

T6SS-armed bacteria are already being harnessed as antimicrobials, with applications in crop protection or aquafarming.

Attacker bacteria could also be engineered as 鈥渓iving biotherapeutics鈥�, targeting drug-resistant bacteria or fungi inside hosts. 

The new results could now be used to improve these technologies,using toxin combinations to limit resistance evolution and extend their lifespan.

The work also suggests that microbes themselves might have much to teach us when it comes to overcoming resistance.

While the idea of combination therapy 鈥� using multiple toxins together to prevent resistance 鈥� dates from the 1950s, bacteria seem have been beaten humans to the discovery.

鈥淏acteria have been using T6SSs to attack other microbes for millions of years, and have developed their own type of combination therapy 鈥� injecting a range of toxin types together ,鈥� said Lead author, Dr Will Smith, from the University of Manchester.

鈥淚t鈥檚 possible this evolved to limit resistance in competitors. If so, what other mechanisms might microbes have to do this?鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 an exciting prospect that we might make better antimicrobial therapies by consulting our top microbial assassins: the germs themselves鈥�

• Video shows attacker and target bacteria. The dead bacteria is stained pink

Led by researchers at The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), alongside researchers in Australia and United States, the study will enable researchers to track changes in brain structure over time in children and young people with NF1.

The research is funded by a 拢2.2 million award from the US Department of Defence and is the largest investigation into brain development in NF1 to date. Using advanced machine-learning techniques, the team will analyse the brain structure of over 10,000 MRI scans, comparing them to healthy individuals of the same age.

By doing that, they will shine a light on how specific genetic changes affect the brain and how alterations in brain structure may predict learning difficulties outcomes.

The Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia, the Murdoch 天美影视 Institute in Melbourne and the Complex NF1 Service hosted by the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine at Saint Mary鈥檚 Hospital, part of MFT, which is a world leading centre for clinical care and research in NF1, have all signed up to the project.

NF1 affects approximately 1 in 2,500 children. Although the severity of the condition varies from person to person, about half of all children affected by the condition may have difficulties with learning, autism or ADHD.

Dr Shruti Garg, Senior Lecturer at The University of Manchester and National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视 (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical 天美影视 Centre (BRC) Mental Health Theme Capacity Development Lead, is leading the international research.

Dr Garg, who is also Honorary Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Royal Manchester Children鈥檚 Hospital, part of MFT said: 鈥淟earning and behavioural difficulties in NF1 can profoundly impact the quality of lives of affected children and young people. This funding provides a crucial opportunity for researchers to deepen our understanding of how changes in the NF1 gene impact brain development.

鈥淛ust like 鈥榞rowth-charts鈥� are widely used to monitor children鈥檚 physical growth, our research will enable us to create NF1-specific 鈥榖rain charts鈥� to serve as a reference for age-related changes in brain structure.鈥�

Dr Nils Muhlert, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Neuroanatomy at the University of Manchester said: 鈥淭his project is a powerful illustration of collaboration across the world, and we are tremendously excited about what it might achieve.鈥�

Karen Cockburn, Charity Director of Nerve Tumours UK, said: "We fully endorse this extremely important global project, and the work of Dr Shruti Garg, who is also a member of the charity's Medical Advisory Board. This research and its potential findings will be of huge benefit for the NF1 community.鈥�

Dr Grace Vassallo, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist and Clinical Lead for the Complex NF1 Service at the Manchester Centre for Genomic Centre for Medicine at Saint Mary鈥檚 Hospital, said: 鈥淲e are incredibly grateful for this unique opportunity to collaborate in cutting edge research into the developing NF1 Brain charts which will in future improve the clinical care for children and young people with NF1.鈥�

The new suggests that repeated head injuries, such as concussions, a known risk factor for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease (AD), may reactivate a common dormant virus in the brain, increasing the risk of AD and other neurodegenerative conditions. 天美影视ers found that even mild brain trauma can trigger this chain reaction, leading to harmful changes associated with memory loss and cognitive decline.

, the researchers demonstrated the roles that common viruses, such as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) (the so-called cold sore virus) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) (which causes chickenpox and shingles) play in the development of AD. HSV-1 can lie dormant in human cells for a lifetime, but when it re-awakens it can cause changes that resemble changes observed in AD patients鈥� brains - amyloid plaque-like formations (PLFs), gliosis, neuroinflammation, and decreased functionality.

In the latest study, published today in Science Signaling, the researchers once again used their small, 3D, bioengineered human brain tissue model to test the effects of physical trauma on the brain cells. When the brain tissues were exposed to repeated "mild blows," similar to concussions, the previously dormant HSV-1 virus became active. This reactivation triggered inflammation, beta-amyloid plaque build-up, and the formation of harmful tau proteins, which can damage brain cells and impair memory.

Importantly, the researchers also found that blocking an inflammatory molecule called Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1尾) prevented many of these harmful effects in lab models, opening the door to potential new treatments for those at risk. 

Professor Ruth Itzhaki, who led the research with Drs Cairns and Kaplan at Tufts, has been researching the potential role of HSV-1 in AD for more than 30 years, beginning at the University of Manchester, where her team discovered HSV-1 DNA is present in the human brain in a high proportion of older people - the first microbe to be detected definitively in normal human brains. 

Professor Itzhaki, Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing and Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester, said: 鈥淗ead injuries are already recognised as a major risk factor, as are the cumulative effect of common infections, for conditions such as Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia, but this is the first time we have been able to demonstrate a mechanism for that process.

鈥淲hat we鈥檝e discovered is that in the brain model these injuries can reactivate a dormant virus, HSV1, setting off inflammation which, in the brain, would lead to the very changes we see in Alzheimer鈥檚 patients.

鈥淯nderstanding both the risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer鈥檚, and the mechanism by which they develop, is important in being able to target treatment and prevention at as early a point as possible.鈥�

The researchers hope their work will pave the way for new treatments to protect against neurodegeneration, particularly for those at high risk due to repeated concussions.

The full paper, 鈥楻epetitive injury induces phenotypes associated with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease by reactivating HSV-1 in a human brain tissue model鈥�, is published in.

The English Language Support Academy for Medics will work with the gynaecologists, surgeons, paediatricians, emergency medical doctors and GPs in 2025.

The Belfast programme is supported by REACHE, a 21-year-old medical education programme funded by NHS England that in 2024 has helped 123 health professionals, mainly doctors and nurses on their journey to regain their professional registrations in England.

The programme is being led by Dr Aisha Awan, Director of REACHE at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, and a clinical lecturer at The University of Manchester. 

Dr Awan said: 鈥淩EACHE offers an excellent return on investment. Its nearly six times cheaper and takes half the time of training medical students in the UK.

鈥淭he fall of the Assad regime in Syria brings the plight of refugees and asylum seekers sharply into focus.

鈥淏ut rather than wasting the experience of these skilled medical professionals when we need doctors and nurses desperately, REACHE supports them to be part of the solution to our national challenges.鈥�

She added: 鈥淩efugee doctors have an average of seven years post-registration experience under their belt.

鈥淲ith specialist language and acculturation training alongside strong pastoral support, they are well able  to fill the estimated shortfall of around 50,000 doctors in the NHS.鈥�

According to REACHE, the recruitment of refugees and asylum-seeking doctors and nurses prevents them from becoming deskilled through inactivity in their host country.

That way they can then return to their nations after conflicts end and provide health services to traumatised citizens and rebuild their country.

• Image 1 : the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray welcomes a refugee group of doctors at the opening of the programme. From L to R they are  Dr Ghaleb Daher,  Lord Mayor, Dr Yasmeen Ahmed and Dr Mohameden Omer 
• Image 2: From Left to right they are: Jennifer Taggart, NHS service manager; Councillor Micky Murray; Aisha Awan; Dr Kathy Cullen, interim Centre Director, Queen's University

Circadian rhythms are our internal 24-hour body clocks. These natural cycles of physiological and behavioural patterns, if disrupted, can have adverse effects on ageing and related health issues.

The project, called CircadiAgeing, will focus on understanding how both the well-known molecular clock and the less studied processes in cell membranes influence daily changes in cell activity.

Through an interdisciplinary approach using cutting-edge electrophysiology, imaging, genetic analysis and computational biology, the research team hopes to develop ways to better understand and strengthen these biological clocks, to promote healthier ageing and potentially reduce age-related disorders.

, Senior Lecturer in the Division of Neuroscience, is a part of CircadiAgeing鈥檚 core team. 

Dr Belle said: 鈥淚 am excited to be part of the CircardiAgeing research programme and fantastic team of world-leading researchers in circadian biology and neuroscience."

The programme, funded for 60 months, is a collaboration between Dr Mino Belle (University of Manchester), Dr Marco Brancaccio (UK Dementia 天美影视 Institute at Imperial College London), Professor Hugh Piggins (University of Bristol), Professor Krasi Tsaneva-Atananova (University of Exeter), and Dr Alessio Vagnoni (King's College London). The project is led by Professor James Hodge (University of Bristol).

Professor James Hodge said: 鈥淲e will take advantage of the powerful genetics and short lifespan of the fruit fly to determine the effect of age on the clock translating our finding to a nocturnal, and for the first time, a day active species of rodent using closely aligned computational models, innovative tools and protocols developed by our labs.

鈥淲e will employ, a holistic approach taking a multiple-disciplinary approach to understanding how the circadian clock works at every level across the whole life course. Finally, we will investigate evolutionary conserved interventions to rejuvenate rhythms and behaviour extending health during ageing, revealing ways to potentially allow our ageing population to continue to live well and independently.鈥�

The funding comes from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences 天美影视 Council (BBSRC), who have backed four groundbreaking research projects through their (sLoLa). The scheme supports innovative teams in pursuing ambitious, multidisciplinary long-term bioscience research.

The study - led by two University of Manchester researchers and published in Nature Communications - significantly advances our understanding of how Aspergillus fumigatus rapidly develops drug resistance.

 The mould, found in soil, composts, and decaying vegetation, is potentially deadly to people with a range of health conditions including those with weakened immune systems and respiratory problems.

Millions of people develop invasive and chronic aspergillosis infections around the world every year, with mortality rates ranging between 30% to 90%.

Only three classes of antifungal drugs available to treat disease, and only one class, the azoles, is suitable for long-term oral administration.

Resistance to azoles is spreading due to the use of a class of fungicides in agriculture, known as the DMIs. Resistance can double the risk of mortality from invasive aspergillosis.

According to the study funded by The Wellcome Trust, strains resistant to azoles are over five times more likely to acquire resistance to new treatments currently in clinical trials. 

The study follows previous research by the team showing how an agricultural fungicide called ipflufenoquin- currently under consideration by authorities worldwide - could have a devastating effect on a new drug, olorofim, currently being trialled to treat Aspergillus fumigatus infections. 

F2G Ltd 鈥� a spin out company from The University of Manchester 鈥� invested more than 拢250 million over 20 years in the development of olorofim, which is in late-stage clinical trials and aims to be clinically deployed within the next few years. 

Because olorofim works against azole resistant infections, it could save many lives of affected patients. 

However, ipflufenoquin, could severely impact the new drug because it has the same biological target and kills the fungi the same way as olorofim. 

Co-author Dr Michael Bottery from The University of Manchester said: 鈥淥ur discovery, coupled with our previous research on the impact of an agrochemical on antifungal resistance, highlights the urgent need for innovative strategies to combat the growing public health threat of antifungal resistance. 

鈥�Aspergillus fumigatus produces billions of spores. Even slightly elevated rates of mutation mean it is highly likely resistant mutants will arise.鈥� 

By exposing billions of spores from genetically different natural strains of Aspergillus fumigatus to a range of drugs they accelerated evolution in the lab to predict how likely it was for resistance to evolve. 

Strains that evolve faster, they found,  were also the ones already resistant to azoles. These strains had genetic changes in genes that control the fungus鈥檚 system which repairs mutated DNA  -  known as the mismatch repair system. 

By using CRISPR-Cas9 to reproduce these variants in the lab, they were able to directly link the changes in the mismatch repair system with the ability of Aspergillus fumigatus to evolve resistance to new drugs. 

Co-author Prof. Michael Bromley from The University of Manchester said: 鈥�Specific strains of Aspergillus fumigatus are resistant to azoles, the only effective long-term treatment for chronic aspergillosis.

鈥淏ut these strains also have elevated mutation rates due to changes in their DNA mismatch repair system - the fungus鈥檚 system which repairs errors in its DNA.

鈥淭his means that isolates that are already resistant to our first line treatments could develop resistance to new drugs 5 times faster than drug resistant isolates, potentially leading to strains that are resistant to all antifungal medications.鈥�

The  paper "Elevated mutation rates in multi-azole resistant Aspergillus fumigatus drive rapid evolution of antifungal resistance," to be published in in Nature Communications, is published in Nature Communications.

The duration reduction of around 10% could provide significant cost savings to health systems, limit unwanted drug side-effects, reduce overtreatment and reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance in individuals, across communities and internationally.

The study was commissioned and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视 (NIHR), and its leading partners were The University of Manchester, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and Warwick Medical School鈥檚 Clinical Trials Unit,  who specialise in research in emergency and critical care.

Chief investigator Paul Dark, Professor of Critical Care at the University of Manchester will present the findings to a global online audience at the prestigious this week (10/12/24), where it will be scrutinised and debated by some of the world鈥檚 leading experts in the field.

The research team are also to publish their peer reviewed findings in JAMA-  one of the world鈥檚 leading medical  journals today

According to the charity Sepsis 天美影视 FEAT, around 50,000 people are estimated to die of sepsis in the UK each year, which develops when the body's immune system overreacts to an infection and starts attacking its own tissues and organs.

Accounting for 100,000 hospital admissions a year in the UK, it is estimated that there are 49 million cases and 1 million deaths a year globally.

Recognising sepsis and starting antibiotics  early are crucial but until now the recommended duration of such treatment has been uncertain.

The only available option recommended for doctors currently is to use their judgement  to decide when to discontinue the potent  broad spectrum antibiotics, usually reserved to treat the condition.

The new decision support system is based on a simple blood test, carried out daily and available in most  NHS hospital laboratories.

It tests for levels of a circulating protein called procalcitonin (PCT), which is produced as part of the body鈥檚 immune system responses to bacterial infections.

Higher levels indicate a greater likelihood of bacterial infection and sepsis, with subsequent falling levels indicating favourable responses to treatments

A computer automated response, based on the PCT levels from the blood test,    advises doctors whether to discontinue antibiotic treatment or not.  A further commonly measured circulating inflammation protein (C-reactive protein or CRP) was also tested.

The randomized controlled trial was based at 41 intensive care units across the UK, involving 2,760 adults from January 2018 to June 2024.

It compared 918 patients on a  PCT protocol with 924 patients on a  C-reactive protein (CRP) and 918 patients on current standard care.

Clinicians responsible for managing patients received daily standardized written advice on either standard care or on PCT or CRP biomarker-guided antibiotic discontinuation.

The protocols in the study were uniquely designed to  conceal laboratory test results  from clinical  staff to reduce potential bias and patients were randomly assigned to one of the three groups.

The team found that a PCT protocol reduced total antibiotic duration by 10% and all-cause mortality, a key patient safety measure, was the same as standard care .

There was no difference in total antibiotic duration between standard care and CRP protocols..

Professor Dark, who is also an NHS Consultant in Critical Care Medicine at Salford Royal, said: 鈥淭his simple protocol, if implemented, could significantly change the way sepsis is treated and safely help to combat antimicrobial overuse and resistance-  one of the world鈥檚 leading health challenges.

鈥淚t is also a powerful illustration of how precision medicine can make a real difference to patient care  when treatment is tailored to  individual test results  of each patient.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also important to acknowledge that this study would not have been possible without the generous contribution  of patients with this life threatening condition who like all of us, are committed to finding better ways to deal with sepsis.鈥�

He added: 鈥淪epsis has been at the forefront of policy makers minds ever since the publication of 2013 Health Service Ombudsman report which focused on sepsis patients who were not treated urgently enough.

鈥淓ver since then, developing better diagnostics and treatment guidance for GPs and hospital clinicians to help them recognise sepsis at an early stage has been a national priority.

鈥淭his trial has been planned to address NICEs recommendations so that its results will inform their future guidance on antibiotic duration in sepsis.鈥�

Sepsis 天美影视 FEAT trustee Beth Budgen developed sepsis as a result of a seemingly innocuous Strep A infection on Christmas Day 2022, resulting in quadruple amputations.

She said: 鈥淲ithin 24hrs I was fighting for my life and have been left with life changing injuries as a result. If this can happen to me, it really can happen to anyone. It really is that scary

鈥淭he University of Manchester study is one of several significant projects currently being undertaken in the UK in the field of antibiotic treatment for sepsis patients - an extremely important area of research which Sepsis 天美影视 FEAT fully endorses.

鈥淭he priority setting partnership exercise that the charity recently completed with the James Lind Alliance will also now be crucial in ensuring that the best research into sepsis takes place UK-wide.鈥�

Professor Gavin Perkins, Warwick CTU Trial Lead said: 鈥淪epsis claims tens of thousands of lives each year in the UK.  The findings from ADAPT-sepsis will help doctors ensure that critically ill patients with severe infections get the right duration of treatment with life-saving antibiotics.鈥�

• Critically ill patients recruited to the trial had already commenced antibiotics for sepsis, so the study does not provide evidence for biomarker use in initiating antibiotic therapy.
• The University of Manchester, University of Warwick and Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust researchers would like to thank the NIHR Clinical 天美影视 Network (CRN) for help delivering the study in the NHS and the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme for funding the trial.  The collaborative  co-investigator  funded team  in this national study are linked here    .  We would also like to thank Abbott and Roche Diagnostics for their contracted support to assist NHS laboratories participate in the study. 
• Beth鈥檚 story is available to read in full and she also appears on the Sepsis 天美影视 FEAT  . The PSP outcomes page on their  website can be found .

Professor Adam Greenstein, Professor of Medicine at the University of Manchester, said: 鈥淭he team and I are delighted to have been chosen as the winners of the British Heart Foundations 天美影视 Story of the Year award. Our research marks a revolutionary step forward in understanding the vascular causes of dementia by uncovering new routes for drugs which could slow the progression of  this devastating condition.

The British Heart Foundation has been funding my work for the last 12 years, and it has been the privilege of a lifetime. None of these breakthroughs would exist if it wasn鈥檛 for their unwavering and continuous support. Dementia in the over 65鈥檚 is largely a vascular illness 鈥� together with the British Heart Foundation we are going to stop it in it鈥檚 tracks鈥�

The 天美影视 Story of the Year category invites the public to vote for their favourite BHF-funded research project addressing some of the biggest challenges in cardiovascular disease.

The Manchester team, co led by Professor Greenstein and Dr Harry Pritchard won for their study that unmasked the hidden dangers of even slightly high blood pressure, revealing how it disrupts communication between the cells that make up the arteries in the brain.

Blood flow in the brain is regulated by two cell structures. When blood pressure increases, these structures help to transmit messages that tell arteries to dilate, allowing more blood to flow through them.

But the researchers found that, when blood pressure remains consistently high, these two structures move further apart. This stops messages reaching their target, causing arteries to remain permanently constricted and limiting blood flow to the brain.

Brain cells that don鈥檛 receive enough blood are starved of oxygen and nutrients, causing them to become damaged over time and die. This can lead to lack of concentration and poor memory, both symptoms of dementia.

These results in mice still need to be confirmed in humans, but the team are already looking at potential drugs that could restore this communication. They hope that this could improve blood supply to affected areas in the brain, slowing the progression of all dementia syndromes.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation, said:

&苍产蝉辫;鈥淐ardiovascular disease affects the lives of too many families, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. But, thanks to the incredible commitment and generosity of our BHF supporters and researchers, there is hope on the horizon.

鈥淭his study is just one example of the incredible research happening in labs and hospitals across the UK. Every day, our awe-inspiring BHF-funded researchers bring us one step closer to the next breakthrough that will save and improve lives of people affected by cardiovascular disease.鈥�

The first Whitworth debate in November 2023, called Culture of care or culture of concern - let鈥檚 debate animal research, received the accolade on Monday at a ceremony at the Crick Institute in London. 

Wendy Jarrett CEO of Understanding Animal 天美影视 (UAR), Penny Hawkins Head of the Animals in Science Department, RSPCA Science and Policy Group and  Celean Camp CEO of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) took questions from students and staff at the event. 

The event kicked off with Dr Maria Kamper, Director of the University's Biological Services Facility signing a public pledge to uphold a culture of care within the unit. 

The University, a winner of two other openness awards over the past 7 years, is a signatory of the Concordat on openness on animal research, a set of commitments to enhance animal research communications. 

It has been recognised internationally as a leading exponent of openness in animal research. 

The judges, who included senior figures from science, academia and the RSPCA, praised the event as a space for people to come together to ask questions and hear issues around animal testing. 

They particularly recognised the efforts that would have been needed to obtain the necessary internal support for holding such an event. 

鈥淲e hope its success inspires other signatories [of the Concordat] to hold similar events, with a continuing broadening of the perspectives represented on the stage, and of those attending,鈥�  they added. 

Dr Kamper said: 鈥淲e are so proud to be recognised as a leading exponent in openness by our distinguished peers. 

鈥淭here is absolutely no doubt that openness reaps huge rewards for science, scientists-  and ultimately the public who are the beneficiaries of new medical treatments and procedures. 

鈥淎nd shining a light on animal research, also ensures that the highest standards of care and welfare are adhered to by those who work in the sector.鈥� 

The debate was chaired by communications lead for animal research Mike Addelman, from the Directorate  of communications, marketing and student recruitment. 

He said: 鈥淭his event was conducted in the best possible way. Though our panellists covered many of the hotly debated areas in animal research, they were constructive in what they had to say, and engaged a lively and appreciative audience. 

鈥淚t was clear that audience members went home feeling as though they had learned something - and that they understood where people with differing views were coming from."

• Image  from left to right:  Mike Addelman, animal research comms lead University of Manchester, Val Summers, Regulatory Affairs Manager at Envigo who presented the award, Dr Jo Stanley,  Named Training and Competency Officer and 3Rs manager at The Biological Services Facility, University of Manchester

The review also finds that 15% of people with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) die in the first year following other lung diseases.

The international study of CPA - which kills 340,000 people a year around the world - is  led by Professor David Denning from The University of Manchester and published today in the leading journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Though still high, CPA patients with prior tuberculosis (TB) had a lower overall 5 year mortality of 25%, according to the study.

Though patients with TB tend to be younger, a multivariable analysis showed prior TB was 24% less lethal than other lung conditions, even accounting for age, though the reason for the difference in outcome was not identified.

Being older than 60, having interstitial lung disease, current cancer and smoking-related lung disease carried worse outcomes.

Co-authors Dr Abinhav Sengupta and Dr Animesh Ray from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi examined the death rates in 8,778 patients described in the literature from all continents except Antarctica.

CPA, in which lungs gradually scar over months and years, is a debilitating condition which causes severe tiredness, weight loss, breathlessness and coughing up blood.

Caused by exposure to airborne spores of the mould Aspergillus, it is harmless to most people, but not to those with lung damage.

A small group of patients with disease in only one lung have it removed surgically have a much lower mortality.

In contrast, very ill patients tend to be treated with the antifungal drug voriconazole and had a significantly higher mortality.

David Denning, Professor of Infectious Diseases in Global Health at The University of Manchester who led the study said: 鈥淭his truly international collaboration highlights the poor outcome of diagnosed and treated patients with CPA.

鈥淢any are not diagnosed or misdiagnosed as having TB, and then not treated with antifungal agents.

鈥淭reatment with antifungal drugs or surgery improves symptoms and probably reduces deaths from this truly disabling disorder, although as this study shows new strategies to reduce deaths are required, especially straight after diagnosis.鈥�

Earlier in 2024, Professor Denning that CPA developed in 1.8 million people each year, leading to 340,000 deaths (18%), taking into account diagnosed and undiagnosed patients.

Of the deaths, an estimated 204,000 were directly attributable to CPA. This new research takes the CPA mortality down and consequently the number of patients living with CPA up. The last figure (prevalence) was estimated by Denning at over 6 million.

The paper Mortality in chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis is available

In a position statement published today, British Society of Audiology, the British Academy of Audiology and the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists say the misinformation is promoting a sense of alarm and stigma around hearing loss, and may discourage people experiencing hearing difficulties from seeking help.

They also argue the focus on what causes the co-occurrence of hearing loss and dementia could inadvertently distract from much needed research on how to assess and help people who live with both conditions.

The statement published by the organisations, provides a more balanced view of the link between the two, arguing there is no evidence to support or refute either of the claims.

Factors which are predictive of dementia include depression, traumatic brain injury, diabetes, lower levels of education, and social isolation. Hearing loss comes much further down the ranking and has a clear but weak association.

The lead author Kevin Munro, Professor of audiology at The University of Manchester, said: 鈥淚t is true that hearing loss and dementia both increase with age. But it does not follow that one causes the other.

鈥淪ocial responsibility is paramount, and any misleading negative messaging may distract from the importance of good hearing in its own right.

鈥淗earing loss is a huge challenge because it ranks third in terms of years lived with a disability.鈥�

There is clear evidence that treating adult-onset hearing loss facilitates an active, engaged, independent, and healthy older age, and that could be good for people with or without dementia.

鈥淭he topic of dementia raises considerable fear and alarm because of the potential devastating consequences for individuals, with a significant impact on families and carers, as well as the health and care system.鈥�

Siobhan Brennan, Chair of the British Society of Audiology said: 鈥淲hile the nature of the link has yet to be determined, it is a mistake to think that if two things co-occur, one must have caused the other.

鈥淲e can say with certainty that just because someone experiences age-related cognitive change, and changes in their hearing, this does not mean that they will go on to develop dementia.鈥�

Listening and trying to communicate with others when you have a hearing loss can be a challenge. Hearing aids have proven benefits for improving communication and this helps to keep the user cognitively and socially active.

Professor Munro added: 鈥淚f hearing aids help you to hear more easily, this means your brain probably doesn鈥檛 have to work so hard. That could free up your brain to do other things. This is a simple and clear message: hearing better can help you to live better.鈥�

Claire Benton, President of the British Academy of Audiology said: 鈥淲e need to change the narrative, so society appreciates the importance of healthy hearing. We are in an ageing society and the more people who enter older age in good health, the better. Healthy hearing is an important component of healthy ageing.鈥�

Michael Marchant, Vice President of the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists, said: 鈥淭his document is designed to reassure our members and help them navigate any concerns. Since causation between hearing loss and dementia has not been proven, it鈥檚 essential that our members approach this topic with sensitivity, ensuring patients feel informed and supported rather than alarmed.鈥�

The authors of the report stress that the content is specific to adult-onset hearing loss. It does not apply to people who identify as being Deaf and are members of a vibrant community that uses sign language to communicate.

The position statement and clinical guidance is called: The link between adult-onset hearing loss and dementia. It is published this week by the British Society of Audiology, the British Academy of Audiology and the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists.

The full mission statement is  available  

Developed by researchers at Saint Mary鈥檚 Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and The University of Manchester, in collaboration with Manchester-based firm genedrive Plc, the rapid bedside test could save the NHS 拢5 million every year by reducing the need for interventions, such as cochlear implants.

The innovative test was first piloted at Saint Mary鈥檚 Hospital and Liverpool Women鈥檚 Hospital, in 2020 as part of the Pharmacogenetics to Avoid Loss of Hearing (PALOH) study. Following its success, the test was implemented into routine clinical practice at Saint Mary鈥檚 Hospital in 2022 and extended to all three maternity units at MFT, Saint Mary鈥檚 Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital, and North Manchester General Hospital, in 2023.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) conditionally recommended the genedrive test for use in the NHS last year. It has since been implemented into routine clinical practice at all eight Greater Manchester neonatal units, with funding from Health Innovation Manchester (HInM). So far, the test has prevented the hearing loss of 11 babies at MFT and across Greater Manchester, with 4,000 babies tested to October 2024.

As part of its recommendation, NICE identified areas requiring more information to determine whether the test should be recommended for use at all neonatal sites across the NHS. This includes how the test impacts the time it takes for a baby to be given antibiotics, how the results affect antibiotic prescribing decisions, and the technical performance and accuracy of the test.

Now, having successfully received 拢1.4m funding from the National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视 (NIHR) and the Office for Life Sciences, researchers at MFT will lead PALOH-UK, a new two-year study across 14 neonatal units, from large intensive care units to small special care baby units.  

Dr John McDermott, Clinical Geneticist at MFT and joint lead for the PALOH-UK study said: 鈥淲e are incredibly proud to be leading this research at MFT, having already seen the difference this new genetic test has made across Greater Manchester. We are excited to explore how it can be used effectively at other neonatal units across the UK.  

鈥淭he PALOH-UK study will demonstrate how the test can be used in a timely way to ensure babies get a safe, effective antibiotic without affecting normal clinical practice, on a much larger scale.鈥�

Using a cheek swab, the test can identify in 26 minutes whether a critically ill baby admitted to intensive care has a gene change that could result in permanent hearing loss if they are treated with a common antibiotic, gentamicin.

While gentamicin is used to safely treat approximately 100,000 babies a year, one in 500 babies carry a gene change that can result in permanent hearing loss when given the drug.

The test replaces a previous method that traditionally took several days and is the first use of a rapid point of care genetic test in acute neonatal care. Babies found to have the genetic variant can be given an alternative antibiotic within the NICE recommended 鈥榞olden hour.鈥�

The 24 month, PALOH-UK study, due to start in November 2024 will be co-led by Professor Bill Newman, Consultant in Genomic Medicine at the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Saint Mary鈥檚 Hospital and Professor of Translational Genomic Medicine at The University of Manchester.

Professor Newman, who is also Rare Conditions Co-Theme Lead at the National Institute for Health and Care 天美影视 (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical 天美影视 Centre (BRC), said: 鈥淲hile we were delighted that NICE recommended the use of the genetic beside test, we understand that evidence is needed to understand implementation in smaller centres and in more diverse populations, which is what this study will do.

鈥淲e are looking forward to working with partners across the NHS to take this research to the next level and hopefully bring this test closer to implementation across every NHS neonatal unit in the UK.鈥�

Dr Gino Miele, Chief Executive, genedrive plc, said: 鈥淲e are delighted with the successful funding award to MFT, to address the areas where NICE has identified a need for further information.  We are proud to be at the forefront of pharmacogenetic testing in emergency care settings and look forward to working with all partners across the UK to progress implementation of this worlds-first rapid genetic test in neonatal settings, positively impacting patient outcomes and healthcare finances.鈥�

Dr John McDermott, who is also a NIHR Fellow at The University of Manchester added:&苍产蝉辫;鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic to see this research moving forward and highlights how genomic medicine can be integrated into routine clinical practice to improve healthcare outcomes. Most importantly, having this test available nationally will ensure no baby will go deaf unnecessarily.鈥�

• Image: using the genetic test

The supports healthcare professionals and students in developing leadership skills essential for shaping the future of healthcare.

Al-Saffar, a Final Year Medical Student, will join a community of scholars selected from a competitive pool of applicants from across the world. Scholars will attend several leadership workshops throughout the year, along with mentorship, coaching and networking opportunities with HLA Alumni and prominent healthcare leaders.

During the programme, each scholar will undertake a Scholar Project aimed at addressing a key healthcare challenge. Al-Saffar plans to focus on improving access to medical school for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Of the award, Noor said: 鈥淚 am thrilled to have been accepted onto the HLA with a scholarship. As someone who is passionate about global health leadership and policy-making, this is an excellent opportunity to cultivate and develop my leadership skills. I am very much looking forward to collaborating with Scholars from around the world, and sharing expertise. Very grateful and honoured to be part of the HLA community, and for the support and mentorship that I will undoubtedly derive from it for years to come.鈥�

Johann Malawana, Director of The HLA, said: 鈥�After a rigorous and competitive application process, we are delighted to welcome our new cohort of 2024-2025 scholars. At a time of great global challenge in healthcare, it is important that the next generation of healthcare leaders are motivated, inspired, and prepared in order to best look after the populations they serve.鈥�

Founded in 2016, The HLA recognises individuals with proven leadership potential  and offers an opportunity to future nurture their leadership skills to the next level. This year鈥檚 cohort has a mix of medical students from across various healthcare professions from over 10 countries.

The HLA is an associate member of The Council of Deans of Health in the UK, commissioned by NHS England, works with institutions across multiple countries and partners with Medics Academy.