Integrated Understanding of Health

Research within this theme will span the areas: Ageing; Diet and Health; Pharmaceuticals and Regenerative Biology.

MIBTP will fund 5 studentships in these areas each year.

Our Topics

Ageing Diet and Health Pharmaceuticals Regenerative Biology

Ageing

Work in this area asks: what cellular, metabolic and physiological changes occur during ageing and how can we mitigate against them? Researchers within this topic use a breadth of behavioural, physiological, molecular, biochemical and computational methods to address these questions.

Current Projects

Aston

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Extracellular Vesicles in cell-cell communication for health across the life course	Professor Andrew Devitt
Investigating the links between DNA replication origins and nuclear envelope assembly	Dr Rebecca Jones
The role of histone methyltransferase MLL2 on tRNA expression.	Dr Theo Kantidakis
Understanding the redox regulation of the tumour suppressor and cell signalling protein PTEN	Professor Corinne M. Spickett

Birmingham

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
De-aging innate immunity and the microbiome	Dr Michael Cox
Developing and applying computational methods to study ageing and cellular rejuvenation	Professor Joao Pedro Magalhaes
Development and Application of Chemical Probes to target Protein-Protein Interactions	Professor Andy Wilson
Exploring the biological relevance of extracellular vesicle trafficking in health and disease	Dr Martin Whitham
Functional and mechanistic investigations into the importance of PADI enzymes for DNA repair	Dr Clare Davies
Investigating the ubiquitin network in exercising human skeletal muscle	Dr Yu-Chiang Lai
Mechanisms of force generation in older individuals. What are the optimal loads required to maximize strength gains?	Dr Eduardo Martinez-Valdes
Optimising Neurocognitive Strategies for Better Communication in Older Adults using Large Language Models	Dr Hyojin Park
Pathogen colonisation and microbiota interactions in the ageing airway	Dr David William Cleary
Roles of ubiquitylation during eukaryotic DNA replication	Dr Aga Gambus
Molecular mechanisms of brain plasticity, degeneration and regeneration	Professor Alicia Hidalgo
Understanding the role that RNA helicase UPF1 plays in nuclear processes of gene expression	Dr Saverio Brogna

Harper Adams Leicester

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
An assessment of the effects of healthy ageing and transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on human foraging cognition	Dr Carlo De Lillo
Epigenetic ageing and calorie restriction in an insect model system.	Prof Eamonn Mallon
Evaluating the impact of genotoxic aldehyde stress in premature ageing	Dr Richard Hopkinson
Failures to detect language errors during older age: Evidence of cognitive decline?	Dr Vicky McGowan
Identifying the neurogenetic network underlying visually-driven sleep	Dr Ko-Fan Chen
Molecular characterization of Sam68-driven cytoskeletal reorganization	Prof Cyril Dominguez
Molecular Glues as Novel Tools for Tackling Big Challenges in Human Health	Dr Richard Doveston
Nuclear and transcriptional dysregulations during cellular senescence	Dr Michael Tellier
Obtaining insights into how a signalling hub protein Ras activates multiple effectors	Dr Kayoko Tanaka
Short and long-term genetic and behavioural consequences of traumatic brain injury in fruit flies	Dr Ben Warren
The Role of Reactive Sulfur Species in the Ageing Heart	Dr Christopher Switzer
Using measures of eye movements and EEG to understand effects of cognitive ageing on reading	Professor Kevin Paterson

Warwick

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Ageing: how to live 5x longer?	Dr Andre Pires da Silva
Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) tau as a biomarker for brain ageing – effects on neuronal and network function	Dr Mark Wall
Defining the mechanism of action of protein aggregates on hippocampal microcircuit function	Dr Mark Wall
Functional and structural characterisation of glycosyltransferases involved in protein mannosylation	Dr Manuela Tosin
How and when is sex determined – a comparative approach	Professor Karuna Sampath
Isolation and characterization of novel microbial natural products that activate autophagy	Professor Ioannis Nezis
Mass spectrometry imaging of brain energy metabolites	Professor Bruno Frenguelli
Molecular mechanisms of selective autophagy during the course of ageing	Professor Ioannis Nezis
Sexual dimorphisms in ageing	Dr Cathy Slack
The molecular basis of glial cell heterogeneity in human brain	Professor Jose Gutierrez-Marcos

Research considered directly relevant to Ageing includes:

Research on the molecular and cellular basis of ageing (in humans, animals and models systems e.g. yeast, not plants)
- Cell senescence, replicative senescence; the mechanisms and regulation of apoptosis/programmed cell death; telomeres, telomere biology, maintenance and regulation; telomerase (including structure)
- Mechanisms and effects of oxidative stress, free radical damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage and repair associated with ageing; mitochondria function and activity directly relevant to ageing (oxidative stress, superoxide release etc.)
- Werners and Progeria (accelerated models of ageing)
- The genetic control of ageing, including understanding the primary mechanisms of ageing and the underlying genetic determinants of life span, longevity and reproduction potential; individual genetic and epigenetic variation
Biomarkers of ageing (also potential biomarkers of health across the lifecourse)
Cell, tissue and systems biology in ageing and health across the lifecourse
- Maintenance and regulation of homeostasis, homeostatic mechanisms in relation to maintaining health through life and understanding the processes leading to frailty
- Effectiveness of the elderly immune system
- Muscle-tendon-skeletal system including locomotion, balance, metabolism and effects of physical activity; also includes ageing muscle biology and dysfunction (hypertrophy and sarcopenia, but NOT sports science/injury); muscle satellite cells and regeneration; maintenance of bone health and age-related bone loss (NOT osteoporosis).
- Reactive oxygen species as propagators of tissue ageing, effects of free radicals, mitochondria biology (see above)
Diet and health
- The effect of ageing on responses to dietary constituents, for example, altered nutritional need to maintain physiological function
- Altered food choice with age
- Impact of diet on maintaining health during ageing, e.g. influence of nutrients on the health (and potential protective effects) of intestinal/gut, cardio-vascular, neural, musculoskeletal and other physiological systems
- Dietary/calorie restriction effect on ageing/lifespan
- Anti-oxidants, exposure to free radicals
Relevant aspects neuroscience – age-related progressive decline in cognitive function and the cellular mechanisms associated with this, e.g.
- Generic mechanisms of non-disease-associated neurodegeneration, (but NOT studies of neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimers, dementia, Parkinsons*); neuronal damage and repair, neurogenesis; fundamental prion biology in relation to understanding normal ageing (but NOT including studies on TSE/BSE/Scrapie transmission and disease)
- Preservation/maintenance of cognitive function with age
- Age-related cognitive dysfunction and decline, long-term memory studies (NOT visual learning/behaviour unless looking at changes in learning ability with age)
- Sleep (specific to ageing)
Amyloidosis (the accumulation of misfolded proteins deposits in a tissue/organ which occurs during the normal ageing process). Includes mechanisms and function of amyloid fibrils and plaque formation (NOT studies of specific clinical conditions/diseases and structure/biophysical studies)
Changes in angiogenesis during the normal ageing process – the growth of new blood vessels/vasculature associated with repair mechanisms of damaged tissue and wound healing, and in response to physical activity (NOT that associated for clinical conditions, diseases or tumour biology)
Stem cells and tissue engineering – only include studies that are relevant to ageing and involve tissue regeneration or transplantation e.g. bone, liver, wound healing (but NOT chronic wounds/ulceration), nerve regeneration
Relevant developmental biology but only if it includes some life course studies, i.e. developmental origins of optimal health. May include in utero studies, the mechanisms and effects of developmental factors and early life exposures on health during ageing (e.g. maternal influences, fetal or nutritional programming, imprinted genes)

Diet and Health

Researchers in this topic address questions such as: how can we regulate food intake and obesity using humans and model organisms to understand the regulation of appetitive behaviour and satiety at cellular, molecular and cognitive levels.

Current Projects

Aston

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Developing psychobiological approaches to predict the acceptance and rejection of cultivated meat	Dr Jason Thomas

Birmingham

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
‘De-Stressing the brain’: Understanding the impact of nutrition on cognitive and cerebral function during episodes of mental stress	Dr Catarina Rendeiro
Development of novel nanomaterials for encapsulation and delivery of small molecules into cells	Dr Nik Hodges
Exploring the biological relevance of extracellular vesicle trafficking in health and disease	Dr Martin Whitham
Investigating the ubiquitin network in exercising human skeletal muscle	Dr Yu-Chiang Lai
Probing how mito-nuclear interactions impact the pathogenicity of mitochondrial DNA mutations	Professor Hansong Ma
Understanding genome dynamics in the multiple antibiotic resistant ESKAPE pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii	Professor David Grainger
Using an experimental platform to identify biological mechanisms linking nutrition to brain health and well-being	Professor Suzanne Higgs

Harper Adams

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
The role of virus-induced fatty acid imbalance in the pathogenesis of salmonid alphavirus infection	Dr Tharangani Herath
Use of mini-gut model to study host-pathogen interaction and target control of coccidiosis in chicken	Dr Tharangani Herath

Leicester

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Evaluating the impact of genotoxic aldehyde stress in premature ageing	Dr Richard Hopkinson

Warwick

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Ageing: how to live 5x longer?	Dr Andre Pires da Silva
Cell signalling control of metabolic homeostasis	Dr Cathy Slack
Epigenetics: you are what your mother smelled	Dr Andre Pires da Silva
Functional and structural characterisation of glycosyltransferases involved in protein mannosylation	Dr Manuela Tosin
Molecular mechanisms of selective autophagy during the course of ageing	Professor Ioannis Nezis
Novel Chemoenzymatic Approaches to ‘Unnatural’ Products	Dr Manuela Tosin

Includes:

The study of diet for the maintenance of human health
Includes relevant aspects of:
- Dietary components and effects (diet, digestion, absorption/uptake, nutrition, vitamins, food antigens and minerals (not synthesis)
- Gut biology and interaction (.e.g. GI tract health & transport, epithelial barrier function; mucosal immunity; commensal bacteria)
- Disease prevention through diet (e.g. antioxidants / bioactives and their protective effects; prevention of obesity and malnutrition)
- Neuroscience (gut-brain interactions, psychology, satiety, appetite, food choice, flavour, dietary effects on cognition and mental health)
- The influence of maternal diet on the developing foetus and/or future life course (e.g. through epigenetic modification; placental nutrition)
- Food applications (neutraceuticals, including probiotics and prebiotics)
- Effects of food structure, processing and modification on health-related food properties

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals related research includes the development of novel therapeutics, including antibiotics and other drugs, including those for dental purposes. It includes biomedical or pharmacological research (for example on stem cells, ageing, neuropathological and other human illnesses) only where the research demonstrates a clear aim of relevance to the pharmaceutical industry.

Current Projects

Aston

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Deciphering the role of stress response in neurodegeneration	Dr Zita Balklava
Developing 3D liver model systems for drug discovery	Dr Emma Shepherd
The role of dynamic aquaporin-4 subcellular relocalization in regulating brain fluid homeostasis in health and disease	Professor Roslyn Bill

Birmingham

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Artificial metalloenzyme design with late transition metal active sites	Dr Paul Davies
Artificial metalloproteins as novel MRI contrast agents	Dr Melanie Britton
Biophysical studies of lipid-protein interactions	Dr Sarah Horswell
De-aging innate immunity and the microbiome	Dr Michael Cox
Development and Application of Chemical Probes to target Protein-Protein Interactions	Professor Andy Wilson
Development of a physiologically relevant platform to inform clinical practice and limit antimicrobial resistance in orthopaedic implants	Dr Sophie C. Cox
Development of novel nanomaterials for encapsulation and delivery of small molecules into cells	Dr Nik Hodges
Functional and mechanistic investigations into the importance of PADI enzymes for DNA repair	Dr Clare Davies
Next generation agrochemicals through sustainable mechanochemical manufacture	Dr Deborah Crawford
Sensing the impossible, an engineering biology approach	Professor Tim Dafforn
Stimuli responsive nanoparticles for antibiotic delivery in gram negative bacteria	Prof Zoe Pikramenou
Understanding genome dynamics in the multiple antibiotic resistant ESKAPE pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii	Professor David Grainger
Exploring mechanisms of platelet function using large datasets employing machine learning and bioinformatics tools	Dr Archana Sharma-Oates

Harper Adams Leicester

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Molecular Glues as Novel Tools for Tackling Big Challenges in Human Health	Dr Richard Doveston
Structural-guided PROTAC targeting of BMX to modulate apoptotic sensitivity in disease	Dr Joanna Fox

Warwick

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Assembly & Dynamics of Macromolecular Complexes from Bacterial Pathogens	Professor Phill Stansfeld
Elucidating and exploiting molecular mechanisms of bacterial natural product biosynthesis	Professor Greg Challis
Evolution-guided engineering of bacterial NRPS systems	Dr Alex Mullins
Functional and structural characterisation of glycosyltransferases involved in protein mannosylation	Dr Manuela Tosin
Identifying new drug targets within Mycobacterium tuberculosis	Professor Phill Stansfeld
Interactions in the microbiome – the effect of spatial organisation	Professor Orkun Soyer
Isolation and characterization of novel microbial natural products that activate autophagy	Professor Ioannis Nezis
Lateral Flow Glycoassay linked Mass Spectrometry for Pandemic Preparedness and Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance	Prof. Peter O’Connor
Nanoparticles for penetrating complex polysaccharide matrices – cell walls and biofilms	Professor Miriam Gifford
Novel Chemoenzymatic Approaches to ‘Unnatural’ Products	Dr Manuela Tosin
Rational Design of Novel Aptamers to Understand and Resist Snake Envenomation	Dr. Gabriele C. Sosso
Robust Nanoprobe Tools to Dissect Glycan Binding of Snake Venoms for Diagnostic Applications	Dr Alex Baker
Structural and Mechanistic Characterisation of Bacterial Natural Product Targets	Dr Lona Alkhalaf

Includes:

Research on drug development and delivery such as:
- identification of targets for therapeutic intervention
- analysis and regulation of specific drug targets and drug transporters
effects and interactions of drugs with cells and cell components including enzymes, receptors, drug transporters
- understanding the mechanisms of drug resistance, prevention and combating drug resistance
- technology development for drug design

Development of biomaterials for medical devises that have antimicrobial properties
Underpinning bioscience and technology development to improve bioprocessing, scaling up of manufacture of novel drugs
Technology development for replacing animal use in drug testing
Gene therapies

Regenerative Biology

This area includes projects whose driver is providing underpinning research leading to the repair, replacement or regeneration of cells, tissues, or organs, ultimately for clinical applications.

Current Projects

Aston

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Developing 3D liver model systems for drug discovery	Dr Emma Shepherd

Birmingham

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Hybrid Foldamer-Polymer Scaffolds as Novel Biomaterials for Wound Healing Applications	Dr Sarah Pike
Molecular mechanisms of brain plasticity, degeneration and regeneration	Professor Alicia Hidalgo
Understanding cell death and tissue homeostasis	Dr Yun Fan

Harper Adams Leicester

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Epigenetics of early human development: From molecular mechanisms to regenerative medicine	Dr Yolanda Markaki

Warwick

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Building the first heart vessel	Dr Timothy Saunders
Functional and structural characterisation of glycosyltransferases involved in protein mannosylation	Dr Manuela Tosin
Investigating the role of mechanical and environmental cues controlling the movement of macrophages	Dr Darius Koester
Macrophage functions during repair and organogenesis	Dr Aparna Ratheesh

Includes:

Research on stem cells and their reprogramming where they are used for the purpose of tissue engineering or regeneration
All tissue engineering research, including the development of 3D cell culture, tissue scaffolds & matrices, and the maintenance of tissue structure and function, and the generation of tissue models for research or pharmaceutical testing
Growth factors and regulatory molecules involved in cellular communication that determine cell fate and differentiation, where the aim of the research is to develop an understanding of techniques for regenerative medicine
The development of biomaterials or biomimetics; artificially engineered biological materials or units designed to replace natural human biological materials or units; development of biodegradable polymers, soluble molecules and related materials
Development and application of improved wound healing technology, including fundamental studies on understanding wound healing
Fundamental studies on understanding nerve regeneration
Underpinning research that will enable the generation of patient-specific cell types (e.g. derivation of iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells)

Research Departments

Our Topics

Ageing

Current Projects

Diet and Health

Current Projects

Pharmaceuticals

Current Projects

Regenerative Biology

Current Projects

Research Departments

Aston University

University of Birmingham

University of Leicester

University of Warwick