Scientists at the University of Warwick have demonstrated that a potential diagnostic tool for detecting COVID-19 using sugars will work with a virus rather than just its proteins, a significant step in making it a viable test in future.

Prior's Court is working with WMG to help recruit two specialist Digital Healthcare apprentice staff. The new Digital Healthcare Apprentices will study towards a Bachelor of Science Undergraduate degree in Digital Healthcare Science drawing on the expertise of WMG and WMS.

Efforts to stem the impact of COVID-19 in low to middle income countries could be creating a health time bomb in their slum communities by deepening existing inequalities, according to an international team of health researchers led by WMS.

People who have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea could be at increased risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19 according to a new study from WMS.

Current diagnostic strategies for SARS-COV-2 rely on centralised infrastructure using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) methods. The GibsonGroup have discovered that the SARS-COV-2 spike protein binds a sialic acids (a type of glycan other respiratory viruses also target) and show this can be used to detect it. The glycan is installed onto gold nanoparticles, which are then used in a hijacked ‘pregnancy test’ allowing quick detection without any infrastructure. This publication proves the principle including detection of a model virus system. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.0c00855 

Glycans (aka sugars) are crucial in infection and cell-cell signalling, but the incorporation of complex glycans into nanomaterials is not always easy. The GibsonGroup have developed a method to enable direct capture of glycans onto nanoparticles, removing complex chemical-synthesis steps which will enable the rapid investigation of their use in diagnostics, in particular. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.0c00465

The GibsonGroup report the use of their (patent pending) macromolecular cryoprotectants for the cryopreservation of stem (stromal) cells. With this technology the amount of DMSO was reduced required for cryopreservation was reduced from 10 wt % to just 2.5 wt %. These findings are important for regenerative medicine applications where high-quality frozen cells are crucial, and the reduced DMSO may reduce toxicity and improve stem cell manufacturing processes. 
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.0c00638

In this viewpoint article, to celebrate 100 years of polymer science, the GibsonGroup have reviewed the emerging field of engineering cell surfaces with polymers. Protein-polymer conjugates are now clinically used, but cell-polymer conjugates are still emerging. This article reviews how chemists can exploit glycan (sugar) metabolic processing to introduce ‘handles’ to cell surfaces to allow attachment of polymers, or nanomaterials, and the many potential applications this technology may have. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00317

Frozen cells are crucial in all biomedical research, as well as to deliver cell based therapies (e.g. CAR-T cells) to patients.The GibsonGroup have published a study showing how to avoid false positives when testing innovative polymer-based cryoprotectants, which is crucial to help their translation from the lab to clinic. The work was led by recently appointed Wellcome-Trust translational fellow Dr Kathryn Murray. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.biomac.0c00591

Researchers at WMS are part of an international research team that have been awarded funding by the UK Government to investigate remote primary healthcare consulting for people with long term conditions in Tanzania and Nigeria.

WMS and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust are investigating whether a new dual testing method can improve the diagnostic accuracy for patients with suspected significant bowel disease (SBD) - without the need for a colonoscopy.

Researchers at WMS are involved in a new project that will examine the issues of resetting NHS services following the suspension of all but essential services during lockdown.

Researchers from the Institute of Digital Healthcare at WMG and WMS have identified known risk factors for mortality in adult patients discharged from hospital with diabetes.

Home-testing kits sold online in the UK and US in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic were provided with incomplete and in some cases, misleading information on how accurate they were, a new UK study by WMS and the University of Birmingham has found.

More effective measures to prevent infection spreading within households are a vital part of preventing a second wave of COVID-19, say researchers at WMS and the University of Birmingham.

Congratulations to Dr Harbinder Sandhu winner of the 2020 iPain Hero of Hope Award for the Healthcare Provider category. The awards recognise outstanding commitment to assisting and advocating for people with chronic pain diseases.

A new study by WMS researchers has found that mindfulness could help trainee GPs to build their resilience and reduce burnout, helping to reduce the number of newly qualified GPs leaving the profession.

A diet rich in plant-based foods can include a limited amount of animal products and still improve blood pressure, new research by WMS demonstrates.

The first building blocks of our lives are to be explored by a new research centre at the University of Warwick, starting from before we are even conceived right up to the age of five years old.

Researchers from WMS and the School of Engineering have developed a new technique that can spot a potential preterm birth in asymptomatic high-risk woman, with up to 73% accuracy months before delivery.

Congratulations Dr Harbinder Sandhu who has been selected as a finalist for the 2020 iPain Hero of Hope Healthcare Provider Award.

Care Companion, a Unit of Academic Primary Care project, benefits from a creative partnership award allowing artists to continue their work during the COVID-19 pandemic through collaboration with researchers from the social sciences, arts, science and medicine from across both the city’s universities.

WMS students are helping to develop antibody tests for Covid-19 by conducting tests for key workers recruited from the police and fire service in the West Midlands.

The term ‘morning sickness’ is misleading and should instead be described as nausea and sickness in pregnancy, argue researchers from WMS who have demonstrated that these symptoms can occur at any time of the day – not just the morning.

The Yvonne Carter Award for Outstanding Early Career Researcher has been awarded to Dr Sarah Mitchell. Sarah recently gained her PhD here at WMS, supervised by Prof Jeremy Dale. It is especially exciting that Sarah should receive this award, as Yvonne Carter was Dean of Warwick Medical School from 2004 to 2009.