Issue 3 Summer 2009
Biomedical Research Centre Bulletin
New leader for BRC
The Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) has appointed Professor Graeme Black as its acting director. He succeeds Professor Phil Baker, who is leaving to take up a new role at the University of Alberta, Canada. A key member of the team which gained BRC status for Manchester in 2008, Graeme Black is Professor of Genetics and Ophthalmology at The University of Manchester and an honorary consultant at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He studied initially at Cambridge, qualified in Medicine from Oxford and then undertook clinical training in Ophthalmology and Medical Genetics. He gained a DPhil in Genetics at Oxford in 1994, moving to Manchester in 1995 to continue his research and clinical work. Graeme Black’s major research interest is the investigation of genetic disorders associated with visual disability, focusing on conditions including cataract and retinal degeneration. The ultimate aim of his work is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. As a member of the BRC leadership team, Graeme Black has been instrumental in developing its research capacity and infrastructure. “My new role is an exciting opportunity to drive the research agenda forward and enhance our considerable strengths in genetic and developmental medicine. The BRC partners are keen to capitalise on the outstanding facilities offered by the £500 million new hospital development in central Manchester, and to use cutting edge technology to deliver benefits for our patients through improvement in diagnosis and development of new treatments. We want scientific breakthroughs made in Manchester to help improve healthcare for people nationwide.” Welcoming Professor Black’s appointment, Trust Chief Executive Mike Deegan said: “Our thanks go to Phil Baker, who has drawn together the skills of Trust and University colleagues to begin establishing Manchester as the home of world class healthcare research. We are very pleased that a scientist and clinician of Graeme Black’s calibre is taking over, and I am sure he will lead the partnership very effectively in responding to the major challenges of turning medical research into innovative patient treatments.”
Northern BRCs collaborate to fund biomedical research
On 5 May 2009, Manchester BRC hosted the first of a series of Incubator meetings, in an initiative which sees the BRCs in Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle working in collaboration to fund a series of biomedical research projects in three key areas, supported by joint funding totalling £540,000. The Manchester Incubator meeting, led by Professors Phil Baker and Graeme Black, focused on identifying common areas of interest and expertise within the area of genetics and developmental medicine across the three BRCs. The event, which was well attended by 30 delegates from across the BRCs, took the opportunity to convene small working groups with the aim of forging new collaborations. Based on the successful format of this first meeting, both Newcastle and Liverpool BRCs hosted similar Incubator meetings, focussing on Ageing and Microbial Diseases respectively. Representatives from Manchester attended both of these meetings with the aim of developing new research partnerships. Following these highly successful scoping meetings, three calls for proposals were launched, seeking applications of up to £60K from research teams comprising investigators from at least two BRCs.
Supported By
Central Manchester University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
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BRC Fellow Success
Congratulations to Dr Ben Parker who has become the first BRC Fellow to be granted an external fellowship. Ben was awarded a BRC Clinical fellowship in 2008, to assess whether biologic therapies improve cardiovascular function in patients with SLE (lupus) and rheumatoid arthritis more than standard treatment. The award of a 3 year Arthritis Research Council Training Fellowship will allow Ben to continue this vital work.
BRC Academic Grand Rounds
The BRC held an inaugural Academic Grand Round meeting on 8th July. Academic Grand Rounds are an exciting development for the Biomedical Research Centre, where leading researchers and clinical staff, are invited to present their work, fostering integration between clinicians and researchers.
Statistics Clinics
Statistical support is available to CMFT staff and BRC Faculty members. The Biostatistics Unit can provide help with study design, analysis and interpretation on all Trust-supported projects. Clinics currently run on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. To arrange an appointment and discuss your requirements please contact Dr Xin Shi, Medical Statistician on 0161 276 6946 or via email xin.shi@manchester.ac.uk Tips for making the most of the service: • Seek advice at the earliest possible stage - before it is too late to change the design! • Allow plenty of time before any deadlines We can also collaborate with you on the development of external funding applications, contact any statistician directly or Xin as above who will suggest an appropriate statistical collaborator.
The first meeting chaired by BRC Director Professor Graeme Black focused on the Genetics of Clefting Disorders. Professor Jill Clayton-Smith gave a brief overview of cleft disorders and their prevalence in Greater Manchester, followed by Dr Jill Urquhart highlighting the processes and techniques used to identify the genes whose absence signals the occurrence of cleft disorders. Professor Michael Dixon then presented an overview of different types of cleft conditions including Van Der Woude Syndrome and Treacher-Collins Syndrome. Mike described how the research undertaken at the Trust has made us a world-leader in this discipline, and how the funding provided by the BRC has made this possible. The next Academic Grand Round entitled `Finding the Solutions to Pregnancy Problems’ will be chaired by Professor Colin Sibley on 14th October 2009, to reserve a place please email caroline.boston@cmft.nhs.uk
NWDA Award
In April 2009 the BRC was awarded funding of £9.5M from the North West Development Agency (NWDA). This further investment follows on from the Agency’s initial investment of £4.1M in April 2008 to help launch the centre. The new award, running over 3 years, will be utilised for the recruitment of leading academic chairs, the state of the art Centre for Clinical Systems Pathology (CCLASP), investment in 11 new BRC research fellows, and the development of closer business links.
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Introducing the new BRC Business Liaison Manager
The BRC has appointed Dr Penny Johnson to the new role of Industry Liaison Manager. She joins the team from Intercytex Ltd where she was Director of Research, UK. Intercytex develops and manufactures living cell therapies for medicinal and aesthetic applications. Educated in Canada, Penny completed her PhD in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto, where her work was among the first published direct evidence that p53 is a tumour suppressor gene. Moving to the University of Manchester in 1992, over the next eight years she completed two postdoctoral fellowships in cell research before joining Intercytex as a senior scientist. In addition to recruiting and establishing an R&D team, Penny played a key part in the development of the company’s two major wound healing treatments, translating initial research concepts to enable GMP manufacture of product to supply Phase I, II and III clinical trials in the UK, Canada, and the US. At the BRC, Penny will assist in translating research findings into the clinical arena and ultimately help to establish commercial partnerships to make new treatments, drugs and technologies more widely available. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of this new role,” said Penny. “With experience of how science operates within a commercial environment, I’m keen to help BRC scientists and clinicians complete the transition of their work from the lab to the patient’s bedside as quickly and effectively as possible.” Contact Penny on penny.johnson@cmft.nhs.uk
BRC plans new clinical trial link with Wyeth
The Trust has recently finalised an agreement with Wyeth to be designated as one of the company’s preferred clinical trials investigation sites. Already Wyeth and Dr Andrew Will have begun a study with Wyeth’s Refacto® AF; this medicine is used in the treatment of haemophilia. The trial led by Andrew has achieved the fastest start up times of all the Wyeth trials sites in the UK. The Trust Research teams working with Wyeth will strive to improve clinical trial performance with: • Streamlined and consistent R&D approval processes to minimise unnecessary delays • Working closely with the Wyeth Clinical Research Partnership Manager to expedite new studies through the approval process • Providing a single and consistent point of contact within the Trust for feasibility assessment and new studies, co-ordinated through Kathy Evans, BRC Project Manager. • Provide validated proposals for patient recruitment. For more information please contact penny.johnson@cmft.nhs.uk
For advice and information about BRC activities, please contact mbrc@cmft.nhs.uk, Tel: 0161 901 2681 who will be pleased to put you in touch with the relevant person.
ICON
ICON Development Solutions, one of the UK’s largest dedicated Phase 1 Clinical Research Organisations, is relocating from Manchester Science Park to new facilities at the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust site. In a three phase move coordinated by the BRC, ICON are now conducting their clinical activity within the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility and will move to a custom built interim facility at MRI in Spring 2010. From 2012, ICON will become a major tenant within the redeveloped Royal Eye Hospital, forming a leading biomedical hub in Manchester. This is an enormous achievement for the Trust and will provide unique training opportunities and access to great expertise in the design and conduct of early phase clinical trials.
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