Faculty research

Research

The University of Reading is one of the leading research-intensive Universities in the UK and we have an established world reputation in the sciences. The University's renowned research strengths have been recognised in the outcomes of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), with over 87% of the University's research rated as of international standing.

Research in Life Sciences covers a broad spectrum, from agriculture and agricultural economics, through biological sciences, applied statistics, horticulture, chemistry, to food and nutritional sciences, pharmacy, psychology and clinical language sciences.

PhD studentships in the Faculty of Life Sciences

February 2010

We are pleased to announce that the following University PhD studentships are now available in the Faculty of Life Sciences for October 2010 entry, for applicants from the UK / EU:

Who is eligible to apply?

Due to restrictions on funding, these studentships are restricted to applicants from the UK / EU, who must satisfy certain residency criteria.

How to apply

In order to apply, eligible candidates should complete a University of Reading postgraduate application form. This should be submitted, either by email or post, to the address shown on the information sheet for the relevant research topic.

Application deadline: 31 March 2010

Research areas in Life Sciences

To find-out more about research in specific areas of life sciences and research facilities at Reading, please follow the links below.

Graduate training in Life Sciences

Generic research and transferable skills training for postgraduate research students in Life Sciences is provided by the Graduate Skills Development Programme which provides a series of workshops and on-line courses, to supplement training provided by Schools and Departments.

Best research outputs in Life Sciences: 2007, 2008 and 2009

Each year, Schools within the Faculty of Life Sciences select their best research output, in order to highlight particular achievements in research over the previous two years. For calendar years 2008 and 2009, these are as follows:

Nodes, W.J., Nutt, D.R., Chippindale, A.M., and Cobb, A.J.A. 2009. Enantioselective intramolecular Michael addition of nitronates onto conjugated esters: access to cyclic y-amino acids with up to three stereocenters.* Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131, 16016-16017. School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy. Email a.j.a.cobb@reading.ac.uk
Chakrabarti, B., Dudbridge, F., Kent, L., Wheelwright, S., Hill-Cawthorne, G., Allison, C., Banerjee-Basu, S., and Baron-Cohen, S. 2009. Genes related to sex steroids, neural growth, and social-emotional behaviour are associated with autistic traits, empathy, and asperger syndrome. Autism Research, 2, 157-177. School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences. Email b.chakrabarti@reading.ac.uk
Dunn, D.W., Segar, S.T., Ridley, J., Chan, R., Crozier, R.H., Yu, D.W., and Cook, J.M. 2008. A role for parasites in stabilising the fig-pollinator mutualism. PLOS Biology, 6, 490-496. School of Biological Sciences. Email james.cook@reading.ac.uk
Litten, J.C., Mostyn, A., Laws, J., Corson, A.M., Symonds, M.E., and Clarke, L. 2008. Effect of acute administration of recombinant human leptin during the neonatal period on body temperature and endocrine profile of the piglet. Neonatology, 9, 171-177. School of Agriculture, Policy and Development. Email j.c.litten-brown@reading.ac.uk

And for calendar years 2007 and 2008:

Wen, Y. & Leake, D.S. 2007. Low density lipoprotein undergoes oxidation within lysosomes in cells*. Circulation Research, 100, 1337-1343. Cardiovascular Research Group, School of Biological Sciences. Email d.s.leake@reading.ac.uk
Osborne, T.M., Lawrence, D.M., Challinor, A.J., Slingo, J.M. and Wheeler, T.R. 2007. Development and assessment of a coupled crop-climate model. Global Change Biology, 13, 169-183. Walker Institute for Climate Systems, Departments of Agriculture and Meteorology. Email t.r.wheeler@reading.ac.uk
Fweja, L.W.T., Lewis, M.J. and Grandison, A.S. 2008. Challenge testing the lactoperoxidase system against a range of bacteria using different activation agents. Journal of Dairy Science, 91, 2566-2574. School of Chemistry, Food Biosciences and Pharmacy. Email a.s.grandison@reading.ac.uk
Field, D.T., Wilkie, R.M. and Wann, J.P. 2007. Neural Systems in the visual control of steering. The Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 8002-8010. School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences. Email d.t.field@reading.ac.uk

*Selected as the best outputs within the Faculty of Life Sciences.

Recent research awards

The Faculty of Life Sciences has a strong reputation in securing research grant funding. Awards made since October 2009 include:

Professor Richard Bennett (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): ESRC, 'Understanding individual behaviour through human / animal relations'
Professor Frank Bisby (School of Biological Sciences): European Commission, '4D4life'
Dr Andrea Calude (School of Biological Sciences): Foundation for Research Science & Technology, 'Language as a window into culture and history'
Anastasia Christakou (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): Royal Society, 'Establishment of collaborative and training links towards the development of an international research programme on the computational, psychological and neural aspects of complex decision-making'
Dr Che Connon (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): MRC, 'Therapeutic corneal stem cell delivery using a bioadhesive in situ gelling system'
Professor Rainer Cramer (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): BBSRC, 'Functional analysis of the Bulmeria Haustoria - Barley interactome'
Dr Les Crompton (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): ADAS UK Ltd., 'Modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy systems'
Judi Ellis (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): ESRC, 'Translating intentions into behaviour: Identifying the neural correlates of commitment and imagery perspective in the formation of implementation intentions'
Pasco Fearon (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): Nuffield Foundation, 'Attachment and the long-term effects of parental depression on children's development'
Professor Jon Gibbins (School of Biological Sciences): British Heart Foundation, 'The physiological importance and integration of receptor-mediated inhibitory mechanisms in platelets'
Dr Francesca Greco (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): EPSRC, 'Nanotechnologies for entrapment inside or outside the central nervous system'
Professor Paul Hadley (School of Biological Sciences): Cocoa Research UK Ltd., 'Implementing the Cacao Net strategy for selecting a base collection of The orbroma cacao'
Dr Georg Held (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): European Commission, 'SMALL'
Carmel Houston-Price (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): ESRC, 'A visual exposure strategy to facilitate the introduction of fruit and vegetables into the diets of toddlers'
Dr Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): BBSRC, 'Novel method for manufacturing hydrogels for biomedical applications'
Rachel McCloy (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): ESRC, 'Behaviour change for policy making and delivery'
Professor Mark Pagel (School of Biological Sciences): European Commission, 'Primate Heterotachy'
Professor Ketan Patel (School of Biological Sciences): BBSRC, 'Investigating the mechanisms controlling contraction in the first skeletal muscle displaying intrinsic pace maker properties'
Dr Simon Potts (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): European Commission, 'STEP'
Professor Chris Reynolds (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): Adisseo France SAS, 'Effect of vitamin A products on milk production, feed intake, and milk vitamin A concentration of Holstein dairy cows during early lactation'
Professor Ian Rowland (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Alpro Foundation, 'Impact of increasing amounts of flavonoid-rich and flavonoid-poor fruit and vegetables on biomarkers of cancer risk in humans'
Doug Saddy (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): EPSRC, 'Towards an integrated neural field computational model of the brain'
Dr. Jeremy P E Spencer (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): European Commission, 'FLAVIOLA'; and Mars Inc., 'Effect of race, age and gender of the absorption and metabolism of coca flavanols'; and Alpro Foundation, 'The impact of acute blueberry ingestion on blood pressure and vascular function and the development of a new food with cardiovascular benefits'
Dr C S Srinivasan (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): Leverhulme Trust, 'Intellectual Property Rights and innovation in UK agriculture'
Dr Sue Todd (School of Biological Sciences): MS Society, 'Adaptive clinical trial design for treatment selection and evaluation in Multiple Sclerosis'
Dr Christopher Venditti (School of Biological Sciences): Leverhulme Trust, 'The evolutionary sources of organismic diversity'
Dr Ioannis Vogiatzakis (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): DEFRA, 'Priority habitats, protected sites and climate change: Three investigations to inform policy and management for adaptation and mitigation'
Dr Andy Wetten (School of Biological Sciences): Cocoa Research UK Ltd., 'Development of a strain-independent screen to improve quarantine procedures and aid diversity studies in Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus'
Professor Christine Williams (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Food Standards Agency, 'FINGEN 2'
Dr Parveen Yaqoob (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): BBSRC, 'Immunomodulatory effects of pre- and probiotics'

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