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, horticulture, chemistry, to food and nutritional sciences, pharmacy, psychology and clinical language sciences.

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.

The Faculty also has strong research links with the Faculty of Science.

Graduate training in Life Sciences

Generic research and transferable skills training for postgraduate research students in Life Sciences is provided by the University's Graduate School, which offers a series of workshops and on-line courses, to supplement training provided by Schools and Departments.

Best research outputs in Life Sciences: 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010

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 2009 and 2010, these are as follows:

*Zhu, Z., Cardin, C.J., Gan, Y. and Colquhoun, H.M. 2010. Sequence-selective assembly of tweezer molecules on linear templates enables frameshift-reading of sequence information. Nature Chemistry, 2, 653-660. School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy. Email h.m.colquhoun@reading.ac.uk.
Cooper, P.J., Tomlinson, M., Swartz, L., Landman, M., Molteno, C., Stein, A., McPherson, K. and Murray, L. 2009. Improving quality of mother-infant relationship and infant attachment in socioeconomically deprived community in South Africa: randomised control trial. British Medical Journal, 338, 974-981. School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences. Email p.j.cooper@reading.ac.uk.
Khasnatinov, M.A., Ustanikova, K., Frolova, T.V., Pogodina, V.V., Bochkova, N.G., Levina, L.S., Slovak, M., Kazimirova, M., Labuda, M., Klempa, B., Eleckova, E., Gould, E.A. and Gritsun, T.S. 2009. Non-hemagglutinating flaviviruses: molecular mechanisms for the emergence of new strains via adaptation to european ticks. PLoS One, 4, e7295. School of Biological Sciences. Email t.s.gritsun@reading.ac.uk.

And for calendar years 2008 and 2009:

*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 January 2011 include:

Professor Simon Andrews (School of Biological Sciences): BBSRC, 'Molecular-genetic analysis of iron transport in Escherichia coli'
Dr Alex Arnall (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): British Academy, 'Involuntary resettlement and livelihoods restoration in flood-affected communities in Mozambique'
Dr Alison Bailey (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): DEFRA, 'The potential for extending economic farm-level benchmarking to environmental and other aspects of farm performance'
Dr Nick Bardsley (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): ESRC, 'Who emits most? An analysis of UK households' CO2 emissions and their association with socio-economic factors'
Professor Nick Battey (School of Biological Sciences): National Association of Cider Makers, 'Study in the field of sustainable orchard management'; Biosciences KTN, 'Replacement of cider orchard herbicide strips with a mat-forming perennial'
Professor Richard Bennett (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): Tubney Charitable Trust, 'Investigating the financial effects of providing an open water source for farmed ducks'; and 'Feather-pecking project: Reducing injurious pecking amongst laying hens by implementing existing knowledge'
Dr Sam Boateng (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): British Heart Foundation, 'Stress-induced post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression by the Exon Junction Complex in cardiac myocytes'
Dr John Brazier (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Royal Society, 'Terahertz spectroscopy of DNA quadruplexes'
Simon Butler (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): Stichting Birdlife Europe (SBE), 'Sensitivity assessment of European forest birds as biodiversity indicators'
Dr Sarah Cardey (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): British Academy, 'Gender in HIV / AIDS communication policy and practice in Nairobi, Kenya'
Bhismadev Chakrabarti (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): MRC, 'Reward and empathy in autism'
Dr Simon Clarke (School of Biological Sciences): British Heart Foundation, 'Inhibition of platelet activation by Staphylococcus aureus lipoteichoic acid'
Dr Che Connon (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): BBSRC, 'Bioprosthetic cornea: Using polymeric templates for directed stem cell growth'
Professor James Cook (School of Biological Sciences): NERC, 'Rampant karyotype evolution in jack jumper ants'
Cathy Creswell (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, 'Berkshire Child Anxiety Clinic: Improving outcomes and efficiency of treatment of childhood anxiety disorders'; and NHS Oxfordshire, 'The treatment of child anxiety in primary care via guided CBT self-help: A randomised control trial'
Dr Les Crompton (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): DEFRA, 'Data mining: Improvements to National Inventory'
Dr Alastair Culham (School of Biological Sciences): European Commission, 'Indexing for life'
Dr Philippa Darbre (School of Biological Sciences): Breast Cancer Research Trust, 'Environmental oestrogenic chemicals and breast cancer'
Dr Fred Davis (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): European Commission, 'The development of very high performance bio-derived composite of cellulose nanofibres and polysaccharides (NanoCelluComp)'
Professor Jim Dunwell (School of Biological Sciences): European Commission, 'Fruit Breedomics'
Dr Alexander Edwards (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Royal Society, 'Rapid in-vitro screening of novel vaccine adjuvant formulations combining biodegradeable polymers with synthetic immune stimulatory molecules that activate dendritic cells'
Dr Stephen Elmore (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): European Commission, 'HST Food Train'
Professor Paul Hadley (School of Biological Sciences): Cocoa Research UK Ltd., 'International Cocoa Germplasm Database project'
Professor Ian Hamley (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Royal Society, 'Peptide-based biomaterials: From self-assembly towards applications'
Dr Claire Heffernan (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): Wellcome Trust, 'Advances in veterinary telemedicine: A mobile phone-based tool to diagnose Mastitis'
Professor Chris Garforth (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): British Academy, 'Edutainment theory and practice in HIV / AIDS communication: A South African / UK perspective'; DEFRA, 'Increasing the uptake of improved animal disease risk measures by animal keepers: Attitudes, behaviours and practical lessons for responsibility and cost-sharing'
Professor Michael H. Gordon (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Xie Xie Marketing Ltd., 'Weightloss team intervention study'
Dr Francesca Greco (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): SEHTA, 'Testing of novel anti-cancer compounds against drug-resistant breast cancer cells'; and Royal Society, 'Investigating the mechanism of action of novel anti-angiogenic nanotechnologies'
Dr Tamara Gritsun (School of Biological Sciences): Royal Society, 'Molecular engineering of genetically modified viruses'
Professor Paul Hadley (School of Biological Sciences): United States Department of Agriculture, 'Development of a cocoa quarantine process 2011-2016'
Dr Gavin Hilson (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): British Academy, 'Fair Trade: Challenges and prospects for small-scale miners'
Mr Dave Humphries (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): Eli Lilley and Company Ltd., 'A study in fistulated cows to determine the durability of re-engineered control release capsules'; 'Intra-ruminal retention of the modified momensin Controlled Release Capsule (CRC)'
Professor Ian Jones (School of Biological Sciences): Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 'Empty poliovirus capsids as candidate vaccines'; MRC, 'Human Enterovirus 71 empty capsids produced by baculovirus expression as vaccines'; DEFRA, 'Production and evaluation of foot-and-mouth disease virus stabilised capsids as potent, rapidly deployable vaccines'
Philip Jones (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): European Commission, 'Study on the downscaling of the European landscape indicator'
Dr Gunter Kuhnle (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Royal Society, 'Development of new nutritional biomarkers in hair'
Dr. Julie Lovegrove (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Sugar Bureau, 'Impact of reformulated sugar-reduced product consumption on energy and nutrient intake, weight and plasma lipid and glucose concentrations'
Rachel McCloy (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): British Academy, 'Behavioural science for public policy'
Dr Irene Mueller-Harvey (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): European Commission, 'Unravelling the anthelmintic modes of action of plant tannins to improve animal health'; and 'Optimising plant polyphenols in LEGUMES for ruminant nutrition PLUS health PLUS environmental sustainability (LegumePlus)'
Lynne Murray (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): University of Oxford, 'Using MEG to study the effect of craniofacial abnormalities on the early parent-infant relationship'
Pamela Myles (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies, 'IAPT: Training and clinical outcomes. Do we train in vain?'
Professor Mark Pagel (School of Biological Sciences): European Commission, 'Mother Tongue - The evolution of human languages'
Dr Simon Potts (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): BBSRC, 'Urban pollinators: Their ecology and conservation'; 'Sustainable pollination services for UK crops'; 'Linking agriculture and land use change to pollinator populations'
Dr Marcus Rattray (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): ALS Association, 'Synthesis and pharmacological characterisation of novel riluzole derivatives'
Professor Chris Reynolds (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): Marks and Spencer PLC., 'Methane study to determine the effects of supplemental extruded linseed (Lintec) on methane emissions'
Dr Caroline Rymer (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): The British Poulty Council, 'A study to determine the difference in B-alanine dipeptide contents of various samples of retail meat'
Professor Michael Shaw (School of Biological Sciences): Technology Strategy Board, 'Development of novel spray application technologies to enhance effectiveness of pesticide products and to minimise residues in UK apple production'
Dr Gary Stephens (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): UCB Pharma SA., 'Mechanisms of actions of SV2A ligands: Role of SV2A in effects on CA2+ channels and synaptic transmission'
Dr Katja Strohfeldt (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Royal Society, 'Biological evaluation of novel metal-based anti-cancer drugs'
Nick Taylor (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): DEFRA, 'A study to explore what factors are influencing the spread of the bTB endemic area'
Professor Bruce Traill (School of Agriculture, Policy and Development): European Commission, 'New dietary strategies addressing the specific needs of the elderly population for healthy ageing in Europe'
Carien van Reekum (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): British Academy, 'Developing an experimental paradigm to quantify the time course of emotional recovery: Implications for health and well-being'
Polly Waite (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences): MRC, 'An investigation of parent-child interactions in anxious adolescents and a pilot evaluation of a novel family treatment'
Dr Andy Wetten (School of Biological Sciences): Cocoa Research UK Ltd., 'West Africa-wide survey of cocoa swollen shoot virus'
Dr Parveen Yaqoob (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy): Cereal Partners UK, 'Effects of a wholegrain diet on digestive health and markers of immune function in healthy overweight adults'; The Danish Council for Strategic Research, 'Enzymatic production of human milk digosaccharides'

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