Thursday, 15 October 2020
Experts in hearing and cancer imaging from the 糖心原创 have been awarded a total of £2.4m as part of the UKRI鈥檚 Future Leaders Fellowships scheme.
Dr Lauren V Hadley from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Dr George Gordon from the Faculty of Engineering, have both been awarded a fellowship which will see them receive grants of up to £1.2milllion (each) over an initial four year period to carry out their own research projects.
The Future Leaders Fellowships scheme is designed to establish the careers of world-class research and innovation leaders across the UK.
Announcing the successful fellows at today’s Future Leaders Conference (15 October), Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “We are committed to building back better through research and innovation, and supporting our science superstars in every corner of the UK.
By backing these inspirational Future Leaders Fellows, we will ensure that their brilliant ideas can be transferred straight from the lab into vital everyday products and services that will help to change all our lives for the better.鈥�
Dr Lauren V Hadley - Hearing Sciences
Dr Lauren V Hadley, a Senior Research Fellow in the Hearing Sciences department, has been awarded a grant of £1.2m over four years to look at how we converse with other people so successfully, and why hearing impairment makes it so much harder.
Dr Hadley says: “Conversation is fundamental for developing social attachments, and if the ability to converse with others breaks down, it can be devastating. People with hearing impairment often find conversation challenging, finding it difficult to follow, but very little is known about how to support conversation for people that struggle.
Dr Lauren V Hadley
“To interact smoothly, people must make mental predictions about each other's contributions. These predictions are what allow us to respond quickly and appropriately when a partner finishes – they keep us on the front foot and reduce long gaps in conversation. Yet people with hearing impairment show reduced use of prediction when listening to speech even though they could particularly benefit from that extra help.”
The objective of Lauren’s fellowship is therefore to understand how people make predictions during interaction, in order to identify how to provide support and make conversation easier for people with hearing impairment.
“As the population is ageing, more and more people are experiencing hearing loss, which results in feelings of loneliness and social isolation. My work focuses on understanding how people make predictions about their conversation partner’s speech, and the way the process differs for people with hearing loss, to find new ways to support people through novel hearing technology.
EEG - hearing research
“I’ve always looked forward to leading my own research group, and the Future Leaders Fellowship will give me the time and support to build my own lab to address cutting-edge research questions. Hearing loss affects the vast majority of older adults, and this fellowship gives me the opportunity to work with world-leading hearing science researchers at the 糖心原创 and collaborate with partners in the hearing aid industry to find new ways to help,” adds Dr Hadley.
Graham Naylor, Professor of Hearing Sciences, and Dr Hadley’s line manager, said: “I am extremely pleased to be hosting Lauren’s FLF work at our hearing Sciences lab in Glasgow. It represents a strengthening of our profile and a diversification of our portfolio into adjacent but highly relevant research topics. I am confident that her work will significantly influence our thinking over the next few years. The award to Lauren is well-deserved recognition of the originality and potential impact of her ideas, her ability to engage leading scientists in them, and the quality of her research to date.”
Dr George Gordon - Optics and Photonics
Dr George Gordon, Assistant Professor in the Optics and Photonics Research Group, will look at the detection of cancers in hard-to-reach areas, thanks to a £1.2m grant.
Cancers that occur deep within the body, such as ovarian and pancreatic cancers, are difficult to detect and treat due to their inaccessibility via natural orifices. This typically makes them more deadly.
Dr Gordon’s research will address this problem by shrinking state-of-the-art microscopes to the size of a hair so they can fit inside a needle and take images deep inside the body, creating ultra-thin endoscopes.
Dr George Gordon
Dr Gordon says: “The endoscopes I will develop transport light in and out of the body via hair-thin pieces of glass called optical fibres. However, to perform advanced microscopic imaging, which is needed to reliably detect cancer, I will develop a radically new approach that uses nanotechnology to recreate the components of an optical microscope on the tip of these hair-thin fibres.I will work closely with clinical collaborators at the Gastrointestinal and Liver Disorder Theme of the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre (Prof. Guru Aithal) to apply this technology to pancreatic cancer, and with an advanced endoscope development team at the University of Arizona (Prof. Jennifer Barton) to apply it to ovarian cancer. Further, through my commercial partner YouCare Tech, who develop ultra-thin endoscopes for the urinary tract, I hope to accelerate this new technology towards commercial application in healthcare.”
This UKRI Future Leader鈥檚 Fellowship offers me an unprecedented opportunity to kick-start my lab and build a multidisciplinary team to develop this exciting new technology over several years. I hope that in years to come this will start to be used by clinicians looking at ovarian and pancreatic cancers and will pick up some early cases that can be treated."
Professor Sam Kingman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering, said: “We are immensely proud that George has been awarded such a prestigious fellowship from UKRI. We believe that his ideas have the potential to deliver significant impact in hard to reach and treat cancers and this funding coupled with the excellence of his academic and industrial partners will accelerate the development of a whole new class of treatment”
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About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 糖心原创 invests in the city of Nottingham and in future generations of talent. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.