Dr Abd Tahrani, Clinician Scientist at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, writes for BHP on the history of drug discovery in Type 2 diabetes; including modern non-pharmacological (lifestyle) interventions. This week marks Diabetes UK’s annual Diabetes Week, with the aim of raising awareness about diabetes mellitus and tackling the stigma felt by many patients with diabetes. Diabetes is very common globally and is a public health challenge in … Continue reading “Transforming the therapeutic scene: the story of diabetes drug discovery”
Category: Blog
Topical comment and analysis from BHP
Birmingham chemists develop DNA ‘barcodes’ to scan for infection
Imagine having a printed barcode and getting it scanned by a hospital doctor who could then tell you very quickly whether you might have a serious infection or illness. Thanks to an approach for visualising DNA sequences pioneered by chemist Dr Robert Neely and his research group, it’s a technique that’s already possible. “We can study genomes very easily and very quickly,” explains Rob Neely, a Senior Lecturer in Physical Chemistry at BHP founder member … Continue reading “Birmingham chemists develop DNA ‘barcodes’ to scan for infection”
Haemophilia patients keen to help researchers
A clinical researcher’s dream is to have a database of patients willing and ready to take part in research and trials, and it could be said that this is exactly what haemophilia research nurse, Elizabeth Dwenger, has built. Elizabeth, originally from Georgia in the USA, trained in the UK and for many years was a specialist cardiac research nurse, before making the move across to haemophilia last year. At that point no haemophilia research was … Continue reading “Haemophilia patients keen to help researchers”
Research Showcase 2019: innovation from head to toe
The latest health breakthroughs will be on display next month at the annual Birmingham Health Partners Research Showcase, to be held in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham’s (QEHB) atrium. Exciting developments in the last year include the opening of a world-leading conflict wound centre, which is aiming to prevent all scars within a generation; a trial that has cured a UHB patient with a rare condition; and other advances in cancer treatment, concussion diagnosis, and … Continue reading “Research Showcase 2019: innovation from head to toe”
Risk-taking in research
BHP Managing Director Dr John Williams spoke to Mark Brown for Beyond the Room shortly after delivering a presentation on health research funding, at the 50th Anniversary event for the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry. JW: Before I took on the role of Managing Director at BHP, I spent the best part of 20 years working for the Wellcome Trust, where one of the portfolios I have the privilege of managing was the new … Continue reading “Risk-taking in research”