News in 2021
- French Embassy Innovation Branch visited Bristol and met with Imophoron co-founder, Professor Imre Berger 13 December 2021 Representatives from the French Embassy visited University labs on Friday 10 December 2021 to see some of the innovative COVID-19 research being undertaken at Bristol, including work on ADDomer™, a thermostable vaccine platform being developed by Bristol scientists to combat emerging infectious diseases
- Science Creates opens second incubator, including Imophoron as one of the most exciting deep tech company. 6 December 2021 Science Creates, the deep tech ecosystem that nurtures science and engineering start-ups and spin-outs, has opened its second specialised incubator space in Bristol on Thursday 25 November 2021. It will be home to a new generation of scientists-turned-entrepreneurs leveraging advanced technologies such as AI, synthetic biology, nano technologies and quantum computing which will be used to tackle big problems such as cancer, vaccine development and climate change.
- Judith Mantell announced as winner of RMS Vice Presidents’ Award 11 November 2021 Judith Mantell, Senior Electron Microscopist, sharing positions between the Verkade Group and the Wolfson Bioimaging Facility has been announced as the winner of the 2021 RMS Vice Presidents' Award
- Collaborative COVID-19 lockdown effort delivers major boost for vaccine innovation in Bristol 7 October 2021 Faster vaccine development could be a step closer thanks to £4 million investment to Imophoron Ltd, a Bristol University biotech start-up developing a novel, next generation rapid-response vaccine platform called ADDomer™. Imophoron will use the investment to bring ADDomer vaccines to clinical stage, initially targeting three viruses, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), COVID-19, and mosquito-borne Chikungunya.
- Statue of Henrietta Lacks unveiled at University of Bristol 5 October 2021 A life-size bronze statue of Henrietta Lacks, a Black American woman whose cells were the first ever to survive and multiply outside the body, and whose use changed the course of modern medicine, has been unveiled at the University of Bristol by members of her family to honour the 70th anniversary of her cells first being used.
- Major advance in race for SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor drugs 20 September 2021 A new advance towards the development of drugs specifically designed to inhibit a key SARS-CoV-2 enzyme is reported in the Royal Society of Chemistry's leading journal, Chemical Science.
- Professor Peter Cullen elected to Membership of EMBO 10 June 2021 Professor Peter Cullen, a Wellcome Trust Investigator in the School of Biochemistry, has been elected a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
- University of Bristol continues fight to eradicate deadly disease on World Tuberculosis Day 25 March 2021 Researchers at the University of Bristol are working on a number of different developments to finally end the TB epidemic.
- Alumni support Biochemistry students 24 March 2021
- How Bristol’s research has played a key role in the world’s response to COVID-19 23 March 2021 As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, academics from across the University of Bristol joined together to understand the virus and the impact of the pandemic. Today [23 March] is a year since the first UK lockdown and their research is continuing to play a key role in global efforts to overcome the disease.
- University commissions sculpture of Henrietta Lacks on International Women’s Day 10 March 2021 The University of Bristol has commissioned local artist Helen Wilson Roe to create a sculpture of Henrietta Lacks, a Black American woman whose human cells were the first ever to survive and multiply outside the body.
- Professor Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel named one of the most influential women in Bristol 8 March 2021 The School of Biochemistry professor is recognised in the BristolLive list.
- The Pride of Bristol: Professor Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel interview with The Bristol Magazine 3 February 2021
- How vitamins, steroids and potential antivirals might affect SARS-CoV-2 28 January 2021 Evidence is emerging that vitamin D – and possibly vitamins K and A – might help combat COVID-19. A new study from the University of Bristol published in the journal of the German Chemical Society Angewandte Chemie has shown how they – and other antiviral drugs – might work. The research indicates that these dietary supplements and compounds could bind to the viral spike protein and so might reduce SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. In contrast, cholesterol may increase infectivity, which could explain why having high cholesterol is considered a risk factor for serious disease.
- Royal Society award enables University researcher to study neurodegenerative disease 15 January 2021 Professor Peter Cullen, a Wellcome Trust Investigator from the School of Biochemistry at the University of Bristol, has been awarded the Royal Society Noreen Murray Professorship to expand his research into neurological sciences.