Faculty of Life Sciences

• Bridging Gaps in primary healthcare for women with complex needs
  A co-produced intervention that not only successfully increased the number of women with complex needs accessing mainstream healthcare, but also empowered the women concerned to act as champions and advocates in their community.
• Driving responsible use of antimicrobials
  Researchers, practitioners and industry bodies across the food chain successfully combined forces for policy and practitioner changes in antimicrobial use on farms and in veterinary practices.
• Protecting consumers from weight-loss claims
  Food giant Unilever abandoned plans to incorporate Fabuless into its slimming products following a study by experimental psychologists at the University of Bristol.
• Influencing cancer drug development programmes
  Collaboration between researchers and the pharmaceutical industry has led to major investment in cancer drug discovery programmes that target inhibitors in transporter proteins.
• Altering cellular function of immune system could help target allergies
  Peanut allergy has long-term consequences and potentially life threatening effects, but there is no clinically available cure. A cellular and molecular could provide new clues.
• Adaptive immunity
  Discovery of a bacterial protein's unusual properties have given rise to a novel drug for the treatment of inflammatory diseases which affect hundreds of millions of people globally.
• Aiding development of high-yield, disease-resistant wheat
  Research helps the wheat-breeding industry - vital for global food security - become better able to respond to climate change and population growth.
• Genetic mapping improves understanding of osteoarthritis
  Using multi-disciplinary techniques to map the development of osteoarthritis in zebrafish genes allows a greater understanding of joint deterioration in humans.
• Reducing the likelihood of developing a leading cause of blindness
  Researchers have developed a unique device that can be used to test people for one of the risk factors for age-related macular degeneration – the leading cause of blindness in the UK.
• Improving water quality and ecosystem infrastructure
  The development of new assessment tools has led to major changes in ecosystem infrastructures in the UK and Ireland, with estimated financial benefits of £200 million.
• Transforming public understanding of the brain
  Professor Hood’s BBC series ‘Meet your brain’ proved such a success that the British Council invited him to repeat his lectures in Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore.
• Harnessing fungi's medicinal and agricultural potential
  The Basidio Molecular Toolkit enables the global agricultural and pharmaceutical industry to make dramatic breakthroughs in crop production and antibiotic research.
• New diagnostic tests for rare kidney disease
  Red blood cell research identifies new tests for distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) - a potentially fatal kidney disease that can be treated with a spoonful of bicarbonate.
• Combatting antimicrobial resistance
  Microbiologists at the University of Bristol are investigating exactly why current drugs are not working in an attempt to reverse this trend before it’s too late.
• Improving accuracy of diagnosis for childhood leukaemia
  New cell analysis procedures have led to improved diagnostic techniques and national standards for cell processing.
• Predicting IVF success with greater accuracy
  A free, easy-to-use online calculator is the most accurate tool for predicting live birth outcomes for couples considering IVF treatment.
• Tracing the evolution of genes sheds light on origins of life
  Looking at how genes function across different species is helping to answer questions about human origins as well as how we view life on Earth.
• Helping prevent and treat bowel cancer
  Identifying apoptosis (cell suicide) as a plausible scientific mechanism for how a high fibre diet and aspirin may prevent and treat bowel cancer.
• Understanding the brain's role in obesity
  Using neuroimaging techniques to measure biological responses to food consumption helps researchers work towards finding an effective solution to obesity.
• Understanding the building blocks of cancer gives vital clues to treatment
  Research into the cellular and molecular basis of cancer has discovered how controlling the protein activity in cells could help treat colorectal cancer.
• Search for new cancer biomarker propelled by detailed exploration of cell structures
  Advances in science, diagnosis and treatment mean that more people than ever before are surviving cancer. But with an increase in survival rates comes an increase in the possibility that for some people, cancer will recur later in life. This presents a continuing challenge for cancer research – biomedical scientists at Bristol University are finding new ways to find a solution.
• Landmark discoveries that could dramatically improve cardiac care
  Research into the regulation of calcium in cardiac muscle cells uses computer models to further understanding of molecular control and develop new ways to treat heart failure.
• Neurotransmitters may be behind debilitating headaches
  Motivation, addiction, sleep, high blood pressure – one family of neurones is implicated and if researchers at the University of Bristol hypothesise correctly, migraines could also be added to that list.
• Reducing heart attack tissue damage
  Pharmaceutical companies have shifted their focus for cardioprotective drug development based on research conducted at the University of Bristol.
• Desensitising toothpastes
  Revealing the mechanism behind sensitive tooth pain has helped leading brands develop better desensitising toothpastes that provide relief for pain sufferers.
• Schizophrenia linked to functional disconnections in the brain
  Attempts to understand schizophrenia and its diverse symptoms have taken researchers and psychiatrists on a journey throughout the brain.