Edinburgh Impact

The future of health and care

Exploring the treatments, discoveries and approaches to care that will transform how look after the ill and vulnerable.

What are the next medical breakthroughs that will maximise wellbeing and protect the most vulnerable in society? The University is pioneering work in areas such as MND, dementia, nursing, reproductive health, regenerative medicine, medical informatics and many others, including the crucial interfaces between medicine, the sciences, social sciences and the arts.

Discover how Edinburgh's influence helps shape and inform the future of health and care.


Illustration of two people sitting on chairs

Picky eater? It could be in your DNA

​​​​​​​The largest genetic study of our food likes and dislikes sheds new light on people's diet choices.

Picky eater? It could be in your DNA
Transparent

Lighting the way

Pioneering work by researchers from the School of Biological Sciences reveals how invisible triggers orchestrate the earliest-known stages of a key life process, and may help offer clues to improving ways of treating diseases such as cancer.

Lighting the way
Sleeping

Pioneering the science of hope

​​​​​​​Six years ago a revolutionary technique to restore fertility in women rendered infertile by cancer treatments brought the prospect of life into the darkest of times. Its success - decades in the making - is paving the way to even more breakthroughs.

Pioneering the science of hope

Illustration of two people sitting on chairs

Everyday cyborgs

​​​​​​​The development of implantable devices has been a game changer in the medical profession, giving many patients a new lease of life. However, receiving an implant can also alter a person’s sense of identity and have a lasting impact on their mental health. Social scientist Dr Gill Haddow’s research is empowering people living with these devices to accept their body modification and in turn improve their wellbeing.

Everyday cyborgs
Healthcare workers running alongside a bed with a patient lying on it

Preventing death and disability caused by stroke

Research by Edinburgh’s world-leading stroke experts, Joanna Wardlaw and Peter Sandercock, is helping more patients benefit from life-saving treatment.

Preventing death and disability caused by stroke
Getting to the heart of air pollution

Getting to the heart of air pollution

​​​​​​​The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that air pollution is responsible for more than seven million premature deaths globally a year. Edinburgh researchers investigating the effects of air pollutants on cardiovascular health are helping to shape air quality guidelines.

Getting to the heart of air pollution
Discovering the smell of Parkinsons

Discovering the smell of Parkinson’s

Stem cell biologist Dr Tilo Kunath was asked a surprising question – “Why aren’t you using smell to detect Parkinson’s?” Nine years on, this simple question has led to ground-breaking research into new ways to detect this devastating disease.

Discovering the smell of Parkinson’s

Safety in numbers

Safety in numbers

The pandemic brought a decade-old project out of hibernation, but now EAVE II’s success in using health data to fight Covid-19 could point to the future of combating other diseases.

Safety in numbers
SpeakUnique voice lab

Making liver transplants history

Chronic liver disease is on the rise, killing thousands in the UK alone. A new spin-out company aims to reverse the tide by enlisting a hard-working marvel of human biology.

Making liver transplants history
SpeakUnique voice lab

SpeakUnique

University researchers have created a unique voice banking, voice building and voice repairing service, that's allowing patients to retain or reclaim their own individual voice.

SpeakUnique
illustrated lab

The art of science

Innovative Edinburgh scientist Dr Elaine Emmerson gave a talented artist unlimited access to her head and neck cancer research, and the resulting illustrations capture the treatment development journey in an engaging and enlightening way.

The art of science