News and events 2017
Read the latest news & events from the MRC Centre of Inflammation Research
Androgens 2018 Meeting
The biannual Androgens meeting brings together medical professionals and researchers of all disciplines interested in the action of androgen hormones in health and disease.
Major funding boost granted for Proteus
December 2017: Proteus has been granted a major funding boost worth £3.8M to continue developing their research into diagnosing and managing lung diseases.
Researcher Awarded Prestigious Gold Medal
December 2017: Dr Tom Craven has been awarded The Intensive Care Foundation Research Gold Medal for 2017.
British Association for Cancer Research 2017 AstraZeneca Young Scientist Frank Rose Award
November 2017: Congratulations to Dr Alan Serrels
Carbon nanotubes may pose asbestos-style cancer risk
November 2017: A study led by the Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit, and supported by researches from the Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research, has provided strong evidence that certain carbon nanotubes used in manufacturing could pose the same cancer risk as asbestos.
BSI Communicating Immunology grant
November 2017: A 'Communicating Immunology' grant has been awarded to Iris Mair, David Taggart, Julia Dorin and Donald Davidson by the British Society for Immunology to develop new Science Festival activities with the theme of 'Denny and the T team fight cancer'.
Best Poster Prize for CIR PhD Student Ruairi Lynch
October 2017: ECAT PhD student Ruairi Lynch wins best poster prize at the Macrophage Biology in the Single-Cell Era Meeting in Ghent
Heart failure therapy hope as drug blocks deadly muscle scarring
October 2017: A potential treatment to prevent deadly muscle scarring that contributes to chronic heart failure has been uncovered by scientists.
Worms aid quest for asthma therapies
October 2017: Worms could prevent asthma and offer the hope of a cure to the 5.4 million people in the UK with the condition, according to a breakthrough study funded by Asthma UK
Cystic fibrosis study offers new therapy hope for patients
October 2017: Fresh insights into how cystic fibrosis affects immune cells could pave the way for new treatments for the condition
Drug targeting technique could aid therapies for immune diseases
September 2017: A new technique that targets drugs to specific cells could lead to improved therapies for diseases caused by an overactive immune response.
Medical camera makes ‘light work’ of seeing through the body
September 2017: A camera is being developed that will be able to locate medical tools, such as endoscopes, inside the body without the need to resort to inconvenient X-rays.
Immune study points to new ways to treat lung disease
August 2017: Fresh insight into how the immune system keeps itself in check could lead to new ways of fighting chronic lung disease
Journal of Experimental Medicine Advisory Board
August 2017: Congratulations to Professor Elaine Dzierzak
Proteus’ Ingenious Project “Circuits!” Reaches Rwandan School Children
July 2017: A project being developed by Proteus in conjunction with the University of Glasgow to help school children better understand biomedical engineering is currently touring Rwanda.
Inaugural Centre Away Day Trainee awards for "Excellence in Public Engagement"
June 2017: Trainee awards for "Excellence in Public Engagement" were presented to Cathy Hawley and Iris Mair at the inaugural MRC Centre for Inflammation Research at the University of Edinburgh Away Day on 29 June 2017.
Inaugural CIR away day
June 2017: Staff and students from across the Centre attended the first CIR away day
Proteus participates in all-IRC conference in Bath
June 2017: On 28 and 29 June 2017, the first EPSRC all-IRC conference for healthcare technologies took place at the University of Bath, during which the work of Proteus was showcased.
Eczema therapy hopes raised by study of sun’s effects on skin
June 2017: Exposure to sunlight releases a compound from the skin that can alleviate symptoms of eczema
"Supercytes – the immune cell standoff" Teacher Training: MRC Festival of Medical Research event
June 2017: The MRC CIR ran a free interactive workshop to introduce "Supercytes" (our new game-based schools' resource, focused on immunology and inflammation) to teachers working in Edinburgh and Lothians schools.
Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship Award
June 2017: Congratulations to Dr Chris Lucas
New Personal Chairs awarded
June 2017: Congratulations to Sarah Walmsley and Kev Dhaliwal
Mary Erskine’s Secondary 1 pupils visit
May 2017: Mary Erskine’s S1 pupils visit the CIR to learn about inflammation research
Edinburgh Café Scientifique: Surprising Targets for Harmful Air Pollution Particles
May 2017: The Edinburgh Café Scientifique hosted an informal discussion on the health effects of air pollution with Professor Ken Donaldson, Dr Mark Miller and Dr Craig Poland, University of Edinburgh.
Cancer Research UK Intermediate Fellowship
May 2017: Congratulations to Dr Ahsan Akram
Women drive quest for insights into painful infertility condition
May 2017: Colleagues from the MRC Centres for Reproductive Health and Inflammation Research publish findings in The Lancet of a major consultation process into endometriosis
Drug to tackle lung scarring shows promise in clinical trial
May 2017: Early stage clinical trial with a new drug developed by researchers in the MRC Centre for Inflammation Research in collaboration with Galecto Biotech shows promise as a new treatment for patients with lung fibrosis.
Lung study points to new therapies to treat critical illness
May 2017: David Dorward and colleagues from the Rossi group publish a study in Thorax delineating the role of mitochondrial proteins and their signalling in driving lung inflammation.
'Faulty cellular batteries' and leaky gut – a new potential cause of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
April 2017: Gwo-tzer Ho publishes recent study in Mucosal Immunology highlighting the importance of damaged mitochondria and gut inflammation
Medical expert wins royal assent for distinguished academic post
April 2017: Prestigious Award for CIR Principal Investigator
CIR at the Edinburgh International Science Festival
April 2017: The CIR participates at the Edinburgh International Science Festival with the Amazing Immunology workshop
International Inflammation Workshop meeting
March 2017: Congratulations to Chris Lucas
Pfizer SRI President's Presenter's Awards
March 2017: Congratulations to Douglas Gibson
Lung probe that spots infections aims to cut antibiotic overuse
March 2017: A new imaging tool that rapidly diagnoses bacterial lung infections could help prevent unnecessary use of antibiotics in intensive care units
Social Responsibility and Sustainability Awards
March 2017: Congratulations to the sustainability team in the QMRI
Scottish Schools Education Research Centre Training : Supercytes
March 2017: The Centre's new educational resource 'Supercytes' was presented to High School Biology teachers at a Scottish Schools Education Research Centre CPD Training event.
Young Investigator runner-up winner at the Academy of Medical Sciences
March 2017: Congratulations to Mr Iain Murray
Imaging study seeks to boost care for liver cancer patients
February 2017: Patients facing surgery to remove liver cancers could benefit from advanced imaging technology
Precision Medicine in Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis interview
January 2017: Dr Gwo-tzer Ho speaks about Precision Medicine in Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis in American Journal of Gastroenterology
Staff recognised in New Year’s Honours
January 2017: Professor Haslett recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list