NewsletterBringing you the latest news from the School of Biosciences at the University of Kent 2015

School of Biosciences

Inside this edition2 Welcome

3 Research news

4 Undergraduate news

6 Postgraduate news

7 New arrivials

Undergraduate newsPage 4

Postgraduate newsPage 6

Beautiful BiologyPage 8

Research newsPage 3

2 University of Kent School of Biosciences

We hope you enjoy reading thisedition of the annual School ofBiosciences annual newsletter,which reflects upon someremarkable achievements overthe last year.

The end of 2014 saw the result of the ResearchExcellence Framework. This 6-year UK-wideassessment of research performance placed theSchool of Biosciences in the top 10 for ourpercentage of ‘world-leading’ and ‘internationallyexcellent’ research outputs, and also in the top 10for ‘research intensity’, the quality of our researchin relation to the proportion of staff submitted tothe exercise. This is exciting news for staff and students, placing the School of Biosciences as one ofthe best centres of discovery in the UK.

Our performance in the National Student Survey also reached new heights in 2014, with all three ofour degree programmes in the UK top 10 for overall student satisfaction, and Biochemistry ranked first.We have also extended our reputation for excellence in provision through professional accreditation.Our degree programmes have recently been scrutinised by professional bodies, and we havereceived re-accreditation of our Biomedical Science degrees from the Institute of Biomedical Sciencefor a further 5 years, plus ‘advanced accreditation’ of our Sandwich Year degrees from the Society ofBiology. Accreditation ensures that you will leave university with a defined set of knowledge, skills andabilities which is very attractive to employers looking for graduates with the potential to excel.

It has been an outstanding year for the School of Biosciences, while the University of Kent hasconsolidated its position as a leading UK university, ranked 20th in the Guardian University Guide forthe second year running. We think the combination of research and teaching excellence, plus oursupportive and inspiring culture of discovery, makes the School of Biosciences an excellent choicefor you to consider.

Dr Richard WilliamsonUndergraduate Admissions Officer

Welcome

Bioscience 2014photography competitionThe yearly competition is now in its 5th year andgaining in momentum, with enthusiastic supportfrom staff and students in the School. Moreexamples of this year’s shortlisted images areshown on the rear cover.

The winning image of 2014 entitled ‘Bottled Sky’was taken by Julian Cook.

Ten reasons to chooseBiosciences at KentStudent satisfactionIn the 2014 National Student Survey, all ofour degree programmes all were all rankedin the top 10 for “overall student satisfaction”,with Biochemistry ranked 1st in the UK.

World leading researchIn the Research Excellence Framework (REF)2014 exercise, the School of Biosciences wasranked in the top 10 for research intensity andfor the proportion of research deemed “worldleading” and “internationally excellent”.

Teaching excellenceWe are one of only a handful of BiologicalScience department to have two NationalTeaching Fellows – the UK award forindividual teaching excellence.

Professional accreditationAll of our Sandwich Year programmes haveachieved Advanced Accreditation from theSociety of Biology, while our BiomedicalScience degrees are accredited by theInstitute of Biomedical Science.

Modern facilitiesOur refurbished teaching laboratories anda recent investment in high-specificationlaboratory equipment have underpinnedadvances in our extensive practical training.

Industrial and international linksAround 15% of our students spend a year inIndustry or at a University in North America,Europe, or Asia.

Research experienceIn the final year students carry out an 8-week research project with a memberof academic staff. The Stacey Fund alsosupports 8-week summer studentshipsfor undergraduate students.

Transferable skillsAs part of your degree you will learn aboutscience communication, problem solving,working in groups, time management and IT,all of which promote graduate employability.

Academic supportEach undergraduate is assigned to amember of academic staff and benefitsfrom individual guidance and structuredsmall group teaching.

Attractive campus and locationThe University is situated on a 300 acrehillside campus overlooking the historicCity of Canterbury.

University of Kent School of Biosciences 3

Top 10 in the UK forinternationally-recognisedresearch excellenceThe School of Biosciences has consolidatedits position as one of the strongestBiological Science departments in the UK inthe most recent Research ExcellenceFramework (REF 2014).

As measured by the proportion of thehighest quality outputs – deemed 4* and 3*in the REF exercise – 88% of the School’ssubmitted research outputs were judged tobe “world-leading” or “internationallyexcellent”. This has placed the School ofBiosciences in the top 10 nationally. TheSchool was also placed in the top 10nationally for “research intensity” – themeasure that also takes into account theproportion of eligible staff submitted to theassessment exercise.

In rankings based on grade point average(GPA) – the measure that is widely reportedin league tables – the School was ranked23rd in the UK. This places Kent equal withQueen Mary and King’s College London,and above prestigious institutions thatinclude Bath, Warwick, Southampton,Durham, Nottingham and Essex.

The REF results cap an extraordinary yearof success for the School of Biosciences.They follow our exceptional performance inthe National Student Survey (see page 5),which also placed the School in the top 10for overall student satisfaction for all three ofour degree programmes. These externalmeasures of academic excellence confirmthe School as a leading centre of discoverywithin the biological sciences in the UK.

Research news

Bioscientists in the School of Biosciences havebeen awarded nearly £3.5 million to research theproduction of bacterial cells with enhancedinternal organisation for industrialbiotechnological processes.

Such cells are key to driving forward the UK’sknowledge-based bioeconomy through acombination of basic and strategic researchaimed at improving cellular productivity and thesynthesis of fine chemicals and biotherapeutics.

The research, led by Professor Martin Warren andhis team at the University’s School of Biosciences,is one of five projects to be recognised by theBBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological SciencesResearch Council) as part of its Strategic Longerand Larger Grants (sLoLaS) scheme. ProfessorWarren’s five-year research programme willengineer new ways of reorganising the internalmetabolic machinery of cells.

The team hopes to build ‘micro-factories’ insidecells that will be able to produce useful andvaluable molecules, such as pharmaceuticals,without intoxicating the cells. The overall aim ofthe project is to increase bacterial metabolicefficiency through the ergonomic design ofspecific intracellular compartments. This involvesthe use of cutting-edge technology in syntheticbiology to tackle the redesign of the bacterialcytoplasm to accommodate the inclusion ofbespoke self-contained mini-bioreactors.

This research will provide an important edge forUK biotechnology companies, existing and new,through the provision of greater productivity andnew molecules, peptides and proteins for anumber of purposes, including the developmentof fine chemical and protein-based drugs.

Professor Warren, who is receiving the largestgrant (£3.484 million) among the five universitybeneficiaries, said that support for his researchwas ‘exciting’ and would help keep the Universityof Kent at the forefront of synthetic biology,resulting in strong interaction with industry.

Other beneficiaries of the total BBSRC £15.8million funding include the universities of Oxford(£3.041 million), Manchester (£2.990 million) andGlasgow (£2.922 million). The BBSRC awardsthe grants to give ‘world-leading teams the timeand resources to address major challenges’.

£3.5million for ‘world leading’ bioscientists

New Centre forInterdisciplinary Studiesof Reproduction (CISoR)The Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies ofReproduction (CISoR) comprises severallike-minded academics dedicated to thestudy of reproduction in all its forms.Drawing on a range of academicdisciplines, CISoR’s core philosophy isthat the study of this fascinating field willadvance further through a multidisciplinaryapproach. Impactful, excellent researchforms the basis of CISoR’s activitiesincluding scientific advance, new productsand processes, contribution to publicpolicy, and public engagement.

4 University of Kent School of Biosciences

Undergraduate news

The 2014 Kent iGEM team was the second teamfrom Kent to enter the iGEM competition. Theteam of students received the Bronze award atthe Giant Jamboree in Boston. Dr Wei Feng-Xue,Senior Lecturer in Chemical Biology, describesthis year’s project.

Project selectionThe project selection took place in the first twoweeks of the project. Students were instructed toresearch into past iGEM projects throughreading the past iGEM wiki pages, the iGEMwebsite, and scientific papers ahead of thebrainstorming session at project start. A fewpossible projects that were based on theresearch expertise available were alsosuggested to the students. Following the firstsession, the students had decided on twoprojects with the advisors: “Engineering bacterialmicro compartment (BMC) as a therapeuticcargo delivery system for anti-microbialpeptides”, and “The Biosynthesis of FragrantTerpenoids in E. coli”. In a second session, afterfurther independent research by the students,the team decided on “The Biosynthesis ofFragrant Terpenoids in E. coli”. This project wasseen as the best choice by the students due tothe presence of a nearby site for Givaudan, aworld leading Fragrance Company situated inAshford, Kent. This project was subsequentlyentered into the Manufacturing track. The teammanaged to obtain additional sponsorship fromGivaudan in the form of a range of essential oilsto be used as standard samples.

The projectThe Kent iGEM team was mainly located in theSchool of Biosciences teaching labs as well asthe laboratory space in the research labs of theinstructors. Throughout the duration of thesummer, the students received day-to-daysupport from postgraduate advisors. Weeklysupervisory meetings with the advisors,instructors and the iGEM students took placethroughout the summer.

The aim of the laboratory part of the project wasto construct and to characterise new biobrickparts that encode for terpene synthase enzymes.Two enzymes were selected.

The main outcomesThe team performed industrial scale-upmodelling to assess the industrial and financialaspects. Finally, the team also engaged withpolicy and practice activities that includeddistributing questionnaires to engage with thegeneral public, attending an interview withGivaudan representatives to engage with theindustry, submitting a POST note on their projectand on synthetic biology to engage with UKParliament, and performing outreach activities aswell as submitting an article to Young Scientistjournal to engage with education.

School of Biosciences students awarded bronzeat iGEM jamboree in BostonNational Teaching

Fellowship for biochemistDr Peter Klappa,Reader inBiochemistry andMaster of RutherfordCollege, has beenawarded a NationalTeaching Fellowshipby the HigherEducation Academy(HEA).

Dr Klappa is one of only 55 highereducation staff in England, Northern Irelandand Wales to have been awarded aFellowship, the most prestigious award forexcellence in higher education teaching andsupport for learning in the UK.

A member of its School of Biosciences, hehas introduced and developed a wide rangeof initiatives designed to make learningaccessible to all. These include physicalteaching props and online technologies, aswell as audio-visual tools that providestudents with meaningful and individualisedfeedback to their assessments. Dr Klappa’svideos on YouTube have attracted a largeinternational audience of both students andteachers. As part of a collaboration he hasproduced high-quality computer-generatedanimations to make complex biologicaltopics accessible for learners worldwide.Recently he has started to incorporatesocial media into his teaching – thisapproach gives him the opportunity tointeract with a large cohort of students in anindividualised format, using technology mostof them are familiar with.

The School of Biosciences is now one ofonly a handful of Biological Sciencedepartment with two National TeachingFellows; Dr Dan Lloyd was awarded aFellowship in 2006. In a great year forteaching success, Dr Klappa was alsofinalist in the Society of Biology’s “UKBiosciences Teacher of the Year”, and wasawarded the University of Kent 50thAnniversary Prize for Learning andTeaching. Dr Jeremy Rossman was alsoawarded the Faculty of Sciences TeachingPrize for his innovative teaching methods inVirology.

Kent around the worldKent students talk abouttheir Study Abroad yearSilvana Pinna – Hong Kong“I spent this past semester studying in HongKong, and so far it has been an amazingexperience. I have visited many placesaround here, although there is still very muchto do: the city is amazing, very modern witha touch of Chinese tradition, and the peopleare so welcoming! Sharing a dorm room witha local girl has helped me so much withlearning about their culture and a bit ofCantonese (although it’s so difficult!) andI am really happy I made a good friend. Theuniversity is nice and the classes were veryinteresting, I’m glad I got to choose subjectsoutside my degree as well.”

Hannah Bridgewater – UCBerkeley“My first semester at Berkeley in one wordhas been AMAZING! I have been able tosee and do many new and exciting things.I have explored all of San Francisco, beenup north to see the famous Redwoods, hadthe traditional American thanksgiving andeven took a quick plane journey to Nevadafor a few days. The classes I have taken areenjoyable and challenging, particularly myImmunology class which was everyinteractive. I have gained a lot from this firstsemester, not just in an educational sense.I have learnt to be more independent andadventurous.”

Did you know?In the past two years students have alsoattended at UTM Malaysia, Virginia Tech,University of Massachusetts Amherst, SanDiego State University and the University ofCalifornia at the Los Angeles, Santa Barbaraand Berkeley campuses. UC Berkeley iswidely acknowledged as one of the top 10universities in the world.

University of Kent School of Biosciences 5

Undergraduate news

The 2014 National Student Survey has recognisedthe School of Biosciences as one of the very bestplaces to study in the UK. The School was rankedfirst for Biochemistry, third for Biomedical Science,and ninth for Biology, with overall studentsatisfaction of 100%, 99% and 96% respectively.Our degrees also ranked first in individualcategories of the survey, including teachingquality, academic support, personal development,and organisation and management.

Our students go on to become some ofthe country’s most employable graduates: weare placed in the top 20 for career prospects inthe Guardian University Guide 2014. Coupledwith outstanding research funding successes,

the results in REF 2014, and the University ofKent’s status as a top-20 university, this makesthe School an excellent place to study thebiological sciences.

First in the UK for overall student satisfaction

The School of Biosciences is delighted to reportthe outstanding achievement of the graduatingclass who successfully processed at thegraduation ceremony at in the grandsurroundings of Canterbury Cathedral in July2014. The “Class of 2014” achieved a recordlevel of achievement for the School ofBiosciences, with three-quarters being awardedUpper Second Class Honours or above and arecord number being awarded a First Class.

This is a real achievement for the school – areflection of the high quality and commitment ofour students, and the staff who have taught themand supported them over the previous 3-4 years.Congratulations to all our graduates and staffwho worked so hard together with great success!

Record success for Class of 2014

Our Sandwich Year programme provides theperfect opportunity to incorporate scientific workexperience into a degree. The programme hasrecently been awarded Advanced Accreditationby the Society of Biology – an indication of thequality of provision on offer. A recent graduate,Chen Liang, said “My sandwich year was anamazing experience. It gave me insight into thepharmaceutical industry and I found a researchtopic I would like to continue as a career. I reallyenjoyed working with my team and the skills andtechniques I gained will set me apart from othergraduates. I cannot recommend it enough, sodon’t let this opportunity pass you by.”

Students from the School of Biosciences havebeen successful in securing a record number ofsandwich placements. Among the placementlocations are key pharmaceutical companies inthe UK (GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble),academic and industrial research institutes(MRC Technology, the Science and TechnologyFacilities Council) and prestigious researchorganisations overseas (National Center forGenetic Engineering and Biotechnology,Thailand, and the Noguchi Memorial Institute ofMedical Research at the University of Ghana).

Largest number of students awarded sandwichplacements

6 University of Kent School of Biosciences

Postgraduate news

The 22nd Annual School of BiosciencesPostgraduate Symposium Plenary Lecture wasgiven by Professor Chas Bountra, NuffieldDepartment of Medicine, University of Oxford onThursday 10 July 2014.

Professor Bountra gave a highly interesting talkto an audience comprising postgraduatestudents and academics, entitled: “The future ofresearch and drug discovery”

Winners were presented with cash prizes of £50following the poster session and prior to thebeginning of Professor Bountra’s lecture. LonzaBiologics very kindly supported the prizes onceagain with a cheque for the Lonza prize of £250for the best PhD talk.

The generosity of a former member of staff,Professor Chris Knowles, provided the schoolwith a further opportunity to present a prize forthe student showing a biotechnology theme intheir research.

The list of the prize winners this year were:

Best Master’s Poster – Deborah Kajewole

Best PhD Poster – Erin Balasubramaniam

Best PhD talk – David Beal

Lonza Prize – David Beal

Knowles Prize – Sarah Packwood

Doctor DoctorCongratulations to the following studentsfor successfully negotiating their vivas andbeing awarded their PhDs.

Lesley Chiverton

Alexandra Moores

Gary Harton

Matt Johnson

David Palmer

Claudia Rathje

Louisa Robinson Boyer

Kara Turner

Nathan Ley

Dan Tarrant

Dan Smethurst

Andrew Dean

The MSc in Infectious Diseases is our new flagship postgraduate programme, adding to ourexcellent suite of Masters’ Taught Programmes for 2014. Dr Mark Shepherd, the ProgrammeDirector, said the programme had been designed for students who wish to gain anadvanced education and training in the biological sciences, within the context of a rangeof human diseases that affect a significant proportion of the global population. The courseprovides training in the modern practical, academic and research skills that are used inacademia and industry.

The programme culminates with a research project under the supervision of members offaculty that currently perform research on disease-causing microorganisms.

Postgraduate Symposium 2014

MSc in Infectious Diseases: a new course for 2014

University of Kent School of Biosciences 7

New arrivals

Professor Michelle GarrettProfessor Michelle Garrettjoined the School ofBiosciences is 2014 asProfessor of CancerTherapeutics.

Michelle received herundergraduate degree fromthe University of Leeds and

then joined The Institute of Cancer Research(ICR) London, to undertake her PhD researchwith Alan Hall on the RhoA small GTPase. Aftergaining her PhD in cancer cell signalling,Michelle won a Lucille Markey InternationalResearch Fellowship and in 1991 moved to theUSA to undertake post-doctoral studies at YaleUniversity School of Medicine on regulation ofsmall GTPases in the yeast Saccharomycescerevisiae, with Peter Novick.

In 1994 Michelle joined Onyx Pharmaceuticals,California, USA, where she went on to become ateam leader before returning to the ICR in 1999to take up a team leader position in the CancerResearch UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit. Herresearch specialised in the discovery anddevelopment of novel small moleculetherapeutics for the treatment of cancer, two ofwhich are currently in the clinic.

Dr Jennifer TulletJennifer joined the Schoolof Biosciences inSeptember 2014 afterconducting postdoctoralresearch with ProfessorDavid Gems (UniversityCollege London) andProfessor Keith Blackwell(Harvard). Prior to that, she

obtained her PhD from Imperial College Londonunder the supervision of Professor MalcolmParker. Jennifer’s background covers ageingbiology, transcriptional regulation and C. elegansgenetics. Her research focuses on the moleculesand processes that regulate lifespan andinfluence life-long health.

Dr Neil KadNeil Kad studies Biochemistry at SheffieldUniversity before undertaking a PhD at theUniversity of Bristol. After postdoctoral researchfellowships at Leeds and Vermont he wasappointed Lecturer at the University of Essexin 2007. He joined the School of Biosciencesin August 2014. His lab uses single moleculetechniques to understand the physical basisof how proteins interact. A number of diseasesare linked to alterations in these physicalparameters and the lab aim to find solutionsto these problems.

Dr Peter EllisDr Peter Ellis joined theschool of Biosciences inSeptember 2014. His firstdegree was in MedicalSciences at CambridgeUniversity (1999).Subsequently he studied fora PhD with Professor NabeelAffara in the Department of

Pathology at Cambridge, where he was amongthe first people worldwide to apply microarrayexpression profiling to the study of reproductivefunctions in mouse and human models ofinfertility. As a post-doctoral researcher in thesame group he led a team investigating genes onthe mouse Y chromosome and their roles inspermatogenesis and in genome evolution.

Dr Ben GoultDr Ben Goult obtained his first degree inBiochemistry at the University of Sheffield beforeembarking on a PhD (University of Leicester/Manchester) developing NMR basedapproaches for detecting small molecule bindingto target proteins, a first step in drug discovery.After postdoctoral work at University ofManchester and AstraZeneca Alderley Park, Benreturned to Leicester to work with ProfessorDavid Critchley on the proteins that regulate celladhesion and migration. Ben joined the Schoolof Biosciences in August 2014.

Major grants awarded in 2014Professor Mark Smales, £654,400 awarded byBBSRC, Bioprocessing Network: BIoProNET

Professor Mark Smales, €819,863 awarded byEU Commission

Professor Mick Tuite, Dr Tobias von der Haar,£564,111 awarded by BBSRC

Professor Colin Robinson, €546,575 awarded byEU Commission

Professor Martin Warren, £1,439,202 awardedby BBSRC

Professor Martin Warren, £379,745 awarded byBBSRC

Professor David Brown, €773,835 awarded byEU Commission

Dr Tasos Tsaousis, £383,723 awarded by BBSRC

Dr Tobias von der Haar, £168,860 awarded byLeverhulme Trust

Wain Medal Lecture2014 Dr James Turner from MRC NationalInstitute for Medical Research wasthe recipient of the 2014 Wain Medal,which is awarded annually in memoryof Professor Louis Wain CBE, aformer Honorary Professor ofChemistry at the University. The WainMedal recognises the achievementsof an outstanding young scientistworking at the interface of biologyand chemistry.

Dr Turner lectured to a packedaudience of over 300 in Woolf LectureTheatre on: “The battle of the Sexes:how sex chromosomes influencehuman health and disease”*

8 University of Kent School of Biosciences

Beautiful Biology

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Biosciences 2014 photography competition winners

School of Biosciences

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The Biosciences image competition, themed“Biosciences through my lens”, once againprovided us with images of outstanding quality.Below are examples of images showing themany facets of Biosciences:

Bottled SkyJulian CookInspiral cell cycleDr Dan MulvihillCandida AlbicansMoira TalpaertInductionDr Evelyne DeeryThe good the bad and the uglyDr Simon MooreSelected images can be viewed on our newlyrevamped home page on the Bioscienceswebsite along with the story behind the image.