NIHRDataInsights/HRCSData huggingface dataset:
Title: Establishment of mammalian cell expression systems for the production of essential low cost protein reagents for development of rapid diagnostics
Funder: Innovate UK

Abstract: The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the need for access to rapidly produced, reliable diagnostics with the required sensitivity and specificity at a cost that makes these widely accessible to lower and middle income (LMICs) as well as higher income countries. Protein based diagnostic development and manufacture is reliant upon the availability of key protein based reagents that are critical components of these tests. Such tests may need to be manufactured in their millions to billions a year and thus a secure and sufficient supply of authentic and low cost protein reagents is required. For example, for a simple Malaria lateral flow test, 3 different protein reagents are required in 10-500 mg quantities per million tests with an anticipated need of 400 million tests per annum. Some of these reagent proteins must be made in cultured mammalian cell systems to be correctly folded, assembled and modified in order to ensure they can function with the highest possible specificity and sensitivity in diagnostics. Although there are some protein reagent expression systems for production of recombinant proteins from mammalian cells commercially available, these have been refined and developed largely for the expression of high-value proteins to use as drugs to treat a range of diseases and conditions. Access to such systems involves prohibitively high costs that in turn make the use of these essential reagent proteins to manufacture diagnostics in the necessary high volume problematic. There is thus a massively unmet need in terms of access to mammalian cell recombinant protein reagents at a cost that allows their application into commercially viable diagnostics. The project described here will establish technologies, knowhow and systems within a leading UK diagnostics company, Mologic, for the rapid production of recombinant protein reagents in cultured mammalian cell systems, at sufficient amounts, quality and cost to be viable for application into low cost rapid diagnostics for distribution in both developed and developing countries. This will secure reagent provision for development and manufacture of diagnostics and also provide the ability to generate new essential protein reagents swiftly in response to current and emerging needs at a cost that allows their application into diagnostics.


Research activity codes: 2.5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGIES (AETIOLOGY);4.5 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (DETECTION)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: University of Leeds and Freeline Therapeutics Limited
Funder: Innovate UK

Abstract: To introduce advanced computational techniques and develop a new platform to accelerate discovery of novel and effective gene therapies to treat currently incurable diseases. To deliver new treatments faster and in a cost-effective manner.


Research activity codes: 5.1 PHARMACEUTICALS;5.2 CELLULAR AND GENE THERAPIES
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: University of Liverpool (The) and Liverpool ChiroChem Ltd
Funder: Innovate UK

Abstract: To introduce and embed innovative asymmetric hydrogenation technologies enabling it to more easily synthesize valuable chiral piperidines, ie N-Heterocycle molecules, for customers to incorporate as the most important structural motifs in pharmaceutical products.


Research activity codes: 2.5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGIES (AETIOLOGY);5.1 PHARMACEUTICALS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: University of Nottingham (The) and Phenotypeca Limited KTP 21_22 R3
Funder: Innovate UK

Abstract: To embed innovative genome analysis and Machine Learning methods to speed up development times for yeast strains used in new medicine manufacturing.


Research activity codes: 5.1 PHARMACEUTICALS;5.9 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (TREATMENT DEVELOPMENT)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Interdisciplinary centre for the commercialisation and deployment of service robotics technologies in health and social care
Funder: Innovate UK

Abstract: In order for service robots to be successfully deployed in health and social care, proof of their operational safety and efficacy is required at multiple levels - from safe navigation in unstructured spaces, to safe human-robot interaction and reliable adaptation to new information. Proving reliability of such complex systems in the presence of multiple human users and real-world environments is an essential requirement. Our project will produce a comprehensive specification for a test bed modeled as a living lab based drawn from working through specific service robot use-cases which capture multiple perspectives and contexts. The resulting test bed specification will provide a template and framework for a flexible instrumented space that will enable validation and benchmarking in different scenarios, specifically considering operation in a range of home, community and hospital environments where the end-users interacting with these are likely to have a varying sensory, cognitive and mobility impairments. A living lab test bed facility needs to integrate with a range of community, primary, secondary health and social care provisions which is fundamental to accelerating the progression of prototypes developed in the laboratory into working products. In this scoping study we will determine the key resources required to set up and run a Service Robotics Living Lab Test Bed as a sustainable business that will provide facilities for developers to access domain expertise from interdisciplinary teams comprising clinicians, carers, therapists, user experience designers, health economists and business experts. The team will define processes for conducting acceptance testing with end-users in a range of socioeconomic and lived experience contexts. The aim will be to realise a specification for a unique proving ground for service robots that ensures adoption with user testimonials of efficacy, as well as clinical, regulatory and health economic evidence. This project will result in an implementation-ready specification for a living lab test bed, together with a framework to enable realisation of a clear process for testing service robots for regulatory compliance, human-factors analysis, benchmarking and generating value propositions to facilitate adoption. Using the living lab test bed, service robot developers will be able to ensure that their products are market ready. This work will build on the expertise of the Centre for Healthcare Equipment and Technology Adoption, and the CoBot Make Space at the University of Nottingham.


Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: University of Salford (The) and In Your Element Limited
Funder: Innovate UK

Abstract: To embed capability and knowledge to support the development of a Social Prescribing Population Health Management Tool, expanding the software's analytical functionality, improving data integration and interpretation, to generate robust evidence for community models of care.


Research activity codes: 7.1 INDIVIDUAL CARE NEEDS;7.3 MANAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Teesside University and Norscot Joinery Limited
Funder: Innovate UK

Abstract: To design and implement a community led user centered design process with the objective of developing affordable, modular, 'smart home' components to support the health and wellbeing needs of an ageing population.


Research activity codes: 3.2 INTERVENTIONS TO ALTER PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Developing the WeWALK Smart Cane's Novel Mobility Tracking System for the Monitoring and Diagnostics of Age-Related Mobility Problems
Funder: Innovate UK

Abstract: There are 12 million elderly people in the UK, many of whom are likely to experience reduced mobility resulting from physical, cognitive, or sensory impairment. Some may even experience several conditions at the same time. To combat this, In 2019/20, the total expenditure on adult social care by local authorities was £23.3 billion. Over half of this was spent on people over 65 years old, the majority of this going to those who need physical support. However, the extent to which each individual is supported in everyday mobility remains unknown and older people continue to experience orientation, mobility, and accessibility challenges. Building on 10+ years of developing various assistive technology for visually impaired people, WeWALK (SME) have invented a sensor-rich smart cane and smartphone application to help people navigate outdoors. The app has both voice and written instructions, as well as full screen reader compatibility and low vision colour filters and text sizes. It calculates the optimal route for a journey and, when public transport is to be used, it finds out the best options, checks timetables, leads to the nearest station, and ensures taking the right transport vehicle. WeWALK can also automatically describe nearby landmarks on a journey. Moreover, the entire WeWALK app can be controlled through the companion WeWALK smart cane, which also provides obstacle detection through ultrasonic sensing and haptics. The WeWALK system is now capable of collecting motion data from WeWALK's sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, compass) and connected smartphone including walking speed, cane swipes, and places visited, but requires further development to actively track and diagnose mobility patterns through analysis of this data. This is necessary as there are no accurate models for how an older person moves and how their mobility holistically evolves, especially after receiving social care, rehabilitation, or orientation and mobility training. Therefore, healthcare, government, and mobility specialists cannot effectively determine if intervention has had benefit. WeWALK's novel system aims to be implemented and expanded organically through daily usage. However, there will first need to exist rigorous data collection and user testing, followed by data manipulation and classification. Through a human-centred design approach to exhaustively review the indicators of mobility problems in older people and beyond, WeWALK will develop and refine its smartphone and smartcane's ability to recognise these through daily usage. This will ultimately allow older people, or anyone experiencing mobility challenges, to better understand their progression, assisting healthcare and the end-user alike.


Research activity codes: 7.1 INDIVIDUAL CARE NEEDS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Maternal Immune Activation: advancing from rodents to humans through a development of a hIPSC model to study gene x environment interactions
Funder: National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research

Abstract: Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSCs) present a unique opportunity to reduce animal


Research activity codes: 2.1 BIOLOGICAL AND ENDOGENOUS FACTORS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: How social mobility and income inequality affect health in Canada
Funder: Natural Environment Research Council

Abstract: MRC : Erik Igelström : MC_UU_00022/2 People who live in countries with low inequality (where the gap between the rich and the poor is small) tend to be healthier on average. Countries with low inequality (like Finland and Denmark) also tend to have a lot of social mobility across generations. In other words, people's chances of success don't depend on how well off their parents were. But this isn't always the case. For example, Canada has high social mobility, but also high inequality. We don't know much about how these two factors work together to affect health: Does Canada's high social mobility compensate for the negative impact of high inequality? To help understand this, I will compare parts of Canada, and look at whether inequality seems to matter less when there is a lot of social mobility. To do this, I will first need to calculate the amount of social mobility in different metropolitan areas. To make studies like this easier in the future, I will make the social mobility data available to other researchers.


Research activity codes: 1.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC PROCESSES;2.3 PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Measuring and Valuing Ecosystem Contribution of Water Quality in the UK
Funder: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Abstract: The aim of this research is to devise a transparent and repeatable method for, and provide preliminary testing of, the preferred valuation method for the contribution of different ecosystems to the improvement of water quality in the UK. This project will contribute to the further development of the UK Natural Capital Accounts. The UN System of Environmental and Economic Accounts (SEEA) guidance on ecosystem accounting1 presents two options for recording the contribution of ecosystems to the benefits of clean water supply. The first is to view the supply of water as the final ecosystem service, supported by intermediate services of water purification and water flow regulation. The second is to record water purification and water flow regulation as the final services entering the economy, with the water supply itself regarded as an abiotic flow in the same way that oil and gas extraction is treated. At present the UK Natural Capital Accounts2 takes the first approach, which has limitations in clarifying the way that different ecosystems contribute to water supply. This project will help Defra and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) determine whether the second approach is feasible and can provide more policy-relevant information.


Research activity codes: 3.2 INTERVENTIONS TO ALTER PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Developing Nickel Standard (UKWIR Project BQ04-C3A)
Funder: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Abstract: Contribution to UKWIR project: To develop a test standard for nickel and nickel/chrome plated products to be used approval of products under Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulation 4 and Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulation 31


Research activity codes: 3.2 INTERVENTIONS TO ALTER PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Development and performance testing of a multi PFAS method for drinking water
Funder: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Abstract: This proposed project will review existing methodologies for PFAS in drinking water, develop a multi PFAS method to include all the compounds listed in Annex III of the Directive (Appendix 1 below). The method should be performance tested and reported in a format suitable for adoption as a blue book method. The focus of the project is to produce a validated methodology for PFAS in drinking water for all laboratories to use and in a format suitable for adoption by the Standing Committee of Analysts (SCA) as a “Blue Book” method


Research activity codes: 3.2 INTERVENTIONS TO ALTER PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Evaluation of Local NO2 Plans
Funder: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Abstract: The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) commissioned Ipsos MORI, working in partnership with the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) atthe University of Leeds, to deliver the Central Evaluation of the impact of Local NO2 Plans. The aim ofthe Central Evaluation is to provide insights to support adaptive and future policymaking and inform theimplementation of Local Plans. It will provide both formative evidence, including updates on whether andto what extent NO2 concentrations have changed, and summative evidence to retrospectively report onthe effectiveness of Local Plans in meeting their objectives on air quality and traffic. The Evaluation alsoseeks to identify the external factors that have influenced the performance of Local Plans, and presentlessons learnt on what measures work best to reduce NO2 concentrations.


Research activity codes: 3.2 INTERVENTIONS TO ALTER PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Global Cell Manufacturing Partnership (GCMP): Delivering on the Global Promise of Cell Manufacturing
Funder: Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland

Abstract: Collaborative partnership to develop technologies to eliminate the need for cryoseparation for short-term cell transport that negatively impacts the potency of cell products, and to enable scalable ambient transport of high-quality therapeutic cells through combining expertise in biomaterials, culture and in-depth characterisation of clinically-relevant cell types, an in vitro and in vivo models of cell potency. The technology to be developed is expected to reduce costs of cell products, reduce risks and expedited shipments requirement of cryopreserved packages and expanded transit time between manufacturing sites and end users while maintaining safety and efficacy of the product.


Research activity codes: 2.6 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (AETIOLOGY);5.9 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (TREATMENT DEVELOPMENT)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: AI-EPOCMON: AI-Enabled Point-of-Care Monitoring
Funder: Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland

Abstract: The collaborative partnership seeks to address the medical adherence problem that affects 40-70% of epilepsy patients especially those in vulnerable groups such as the homeless population. The goal of the project is to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) - enabled, low-cost, multianalyte point-of-care (POC) platform device for detecting concentrations of therapeutics and metabolites in blood and other biosamples. This device will then be used to measure the levels of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients with epilepsy with an outlook to improve compliance with a prescribed medication plan.


Research activity codes: 4.1 DISCOVERY AND PRECLINICAL TESTING OF MARKERS AND TECHNOLOGIES;7.1 INDIVIDUAL CARE NEEDS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Joint MCA/DfT survey on maritime accessibility
Funder: Department for Transport

Abstract: This online survey aims to explore how satisfied maritime passengers with accessibility needs/disabilities are and what more can be done to support them. Previously this survey was carried out solely by MCA, but DfT have agreed to help to ensure this work and encourage a greater response rate and better quality data. [NOTES: Delivered in house (internally by DfT and Maritime and Coastguard Agency); Due to be published later this year; value is cost, not an award]

Lay abstract: This online survey aims to explore how satisfied maritime passengers with accessibility needs/disabilities are and what more can be done to support them. Previously this survey was carried out solely by MCA, but DfT have agreed to help to ensure this work and encourage a greater response rate and better quality data. [Due to be published later this year]

Research activity codes: 8.3 POLICY, ETHICS AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Professional identity in child and family social work: what can we learn from the career biographies of experienced workers?
Funder: The British Academy

Abstract: The Care Crisis Review (2018) in England and Wales warns of an increasingly risk-averse, defensive social work response to child welfare. This has been compounded by the impact of austerity, high staff turnover and an exodus of experienced workers from the profession. There is an urgent need to improve retention of experienced workers, and to cultivate relationship-focused, non-defensive professional identities. The formation of professional identity among social workers is not clearly understood. Existing research focuses on identity formation among student or newly-qualified workers, neglecting experienced professionals. Using a novel biographical interviewing method, this study will identify the systemic, experiential and personal influences on identity formation among experienced workers who stay in the profession. This study will provide the first comprehensive understanding of professional identity across the career span of child and family social workers. It will generate policy recommendations to increase retention and strengthen positive professional identities among social workers.


Research activity codes: 7.3 MANAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING;8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Investigating Unexpected Death: Values and Attitudes in Coronial Autopsies
Funder: The British Academy

Abstract: In 2017, coroners ordered 85,600 post-mortem examinations, comprising 37% of all reported deaths. The coronial autopsy process has been criticised for being underfunded and lacking in forensic expertise. This can be contrasted with suspicious death cases, where post-mortems are carried out by well-paid specialist forensic pathologists who are critical of the coronial autopsy process. Whilst there is technical medical literature considering post-mortem pathology, scant attention has been paid to the theoretical and socio-legal context of coronial autopsies. This exploratory research addresses this gap. It will provide overdue insight into this intersection of medicine, law and society, shedding light on the role of state mandated death investigation and its impact on the living. The research will draw together philosophical and legal debates and use the accounts of those who conduct coronial autopsies to analyse whether the current system pays sufficient respect to the interests of deceased persons, the bereaved, and society.


Research activity codes: 7.2 END OF LIFE CARE;8.3 POLICY, ETHICS AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: The Role of Beliefs in the Production of Health
Funder: The British Academy

Abstract: Beliefs play a unique role in medical care. Apart from their indirect effect on patients’ and doctors’ decisions, they may also directly affect treatment outcomes, through a variety of physiological, biological and psychological mechanisms, often referred to as the placebo response. Even though this is a widespread and important phenomenon, economists have devoted little attention to the implications of the placebo response in the design of optimal economic mechanisms in the healthcare market. I plan to introduce a new health production function, in which patients’ beliefs directly affect treatment outcome. Some of questions I plan to explore are: (i) When and to what extent should information about treatment outcomes be transmitted to patients if patients’ beliefs affect treatment outcomes? (ii) How should insurance policies be designed in this context? (iii) What can a public regulator do in order to move the market to a more efficient equilibrium?


Research activity codes: 1.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC PROCESSES;7.1 INDIVIDUAL CARE NEEDS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE