Research groups bring together researchers from across disciplines to collaborate and to benefit from multi-disciplinary expertise. The Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Group, the Materials Research Group and the Centre for Earth and Environmental Science Research define the three principal areas within which research is focused. The work of this group links activities from the Schools of Life Sciences, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Mathematics, and benefits from a number of collaborative projects with hospitals. Its work has recently received additional support with the opening of a new joint laboratory established between Kingston University and St George's Hospital Medical School. Research areas include vascular and parasite biology, the biological basis of therapy including sports specific testing methods and exercise programmes, use of fibre-optic sensors and lasers for detecting breathing problems in infants and monitoring blood flow.
Pharmaceutical research includes the synthesis of compounds of potential value to medicine.
Mathematicians apply neural networks to medical problems. The Materials Research Group Collaborative research projects for this group bring together researchers from Chemistry and Physics, dealing with conducting polymers, liquid crystals, inorganic electronic materials used for semiconductor coatings and thin films, and mechanical and structural properties of polymers and composite materials. The group has strong links with other research institutions in the London area. Well-equipped laboratories staffed by highly qualified technical staff support research. Modern computer laboratories provide a wide range of standard and specialist software, together with access to the Internet.