The theme is underpinned by a consortium of successful research groups in the following areas, with potentially other groups at HWU working at the Life Sciences Interfaces becoming involved in the longer term.
Mathematical, statistical and computational aspects of biology (School of Mathematical & Computer Sciences MACS, led by Profs Sherratt, Gibson, Corne, De Wilde) Groups associated with the theme are internationally renowned for their work in:
- mathematical medicine - modelling tumour growth, capillary network modelling, wound healing
- ecological and epidemiological modelling including: interacting animal populations, invasion of alien botanical species, spatio-temporal transmission dynamics of diseases of plants, humans & animals
- computational network models for neural systems
- medical data mining, bioinformatics
- discrete modelling of biological processes, natural computing
Cell and Chemical Biology (School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, led by Prof Adams) Existing research expertise in this area relates to mammalian cell biology (stem cell), genomics and translational medical research. Research achievements include:
- Study of mesenchymal stem cell origin and fate incorporating chemical-biology studies on cell manipulation and informatics driven analysis
- RNA chemical biotechnology including drug target validation and tool generation
- Human biomarker discovery relating to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer-cachexia, ageing, and exercise using high-throughput genomic technologies
Life Science Engineering (School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, led by Profs Greenaway, Harvey, and Markx)
Groups in this field have an international reputation for activity in:
- downstream processing and purification of complex therapeutic targets
- cellular manipulation/ characterisation, monitoring and imaging
- medicinal chemistry and a coupling of chemical reaction engineering with biotechnology directed at environmental remediation and sustainable processing
These activities link research at all scales from molecular through cellular to process scale, encompassing the target areas of medicines and biomolecules, imaging and monitoring, biological optimisation of chemical processes and environmental biotechnology.
Collaborations among the life sciences and physical sciences have grown significantly in recent years as advances have been made through the sharing of knowledge and techniques. At Heriot-Watt, we will both increase our capacity in advanced bio-molecular science relevant to human biology, and develop and exploit more fully the interfaces of this and related life science activities with our other science and technology interests.
Nowhere does science affect us more intimately than in our health. Rapid advances in the life sciences in particular offer the prospect of healthier and longer lives than in any previous generation. These advances are often fuelled by sharing knowledge and techniques with the physical sciences, mathematics and engineering.
Not only will such knowledge bring us understanding of the natural world, and of ourselves, but already it is helping us to learn from nature in the design of new technological processes – for example, process engineering for new pharmaceuticals, or even the creation of new fabrics. And delivering the health benefits of scientific advances will of course continue to rely on developments in a wide range of technologies. These range from more sensitive instruments for monitoring, detecting and imaging for better diagnosis, to ‘laboratories on a chip’ which may be designed, engineered and manufactured at the micro or even nano-level to carry out near-instant biochemical analysis for diagnostic purposes, for dispensing of drugs, or even for in-the-body measurements.
These new collaborations between ‘life’ and ‘physical’ scientists are revolutionising the way in which we are coming to understand the natural world and how we can learn from it, in particular to address significant issues in health and quality of life.
Major initiatives include:
- Leading an international team using microarray technology to study gene-environment interactions. The research is central to understanding how to tackle metabolic disease and to discover new approaches to promote ‘healthy ageing’ through enhanced muscle function
- Developing new pharmaceutical compounds, with substantial long-term industrial support and yielding novel drug-like molecules
- Partnership of chemistry and chemical engineering and expertise in the complex scale-up of bio-chemical processes for industrial scale production, presents another distinctive asset
- Developing automated cell screening technologies and micro-cantilever technologies to study individual cell function also provide exciting new avenues