Imperial signs up to strategic partnership with BBSRC

By Simon Levey
Friday 10 February 2012

Scientists hope to deliver advances in biosciences - including food security, bioenergy, ageing and synthetic biology - faster and more cost effectively, thanks to a new high-level partnership between the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Imperial College London.

BBSRC’s strategic partnerships , of which there are seven currently, encourage scientists to work more closely with those who share the same research goals, and give universities the opportunity to take a coordinated approach to investing funds awarded by BBSRC for research activities and facilities. The partnerships recognise the long-standing record of excellent research that the universities have in biological sciences.

Professor Maggie Dallman , Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, who leads the partnership on behalf of Imperial, said: "I am delighted that BBSRC has chosen Imperial as one its strategic partners, this agreement really underlines how closely each of our global priorities and research objectives mirror those of the other and takes our relationship to the next level. By opening up a forum to share our extensive bioscience knowledge, we can better develop and deliver solutions to the challenges the world faces in the twenty first century. This partnership will certainly play a key role in how we create new, exciting opportunities and I look forward to seeing how our plans grow wings in the next few years."

Professor Douglas Kell , BBSRC Chief Executive, said "We are very pleased to be working in closer partnership with Imperial College London."

"Bioscience will play in important role in combating many of the major challenges that we face as a society, both in the UK and globally. But these challenges are too big to be faced alone. Only by sharing our strengths and working together in partnership can we ensure that investment in UK bioscience delivers the greatest benefit to society and the economy."

BBSRC funded research at Imperial includes the science underpinning health, and ageing; the production of food for a growing global population; the future production of energy from biomass; and industrial biotechnology that will allow us to create new types of pharmaceuticals using novel industrial methods.

BBSRC funds a range of ongoing research at Imperial including the following projects:

Finding the sticky solution

Imperial researchers are screening the structure of important ’sticky’ sugar molecules called glycans, which determine such biological phenomena as how parasites survive inside a host organism and why developing foetuses are not detected and rejected as ’foreign’ by their mothers. BBSRC funding supports Professor Anne Dell to carry out this basic science research, which could potentially lead to new ways to deal with infection.

Curing cucumbers

BBSRC is funding Professor Colin Turnbull to research cucurbit crops such as pumpkin, squash, melon, watermelon, cucumber, seeking to improve their resistance to aphid pests and viruses that the insects transmit. UK crop losses due to aphids and associated viruses exceed £100M annually. Global estimates of losses may exceed 30% of cucurbit production, translating to a value of several billion dollars.

Engineering a future for energetic bacteria

BBSRC are funding James Murray to research an ’artificial photosynthetic system’. He aims to create a low-carbon energy source to generate fuel using power from the sun, and without competing with food production as some biofuels currently do. Using genetic technology, he is aiming to mimic natural photosynthesis and produce energy-rich molecules on an industrial scale.

Cells’ power struggle

BBSRC is funding research into how cells access genetic code in DNA - with its famous code of nucleotide bases A, G, C & T - a process called transcription that is required to make proteins in order to stay alive. One project by Professor Xiaodong Zhang and Professor Martin Buck is looking at how the cell controls this vital process via a molecule called ATP and how to manipulate the process for agriculture, medicine, biotechnology and nanotechnology.

Growing green energy in a field

Travis Bayer’s BBSRC-funded research aims to give us super-efficient algae that can be used to make clean and desirable renewable fuel, or components of key industrial chemicals. By enhancing the process of photosynthesis, his team are making algae that can grow faster in lower light conditions than currently cultivated algae. The results could also be applied to making more efficient plant crops.

Making salad safe to eat

Professor Gad Frankel studies how the bacteria E.coli and Salmonella attach themselves to the plants on which they live - often food like lettuces and other salads. These bacteria cause serious illness in some people who eat them, and can be transmitted between cattle and humans. His research into the genetics of the bacteria aims to seek ways to reduce the risk of crop contamination and to increase food safety and is supported by a BBSRC grant.