2009 Research news archive
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December | November | October | September | August | July | June | May | April | March | February | January
December
22 December Time Magazine Top Ten
A study by an international research group including researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, has made TIME Magazine’s prestigious Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs list for 2009.
21 December New interaction for Breast Cancer Gene
Scientists at King’s College London have found that a family of proteins can play a crucial role in repairing DNA damage and help prevent Cancer – according to research published in Nature.
18 December Booker prize winning novelist at King’s
The Centre for Life-writing Research hosted a discussion about autobiography and fiction between two of Britain’s most distinguished novelists, Hilary Mantel and Fay Weldon, last night on the Strand Campus.
17 December New lung function genes discovered
Scientists in the Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit at King’s working with 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia have identified five common genetic variations which affect lung function.
11 December King's Archives awarded Wellcome Trust grant
The Wellcome Trust has awarded King's College London's Archives Service £108,000 to catalogue and preserve the papers of Professor Maurice Wilkins, who won the Nobel Prize for his contribution to the discovery of the structure of DNA.
08 December Chidhood traumas health risks for adults
Research from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s has found that negative experiences in childhood may alter not only mental health but also physical health, into middle age and beyond.
04 December Role of the Private Sector in Humanitarian Efforts
The Humanitarian Futures Programme in the Department of War Studies and the international disaster relief charity RedR yesterday hosted more than 150 delegates in the Great Hall, Strand Campus. The event had a high-profile line up of speakers, including HRH The Princess Royal and Sir John Holmes, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.
03 December BRC Faculty launch
The NIHR comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) based at King’s College London and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation Trust took another important step forward with the opening of its physical home on the 16th floor of Guy’s Tower and a keynote lecture for members of the Faculty of Translational Medicine.
03 December Climate change impact on mental health
Leading mental health researchers are warning that some of the most important health consequences of climate change will be on mental health, yet this issue is unlikely to be given much attention at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen next week.
02 December Award for Digital Humanities academic
The Modern Language Association of America (MLA) has announced the winner of the eighth Modern Language Association Prize for a Distinguished Scholarly Edition. The prize will be presented to John Lavagnino, Reader in Digital Humanities in the Centre for Computing in the Humanities (CCH) and the Department of English at King's, and Gary Taylor, Florida State University.
01 December Skunk ‘poses greatest risk of psychosis’
Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London have found that people who smoke skunk, the most potent form of cannabis available in UK, are almost seven times more likely to develop psychotic illnesses than those who use traditional cannabis resin (hash) or grass.
A study by an international research group including researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, has made TIME Magazine’s prestigious Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs list for 2009.
21 December New interaction for Breast Cancer Gene
Scientists at King’s College London have found that a family of proteins can play a crucial role in repairing DNA damage and help prevent Cancer – according to research published in Nature.
18 December Booker prize winning novelist at King’s
The Centre for Life-writing Research hosted a discussion about autobiography and fiction between two of Britain’s most distinguished novelists, Hilary Mantel and Fay Weldon, last night on the Strand Campus.
17 December New lung function genes discovered
Scientists in the Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit at King’s working with 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia have identified five common genetic variations which affect lung function.
11 December King's Archives awarded Wellcome Trust grant
The Wellcome Trust has awarded King's College London's Archives Service £108,000 to catalogue and preserve the papers of Professor Maurice Wilkins, who won the Nobel Prize for his contribution to the discovery of the structure of DNA.
08 December Chidhood traumas health risks for adults
Research from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s has found that negative experiences in childhood may alter not only mental health but also physical health, into middle age and beyond.
04 December Role of the Private Sector in Humanitarian Efforts
The Humanitarian Futures Programme in the Department of War Studies and the international disaster relief charity RedR yesterday hosted more than 150 delegates in the Great Hall, Strand Campus. The event had a high-profile line up of speakers, including HRH The Princess Royal and Sir John Holmes, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.
03 December BRC Faculty launch
The NIHR comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) based at King’s College London and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation Trust took another important step forward with the opening of its physical home on the 16th floor of Guy’s Tower and a keynote lecture for members of the Faculty of Translational Medicine.
03 December Climate change impact on mental health
Leading mental health researchers are warning that some of the most important health consequences of climate change will be on mental health, yet this issue is unlikely to be given much attention at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen next week.
02 December Award for Digital Humanities academic
The Modern Language Association of America (MLA) has announced the winner of the eighth Modern Language Association Prize for a Distinguished Scholarly Edition. The prize will be presented to John Lavagnino, Reader in Digital Humanities in the Centre for Computing in the Humanities (CCH) and the Department of English at King's, and Gary Taylor, Florida State University.
01 December Skunk ‘poses greatest risk of psychosis’
Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London have found that people who smoke skunk, the most potent form of cannabis available in UK, are almost seven times more likely to develop psychotic illnesses than those who use traditional cannabis resin (hash) or grass.
November
30 November King’s to run anti-doping facility for London 2012
King's has formed an alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to enable its world-renowned Drug Control Centre to operate a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited satellite laboratory during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The partnership was brokered by King’s Business, the innovation arm of King’s.
27 November Dementia largest contributor to disability in elderly
Dementia, rather than visual impairment and blindness, is the largest contributor to disability in elderly people in low- and middle-income countries. This is the conclusion of an article published in this week’s disability special issue of The Lancet, written by Renata M. Sousa from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's and colleagues from the 10/66 Dementia Research Group.
27 November New postgraduate studentships
The Graduate School at King’s has announced a number of new or significantly altered studentships for those considering studying for a PhD or Masters at the College.
26 November £1.8M boost for domestic violence research
A grant of £1.8million has been awarded to researchers at the the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s for a five year research programme which will study domestic violence and abuse across a range of health care providers, with the aim of improving their response to victims and perpetrators.
26 November Honorary Degree ceremony
Yesterday evening (25 November), the Chairman of Council, the Marquess of Douro, and the Principal, Professor Rick Trainor, conferred Honorary Degrees on seven highly-distinguished recipients at a ceremony in the College Chapel at the Strand Campus.
25 November Health visitor decline threat to child health
A new report from the UK Public Health Association (UKPHA) published this week makes five key recommendations aimed at creating a reinvigorated health visiting service which will promote and protect the health of families and children and reduce health inequalities.
25 November Rare items from Shakespeare’s age go digital
Henslowe-Alleyn manuscriptThe first stage of a project aiming to create the world’s single most important digital archive on early modern English theatre has been completed.
24 November ESRC ‘Rising Powers’ awards for King’s
Researchers from King’s have scooped two ‘Rising Powers, Global Challenges and Social Change’ programme awards from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). In total only nine awards were made, out of 33 proposals considered by the panel.
20 November Health Schools Studentships
The College is offering 60 PhD studentships in the Health Schools, following its success in attracting externally funded awards combined with a major investment of College funds. Most awards are available for four years, and include an annual stipend and tuition fees.
19 November Queen’s Anniversary Prize honour
The Health Service and Population Research Group at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, has been honoured with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize. These national honours are awarded every two years to institutions of higher and further education across the UK for work of outstanding excellence.
17 November Depression as deadly as smoking
A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking.
16 November Genetic studies into inflammatory bowel disease
Professor Chris Mathew, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at King’s and a researcher from the comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre, has led a study on Ulcerative Colitis which shows the first conclusive evidence of the role played by genetic defects in the epithelium, the layer of cells which line the gut.
12 November Action on antipsychotic drugs & dementia
An action plan to tackle the over prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to dementia sufferers was announced by the Government today in response to the findings of an independent review by Professor Sube Banerjee, Head of Mental Health and Ageing at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and co-author of the Government’s National Dementia Strategy.
11 November Strategic Partnership with UCSF
King’s has agreed to a pursue a strategic partnership with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to explore opportunities for scholarly interaction, cooperative research, faculty and student exchange and other forms of academic collaboration.
10 November High blood pressure risk for children
Researchers at King’s, have revealed in a study published in the journal Hypertension that diet-induced obesity in pregnancy may ‘hardwire’ the developing baby’s brain so that the blood pressure is raised from an early age.
06 November World Perinatal prize
Professor Anne Greenough, Director of Education and Training, King's Health Partners and Head of the School of Medicine at King's has been awarded the Erlich Saling Perinatal Prize at the World Congress of Perinatal Medicine in Berlin. This is the first time this prize has been won by a neonatologist.
05 November Lifetime achievement award
Professor Paul Black, Department of Education & Professional Studies, has won a Lifetime achievement award from The International Society for Design and Development in Education (ISDDE) 'for a substantial body of work over a period of years'. The award recognises excellence in design of educational products and materials in science or mathematics.
04 November King’s in world league table
King's College London has been rated 65th in the world university league table produced by Shanghai Jaio Tong university in China. The College has risen sixteen places since last year (when it was in 81st position), particularly as a result of improvement in performance in the 'highly cited researchers' category.
03 November Neurodegenerative Research Awards
King’s is one of the research partners in a £17 million funding round from the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council that will support three major new Neurodegenerative disease projects with particular focus on Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Motor Neurone Disease.
02 November Cause of chronic diarrhoea revealed
Scientists at King’s have been involved in a study which has uncovered that a common type of chronic diarrhoea may be caused by a hormone deficiency, according to new research published today in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
King's has formed an alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to enable its world-renowned Drug Control Centre to operate a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited satellite laboratory during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The partnership was brokered by King’s Business, the innovation arm of King’s.
27 November Dementia largest contributor to disability in elderly
Dementia, rather than visual impairment and blindness, is the largest contributor to disability in elderly people in low- and middle-income countries. This is the conclusion of an article published in this week’s disability special issue of The Lancet, written by Renata M. Sousa from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's and colleagues from the 10/66 Dementia Research Group.
27 November New postgraduate studentships
The Graduate School at King’s has announced a number of new or significantly altered studentships for those considering studying for a PhD or Masters at the College.
26 November £1.8M boost for domestic violence research
A grant of £1.8million has been awarded to researchers at the the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s for a five year research programme which will study domestic violence and abuse across a range of health care providers, with the aim of improving their response to victims and perpetrators.
26 November Honorary Degree ceremony
Yesterday evening (25 November), the Chairman of Council, the Marquess of Douro, and the Principal, Professor Rick Trainor, conferred Honorary Degrees on seven highly-distinguished recipients at a ceremony in the College Chapel at the Strand Campus.
25 November Health visitor decline threat to child health
A new report from the UK Public Health Association (UKPHA) published this week makes five key recommendations aimed at creating a reinvigorated health visiting service which will promote and protect the health of families and children and reduce health inequalities.
25 November Rare items from Shakespeare’s age go digital
Henslowe-Alleyn manuscriptThe first stage of a project aiming to create the world’s single most important digital archive on early modern English theatre has been completed.
24 November ESRC ‘Rising Powers’ awards for King’s
Researchers from King’s have scooped two ‘Rising Powers, Global Challenges and Social Change’ programme awards from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). In total only nine awards were made, out of 33 proposals considered by the panel.
20 November Health Schools Studentships
The College is offering 60 PhD studentships in the Health Schools, following its success in attracting externally funded awards combined with a major investment of College funds. Most awards are available for four years, and include an annual stipend and tuition fees.
19 November Queen’s Anniversary Prize honour
The Health Service and Population Research Group at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, has been honoured with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize. These national honours are awarded every two years to institutions of higher and further education across the UK for work of outstanding excellence.
17 November Depression as deadly as smoking
A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking.
16 November Genetic studies into inflammatory bowel disease
Professor Chris Mathew, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at King’s and a researcher from the comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre, has led a study on Ulcerative Colitis which shows the first conclusive evidence of the role played by genetic defects in the epithelium, the layer of cells which line the gut.
12 November Action on antipsychotic drugs & dementia
An action plan to tackle the over prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to dementia sufferers was announced by the Government today in response to the findings of an independent review by Professor Sube Banerjee, Head of Mental Health and Ageing at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and co-author of the Government’s National Dementia Strategy.
11 November Strategic Partnership with UCSF
King’s has agreed to a pursue a strategic partnership with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to explore opportunities for scholarly interaction, cooperative research, faculty and student exchange and other forms of academic collaboration.
10 November High blood pressure risk for children
Researchers at King’s, have revealed in a study published in the journal Hypertension that diet-induced obesity in pregnancy may ‘hardwire’ the developing baby’s brain so that the blood pressure is raised from an early age.
06 November World Perinatal prize
Professor Anne Greenough, Director of Education and Training, King's Health Partners and Head of the School of Medicine at King's has been awarded the Erlich Saling Perinatal Prize at the World Congress of Perinatal Medicine in Berlin. This is the first time this prize has been won by a neonatologist.
05 November Lifetime achievement award
Professor Paul Black, Department of Education & Professional Studies, has won a Lifetime achievement award from The International Society for Design and Development in Education (ISDDE) 'for a substantial body of work over a period of years'. The award recognises excellence in design of educational products and materials in science or mathematics.
04 November King’s in world league table
King's College London has been rated 65th in the world university league table produced by Shanghai Jaio Tong university in China. The College has risen sixteen places since last year (when it was in 81st position), particularly as a result of improvement in performance in the 'highly cited researchers' category.
03 November Neurodegenerative Research Awards
King’s is one of the research partners in a £17 million funding round from the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council that will support three major new Neurodegenerative disease projects with particular focus on Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Motor Neurone Disease.
02 November Cause of chronic diarrhoea revealed
Scientists at King’s have been involved in a study which has uncovered that a common type of chronic diarrhoea may be caused by a hormone deficiency, according to new research published today in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
October
30 October Health fears for returning soldiers
Researchers at King's College London have found that common mental disorders such as depression and alcohol misuse are the top psychological problems amongst UK troops post-deployment and not post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as is widely believed. The study published today in the open access journal, BMC Psychiatry, also finds that reservists remain at special risk of operational stress injury.
29 October Chair of King’s Health Partners appointed
The Partnership Board of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) has appointed Lord Butler of Brockwell as its first independent Chair.
29 October Alcohol more harmful than many illegal drugs
Alcohol probably poses the biggest drugs harm challenge today, according to a new briefing from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. In ‘Estimating drug harms: a risky business’, Professor David Nutt from Imperial College London argues that the relative harm of legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco is greater than those of a number of illegal drugs, including cannabis, LSD and ecstasy.
27 October hapTEL Dental Virtual Laboratory
King’s College London Dental Institute is leading the integration of Virtual reality haptic systems, systems that allow human touch and interaction with the external environment in the dental undergraduate curriculum with the launch of a new hapTEL Virtual Dental Lab.
26 October Biopharmaceutical agreement
King’s and Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust have signed an agreement with Quintiles, a global biopharmaceutical services company. The partnership will foster development between the organisations, improving patient care and increasing efficiency in early stage clinical research.
26 October Faulty brain 'wiring' schizophrenia link
A new study by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) has discovered abnormalities in the white matter of the brain that seem to be critical for the timing of schizophrenia. The study, led by Professor Phillip McGuire and Dr Sophia Frangou, has been published in this month’s edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
23 October Business plan competition launched
King's graduates and post doctoral researchers will develop business and commercial awareness and have the chance to win prizes up to £10,000 if they enter the Lion’s Den business plan competition. Launched this week, the competition is a joint venture between King's Business and the Graduate School.
23 October Talking with Terrorists
A highlight in the School of Arts & Humanities Week, the Centre for the Study of Divided Societies at King’s brought together in conversation, for the first time, the two men who created the secret backchannel that led to IRA ceasefires and paved the way for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
22 October Launch of the Centre for Humanities and Health
A new Centre for Humanities and Health launched yesterday at the College under founding Director, Brian Hurwitz MD, D'Oyly Carte Professor of Medicine and the Arts. The Centre brings together experts from Literature, Philosophy, Film Studies, History, Nursing, Psychiatry, and General Practice.
21 October Collaboration develops research nurses
The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King’s College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust are embarking on a unique partnership to develop nurses with enhanced translational research capabilities.
20 October New Innovation Fund
The Futures Fund for innovation was launched today by King’s Business. With a total value of £650k, the Fund will support the development of new opportunities across the range of disciplines at King’s and will have two separate review panels for Health & Technology and Arts & Society to ensure the potential of these different types of innovations can be realised.
19 October The Arts, the Academy and the World
The School of Arts & Humanities begins the academic year by throwing open its doors to the public for a week of conversation. Between 19 and 24 October it will showcase events, lectures, film screenings and musical performances focusing on the relationship between the Arts, the Academy and the World.
16 October Does regulation distract professionals?
Research conducted by King’s College London and Royal Holloway, University of London, has found that regulation may distract NHS professionals and organisations from providing safe and effective patient care. The research raises questions about the future regulation of psychotherapists and counsellors by the Health Professions Council.
14 October Mental health investment urgent
A Declaration calling for a radical increase in investment in mental health research will be made at Downing Street today. The Declaration is part of the Research Mental Health initiative formed to promote the importance of mental health research in the UK, led by the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s and the Mental Health Foundation.
13 October New brain network to beat dementia
King’s is to be the centre of a new £2 million network of brain banks launching today as part of a campaign to address a nationwide shortage of brains essential for dementia research and encourage people to donate brain tissue upon their death. The campaign ‘Brains for Dementia Research’ is supported by Former Home Secretary, David Blunkett MP, who has pledged to become a donor.
13 October New Centre for Global Mental Health
The Centre for Global Mental Health (CGMH), a collaborative initiative of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), under the umbrella of King’s Health Partners (KHP), was launched at the LSHTM on the 9 October.
09 October £4 Million boost for diet research
King’s has been included in a major funding round from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Medical Research Council to support seven new research programmes aimed at tackling obesity, heart disease and other diet related health problems.
07 October Biomedical Research Centre investment
The comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre at King’s and Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded £3.3 million from the National Institute for Health Research to purchase cutting-edge technologies to drive forward clinical research across a wide range of diseases and conditions.
05 October New drug addiction treatment programme
The largest ever study of heroin and crack cocaine treatment programmes in England, led by Dr John Marsden, Institute of Psychiatry, and researchers from the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and colleagues, is published in The Lancet today.
02 October Geography data used by Google Earth
Google has launched a series of Google Earth layers and tours to allow people to explore the potential impacts of climate change. The first of these tours, Confronting Climate Change, is narrated by Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and environmental activist, and uses data supplied by Dr Mark Mulligan of the Department of Geography.
Researchers at King's College London have found that common mental disorders such as depression and alcohol misuse are the top psychological problems amongst UK troops post-deployment and not post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as is widely believed. The study published today in the open access journal, BMC Psychiatry, also finds that reservists remain at special risk of operational stress injury.
29 October Chair of King’s Health Partners appointed
The Partnership Board of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) has appointed Lord Butler of Brockwell as its first independent Chair.
29 October Alcohol more harmful than many illegal drugs
Alcohol probably poses the biggest drugs harm challenge today, according to a new briefing from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. In ‘Estimating drug harms: a risky business’, Professor David Nutt from Imperial College London argues that the relative harm of legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco is greater than those of a number of illegal drugs, including cannabis, LSD and ecstasy.
27 October hapTEL Dental Virtual Laboratory
King’s College London Dental Institute is leading the integration of Virtual reality haptic systems, systems that allow human touch and interaction with the external environment in the dental undergraduate curriculum with the launch of a new hapTEL Virtual Dental Lab.
26 October Biopharmaceutical agreement
King’s and Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust have signed an agreement with Quintiles, a global biopharmaceutical services company. The partnership will foster development between the organisations, improving patient care and increasing efficiency in early stage clinical research.
26 October Faulty brain 'wiring' schizophrenia link
A new study by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) has discovered abnormalities in the white matter of the brain that seem to be critical for the timing of schizophrenia. The study, led by Professor Phillip McGuire and Dr Sophia Frangou, has been published in this month’s edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
23 October Business plan competition launched
King's graduates and post doctoral researchers will develop business and commercial awareness and have the chance to win prizes up to £10,000 if they enter the Lion’s Den business plan competition. Launched this week, the competition is a joint venture between King's Business and the Graduate School.
23 October Talking with Terrorists
A highlight in the School of Arts & Humanities Week, the Centre for the Study of Divided Societies at King’s brought together in conversation, for the first time, the two men who created the secret backchannel that led to IRA ceasefires and paved the way for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
22 October Launch of the Centre for Humanities and Health
A new Centre for Humanities and Health launched yesterday at the College under founding Director, Brian Hurwitz MD, D'Oyly Carte Professor of Medicine and the Arts. The Centre brings together experts from Literature, Philosophy, Film Studies, History, Nursing, Psychiatry, and General Practice.
21 October Collaboration develops research nurses
The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King’s College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust are embarking on a unique partnership to develop nurses with enhanced translational research capabilities.
20 October New Innovation Fund
The Futures Fund for innovation was launched today by King’s Business. With a total value of £650k, the Fund will support the development of new opportunities across the range of disciplines at King’s and will have two separate review panels for Health & Technology and Arts & Society to ensure the potential of these different types of innovations can be realised.
19 October The Arts, the Academy and the World
The School of Arts & Humanities begins the academic year by throwing open its doors to the public for a week of conversation. Between 19 and 24 October it will showcase events, lectures, film screenings and musical performances focusing on the relationship between the Arts, the Academy and the World.
16 October Does regulation distract professionals?
Research conducted by King’s College London and Royal Holloway, University of London, has found that regulation may distract NHS professionals and organisations from providing safe and effective patient care. The research raises questions about the future regulation of psychotherapists and counsellors by the Health Professions Council.
14 October Mental health investment urgent
A Declaration calling for a radical increase in investment in mental health research will be made at Downing Street today. The Declaration is part of the Research Mental Health initiative formed to promote the importance of mental health research in the UK, led by the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s and the Mental Health Foundation.
13 October New brain network to beat dementia
King’s is to be the centre of a new £2 million network of brain banks launching today as part of a campaign to address a nationwide shortage of brains essential for dementia research and encourage people to donate brain tissue upon their death. The campaign ‘Brains for Dementia Research’ is supported by Former Home Secretary, David Blunkett MP, who has pledged to become a donor.
13 October New Centre for Global Mental Health
The Centre for Global Mental Health (CGMH), a collaborative initiative of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), under the umbrella of King’s Health Partners (KHP), was launched at the LSHTM on the 9 October.
09 October £4 Million boost for diet research
King’s has been included in a major funding round from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Medical Research Council to support seven new research programmes aimed at tackling obesity, heart disease and other diet related health problems.
07 October Biomedical Research Centre investment
The comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre at King’s and Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded £3.3 million from the National Institute for Health Research to purchase cutting-edge technologies to drive forward clinical research across a wide range of diseases and conditions.
05 October New drug addiction treatment programme
The largest ever study of heroin and crack cocaine treatment programmes in England, led by Dr John Marsden, Institute of Psychiatry, and researchers from the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and colleagues, is published in The Lancet today.
02 October Geography data used by Google Earth
Google has launched a series of Google Earth layers and tours to allow people to explore the potential impacts of climate change. The first of these tours, Confronting Climate Change, is narrated by Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and environmental activist, and uses data supplied by Dr Mark Mulligan of the Department of Geography.
September
30 September The Secret Life of Twins
The Twin Research Unit at King’s College London will feature prominently in a new two-part documentary airing on BBC One this evening (30 September) to examine the nature of twin relationships.
30 September Academics to lead on innovation
King’s has launched a new Innovation Fellowship scheme, which is a key part of the College’s strategy to stimulate the promotion and identification of King's innovation through research and its subsequent impact. The scheme is intended to attract potential future leaders in academic research and innovation.
28 September Best Mechanical Engineering student
Joseph Sherwood, an MEng graduate from the Division of Engineering has won the award for Best Mechanical Engineering student at the Science, Engineering & Technology Student of the Year Awards (SET2009).
25 September Prostate cancer therapy heart risk
Mieke Van Hemelrijck from the Division of Cancer Studies at King’s presented research at a major international conference in Berlin this week highlighting that men receiving hormone therapy are at an increased risk of heart disease. The work showed that doctors should assess cancer patients for their risk of developing heart problems and potentially change their treatment.
21 September World Alzheimer's Report
The number of people with dementia and Alzheimer's will nearly double every 20 years, to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050, according to the 2009 World Alzheimer's Report prepared by researchers at King's. More than 35 million people worldwide will have dementia in 2010. The new report is released on 21 September, which is World Alzheimer's Day.
18 September Coronary artery disease management
Researchers at King’s have been involved in a study to test whether imaging techniques can be used to determine which patients with coronary artery disease should undergo a procedure known as revascularisation to have their blood circulation restored by unblocking obstructed blood vessels.
17 September King’s Health and Society Centre launched
A new Health and Society Centre launched at King’s yesterday with the opening of an autumn seminar series focussing on medical innovation. The new centre will bring together academics from the Health Schools with those from the Social Sciences, Law, and the Humanities who share an interest in health and society issues.
16 September Strengthening Brazilian research links
King’s has signed a unique agreement with the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), the State of São Paulo Research Foundation, Brazil. With this agreement King’s has become FAPESP’s first and only university partner in the UK.
16 September New treatment model for addiction
Researchers at King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) have found that chronic heroin addicts in the UK can be treated successfully using a radical new treatment model.
11 September Emotional difficulties risk for adult obesity
A new study by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry shows that children with emotional difficulties are at higher risk for obesity in adult life. The results were published today in the open access journal BMC Medicine.
08 September No improvement in maths since 70s
Rising scores in secondary maths examinations grades in England over the past 30 years do not appear to stem from real increases in mathematical understanding, a major new research study from King’s and the University of Durham has found.
07 September Largest ever Alzheimer’s genome study
A study involving King's scientists has discovered two new genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The results, from the largest ever Alzheimer’s disease genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 16,000 individuals, are published in Nature Genetics.
04 September Maths students win Hedge Fund challenge
Four postgraduate Mathematics students have beaten teams from the University of Warwick and University of Edinburgh/Heriot Watt to win the Marshall Wace Quant Challenge 2009 and landed prestigious internships at Marshall Wace, one of the leading European hedge fund managers.
01 September Acute impact on brain function in earthquake survivors
New research has found that the Wenchuan, China earthquake that occurred on 12 May 2008 had an acute impact on the brain function of physically healthy survivors and poses a risk to the mental health of these survivors. The results of the study, which was carried out by the Institute of Psychiatry in collaboration with colleagues from universities in China, the US and Liverpool, have been published in PNAS online.
The Twin Research Unit at King’s College London will feature prominently in a new two-part documentary airing on BBC One this evening (30 September) to examine the nature of twin relationships.
30 September Academics to lead on innovation
King’s has launched a new Innovation Fellowship scheme, which is a key part of the College’s strategy to stimulate the promotion and identification of King's innovation through research and its subsequent impact. The scheme is intended to attract potential future leaders in academic research and innovation.
28 September Best Mechanical Engineering student
Joseph Sherwood, an MEng graduate from the Division of Engineering has won the award for Best Mechanical Engineering student at the Science, Engineering & Technology Student of the Year Awards (SET2009).
25 September Prostate cancer therapy heart risk
Mieke Van Hemelrijck from the Division of Cancer Studies at King’s presented research at a major international conference in Berlin this week highlighting that men receiving hormone therapy are at an increased risk of heart disease. The work showed that doctors should assess cancer patients for their risk of developing heart problems and potentially change their treatment.
21 September World Alzheimer's Report
The number of people with dementia and Alzheimer's will nearly double every 20 years, to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050, according to the 2009 World Alzheimer's Report prepared by researchers at King's. More than 35 million people worldwide will have dementia in 2010. The new report is released on 21 September, which is World Alzheimer's Day.
18 September Coronary artery disease management
Researchers at King’s have been involved in a study to test whether imaging techniques can be used to determine which patients with coronary artery disease should undergo a procedure known as revascularisation to have their blood circulation restored by unblocking obstructed blood vessels.
17 September King’s Health and Society Centre launched
A new Health and Society Centre launched at King’s yesterday with the opening of an autumn seminar series focussing on medical innovation. The new centre will bring together academics from the Health Schools with those from the Social Sciences, Law, and the Humanities who share an interest in health and society issues.
16 September Strengthening Brazilian research links
King’s has signed a unique agreement with the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), the State of São Paulo Research Foundation, Brazil. With this agreement King’s has become FAPESP’s first and only university partner in the UK.
16 September New treatment model for addiction
Researchers at King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) have found that chronic heroin addicts in the UK can be treated successfully using a radical new treatment model.
11 September Emotional difficulties risk for adult obesity
A new study by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry shows that children with emotional difficulties are at higher risk for obesity in adult life. The results were published today in the open access journal BMC Medicine.
08 September No improvement in maths since 70s
Rising scores in secondary maths examinations grades in England over the past 30 years do not appear to stem from real increases in mathematical understanding, a major new research study from King’s and the University of Durham has found.
07 September Largest ever Alzheimer’s genome study
A study involving King's scientists has discovered two new genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The results, from the largest ever Alzheimer’s disease genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 16,000 individuals, are published in Nature Genetics.
04 September Maths students win Hedge Fund challenge
Four postgraduate Mathematics students have beaten teams from the University of Warwick and University of Edinburgh/Heriot Watt to win the Marshall Wace Quant Challenge 2009 and landed prestigious internships at Marshall Wace, one of the leading European hedge fund managers.
01 September Acute impact on brain function in earthquake survivors
New research has found that the Wenchuan, China earthquake that occurred on 12 May 2008 had an acute impact on the brain function of physically healthy survivors and poses a risk to the mental health of these survivors. The results of the study, which was carried out by the Institute of Psychiatry in collaboration with colleagues from universities in China, the US and Liverpool, have been published in PNAS online.
August
24 August Stroke recurrence risk highlighted
The latest study from the South London Stroke Register (SLSR) at King’s sheds light on the likelihood and timing of stroke patients suffering a further relapse during recovery. The research shows that the risk of a repeated episode, more likely to be disabling or fatal than the first incidence, remains high long after the first stroke.
20 August New gene discovery for Leukaemia
Professor Ghulam Mufti from the Department of Haematological Medicine has discovered a new gene which could help treat Leukemia. Analysing the gene could determine whether patients with this condition are likely to develop it more aggressively and if so treatment could be tailored to prevent the disease developing.
18 August New research programme to predict disease Researchers at King’s College London from the joint College and Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) are hunting for genetic clues to a number of complex diseases which they hope will lead to better screening, diagnosis and treatment.
14 August $1.7m Carnegie grant for African Leadership Centre
King’s has been awarded a grant of $1,680,500 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to fund Peace and Security Fellowships at the African Leadership Centre (ALC). The ALC equips young Africans with the skills and knowledge to become leading analysts and policymakers on peace, security and development in Africa.
12 August Research to measure UV rays by watch
A new three year grant, worth €3.5 million, from the European Commission has been granted to scientists at King’s to investigate the effect of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels on human health and potentially improve knowledge of changing UVR exposure levels in response to leisure and working activities in Europe.
10 August Low access to alcohol treatment in Scotland
Professor Colin Drummond from the National Addiction Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King’s College London, is co-author of a specially commissioned report, which assesses the level of need for specialist alcohol treatment and to chart service capacity in Scotland.
07 August Dental Professor awarded Fellowship
Tom Lehner, Professor of Basic and Applied Immunology from the Mucosal Immunology Unit at the Dental Institute, has been awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal Society of Medicine in recognition of his huge and substained contributions to the field of basic and applied immunology.
04 August Brain difference in psychopaths
Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London have found differences in the brain which may provide a biological explanation for psychopathy. The results of their study are outlined in the paper Altered connections on the road to psychopathy, published in Molecular Psychiatry.
03 August Stem cell preparations needed for clinical trialsScientists must develop new ways of harvesting and identifying a type of stem cell before use in clinical trials, according to research led by Dr Manuel Mayr, from the Cardiovascular Research Division at King’s and his team at the College's British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence.
The latest study from the South London Stroke Register (SLSR) at King’s sheds light on the likelihood and timing of stroke patients suffering a further relapse during recovery. The research shows that the risk of a repeated episode, more likely to be disabling or fatal than the first incidence, remains high long after the first stroke.
20 August New gene discovery for Leukaemia
Professor Ghulam Mufti from the Department of Haematological Medicine has discovered a new gene which could help treat Leukemia. Analysing the gene could determine whether patients with this condition are likely to develop it more aggressively and if so treatment could be tailored to prevent the disease developing.
18 August New research programme to predict disease Researchers at King’s College London from the joint College and Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) are hunting for genetic clues to a number of complex diseases which they hope will lead to better screening, diagnosis and treatment.
14 August $1.7m Carnegie grant for African Leadership Centre
King’s has been awarded a grant of $1,680,500 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to fund Peace and Security Fellowships at the African Leadership Centre (ALC). The ALC equips young Africans with the skills and knowledge to become leading analysts and policymakers on peace, security and development in Africa.
12 August Research to measure UV rays by watch
A new three year grant, worth €3.5 million, from the European Commission has been granted to scientists at King’s to investigate the effect of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels on human health and potentially improve knowledge of changing UVR exposure levels in response to leisure and working activities in Europe.
10 August Low access to alcohol treatment in Scotland
Professor Colin Drummond from the National Addiction Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King’s College London, is co-author of a specially commissioned report, which assesses the level of need for specialist alcohol treatment and to chart service capacity in Scotland.
07 August Dental Professor awarded Fellowship
Tom Lehner, Professor of Basic and Applied Immunology from the Mucosal Immunology Unit at the Dental Institute, has been awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal Society of Medicine in recognition of his huge and substained contributions to the field of basic and applied immunology.
04 August Brain difference in psychopaths
Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London have found differences in the brain which may provide a biological explanation for psychopathy. The results of their study are outlined in the paper Altered connections on the road to psychopathy, published in Molecular Psychiatry.
03 August Stem cell preparations needed for clinical trialsScientists must develop new ways of harvesting and identifying a type of stem cell before use in clinical trials, according to research led by Dr Manuel Mayr, from the Cardiovascular Research Division at King’s and his team at the College's British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence.
July
30 July Award for research into renal diseasesA renal research unit at King’s is among the eight winners of the 2009 Genzyme Renal Innovations Programme (GRIP) awards. The 2009 GRIP awards winner from the UK is Dr Michael Robson, for his work into the causes of kidney diseases.
28 July Alzheimer’s research to enhance diagnosisResearch into neurodegenerative disease at the Institute of Psychiatry has resulted in the development of a series of biomarkers, or tests, for Alzheimer’s disease. These tests are being further progressed as part of a licence agreement and may result in improved clinical tests for the disease.
23 July Industrial Impact Fellowship awardDr Mark Ian Christie from the Centre for Integrative Biomedicine has been awarded an Industrial Impact Fellowship by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
22 July Saliva test for early birth riskAn exploratory study led by Professor Lucilla Poston of King’s has shown that women going into early preterm labour have low levels of progesterone in their saliva as early as 24 weeks of gestation, and that these levels fail to rise during pregnancy in the normal way.
20 July Classics Professor elected BA FellowMichael Silk, Professor of Classical and Comparative Literature, at King's College London, has been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy.
20 July €3m for hospital quality & safety researchPatient in hospital The King’s Patient Safety & Service Quality Research Centre (King’s PSSQ) is taking the lead on a major new international research project on quality and safety in European hospitals. A grant of €3 million has been secured for the work (subject to contract), which will also involve the PSSQ Research Centre at Imperial College and partners from Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal and Norway.
17 July Violence victims need abortion supportA new paper by researchers at the King's Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery calls for greater awareness about domestic violence and underlines the need to support women seeking to terminate unwanted pregnancies associated with partner violence. The paper is published in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (TOG) today.
16 July New £5 million Research Design ServiceThe National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service for London has been launched officially at City Hall. The Research Design Service (RDS) London helps clinicians and academics to prepare research proposals for peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.
10 Jul 2009 ‘What is crime?’ photo exhibitionAn exhibition of photography organised by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London that asks the question ‘What is crime?’ opened this week at the 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning in Brixton.
09 Jul 2009 Prospects for peace conferenceThe first annual Atkin Conference on 'Prospects for Peace in the Middle East' brought together leading thinkers and policymakers at the Strand Campus yesterday. Speakers including Sir Menzies Campbell MP analysed the current situation in the region and discussed opportunities for moving the process forward.
07 Jul 2009 Moles hold the key to Melanoma GenesA research team led by the Twin Research Department at King’s with colleagues from Imperial College London, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Brisbane Institute of Medical Research and Leeds has found new genes for melanoma in one of several studies published in Nature Genetics this week.
07 Jul 2009 Potential breakthrough for treating blindnessA ground-breaking laser treatment developed by Professor John Marshall from the Rayne Institute at King’s College London, could help reverse the effects of AMD (age-related macular degeneration) the leading cause of blindness in over 60s in the western world.
06 Jul 2009 Public response to swine flu mutedNew research at King's has found that few people changed their behaviour in the early stages of the swine flu outbreak. The results of the study support efforts to inform the public about specific actions that can reduce the risks from swine flu and to communicate about the government's plans and resources.
06 Jul 2009 Cardiovascular spin-out funding successAnother King’s spin-out raises further funding. LiDCO plc, a King’s College London spin-out company focussing on cardiovascular monitoring, has raised £3.2 million through a placing of 31.9 million shares to existing and new institutional investors and high net worth individuals.
03 Jul 2009 New clues to schizophreniaResults from the largest study of schizophrenia genetics ever undertaken have been published in the journal Nature and include work by researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s, as part of a multinational consortium. The findings expand knowledge of the biology of the disease and provide potential new drug targets.
02 Jul 2009 Accelerating personalised mental healthcareA powerful new research facility at the heart of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre was launched on Tuesday by Professor Dame Sally C Davies, Director General of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health.
01 Jul 2009 New London Dental Education Centre opensThe new state-of-the-art London Dental Education Centre (LonDEC) was officially opened yesterday at King’s by Ann Keen MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health Services in the presence of Dr Barry Cockcroft, Chief Dental Officer.
28 July Alzheimer’s research to enhance diagnosisResearch into neurodegenerative disease at the Institute of Psychiatry has resulted in the development of a series of biomarkers, or tests, for Alzheimer’s disease. These tests are being further progressed as part of a licence agreement and may result in improved clinical tests for the disease.
23 July Industrial Impact Fellowship awardDr Mark Ian Christie from the Centre for Integrative Biomedicine has been awarded an Industrial Impact Fellowship by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
22 July Saliva test for early birth riskAn exploratory study led by Professor Lucilla Poston of King’s has shown that women going into early preterm labour have low levels of progesterone in their saliva as early as 24 weeks of gestation, and that these levels fail to rise during pregnancy in the normal way.
20 July Classics Professor elected BA FellowMichael Silk, Professor of Classical and Comparative Literature, at King's College London, has been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy.
20 July €3m for hospital quality & safety researchPatient in hospital The King’s Patient Safety & Service Quality Research Centre (King’s PSSQ) is taking the lead on a major new international research project on quality and safety in European hospitals. A grant of €3 million has been secured for the work (subject to contract), which will also involve the PSSQ Research Centre at Imperial College and partners from Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal and Norway.
17 July Violence victims need abortion supportA new paper by researchers at the King's Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery calls for greater awareness about domestic violence and underlines the need to support women seeking to terminate unwanted pregnancies associated with partner violence. The paper is published in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (TOG) today.
16 July New £5 million Research Design ServiceThe National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service for London has been launched officially at City Hall. The Research Design Service (RDS) London helps clinicians and academics to prepare research proposals for peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.
10 Jul 2009 ‘What is crime?’ photo exhibitionAn exhibition of photography organised by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London that asks the question ‘What is crime?’ opened this week at the 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning in Brixton.
09 Jul 2009 Prospects for peace conferenceThe first annual Atkin Conference on 'Prospects for Peace in the Middle East' brought together leading thinkers and policymakers at the Strand Campus yesterday. Speakers including Sir Menzies Campbell MP analysed the current situation in the region and discussed opportunities for moving the process forward.
07 Jul 2009 Moles hold the key to Melanoma GenesA research team led by the Twin Research Department at King’s with colleagues from Imperial College London, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Brisbane Institute of Medical Research and Leeds has found new genes for melanoma in one of several studies published in Nature Genetics this week.
07 Jul 2009 Potential breakthrough for treating blindnessA ground-breaking laser treatment developed by Professor John Marshall from the Rayne Institute at King’s College London, could help reverse the effects of AMD (age-related macular degeneration) the leading cause of blindness in over 60s in the western world.
06 Jul 2009 Public response to swine flu mutedNew research at King's has found that few people changed their behaviour in the early stages of the swine flu outbreak. The results of the study support efforts to inform the public about specific actions that can reduce the risks from swine flu and to communicate about the government's plans and resources.
06 Jul 2009 Cardiovascular spin-out funding successAnother King’s spin-out raises further funding. LiDCO plc, a King’s College London spin-out company focussing on cardiovascular monitoring, has raised £3.2 million through a placing of 31.9 million shares to existing and new institutional investors and high net worth individuals.
03 Jul 2009 New clues to schizophreniaResults from the largest study of schizophrenia genetics ever undertaken have been published in the journal Nature and include work by researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s, as part of a multinational consortium. The findings expand knowledge of the biology of the disease and provide potential new drug targets.
02 Jul 2009 Accelerating personalised mental healthcareA powerful new research facility at the heart of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre was launched on Tuesday by Professor Dame Sally C Davies, Director General of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health.
01 Jul 2009 New London Dental Education Centre opensThe new state-of-the-art London Dental Education Centre (LonDEC) was officially opened yesterday at King’s by Ann Keen MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health Services in the presence of Dr Barry Cockcroft, Chief Dental Officer.
June
29 Jun 2009 £10.5m for Medical Engineering CentreKing’s has been awarded £10.5 million as part of a new funding round from The Wellcome Trust and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for four new Centres of Excellence in Medical Engineering.
22 Jun 2009 King’s academic awarded 2009 Lister prizeNeuroscientist Dr Juan Burrone has received major external recognition of his research with the award of the 2009 Lister Institute Research Prize. The award is one of only three granted annually and the second awarded in two years to King’s researchers.
19 Jun 2009 The Church in London project launchesA pioneering project aiming to disseminate fascinating and important new insights into the modern history of religion in London was launched at a reception at Lambeth Palace last night (18 June). The project, ‘Building on History: The Church in London’, will inform both policy-making and self-understanding.
18 Jun 2009 New Centre for Biomedicine & Society launchedA new research Centre for Biomedicine & Society (CBAS) at King’s College London is formally launched today (18 June) with a series of inaugural lectures by leading academics and a keynote speech by Professor Renée C. Fox, Annenberg Professor Emerita of the Social Sciences, University of Pennsylvania.
16 Jun 2009 Breakthrough in understanding severe asthmaScientists from King’s and Imperial College London believe they have discovered a key element in the development of chronic asthma. Their research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explains why the structure and function of asthmatic airways are changed or ‘’remodelled’’ and how this contributes to chronic asthma.
12 Jun 2009 Personalised cancer therapy a step closerScientists at King's have for the first time been able to personalise treatment for leukaemia patients using a test that accurately predicts relapse. A UK study, funded by charity Leukaemia Research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows that individualising treatment reduces relapse rates by half.
12 Jun 2009 Aid lowest in conflict countriesLow income, conflict-affected countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia receive only US $1.30 for each person per year in development aid for reproductive health, which is half the amount received by countries without conflict, according to a new study published in PLoS Medicine.
08 Jun 2009 King’s spin-out raises £50mProximagen, a King’s College London spin-out company focusing on neurodegenerative diseases, has raised £50 million in one of the largest biotech fundraisings in the UK in the past ten years.
05 Jun 2009 New Faculty of Translational MedicineA new Faculty of Translational Medicine, a collaboration between King’s and the comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust will increase support for researchers as they search for new treatments and diagnostic tests for a range of diseases and conditions.
03 Jun 2009 Novel flood warning system developedResearchers from King’s College London and Hohai University are together developing a ground-breaking software system, the Novel Early Flood Warning System (NEWS). NEWS will be the first commercially viable multipurpose early flood warning system to take into account both climate change and corresponding hydrological effects.
01 Jun 2009 Sixth MRC Centre for King’sKing’s has been awarded a sixth MRC Centre in collaboration with Imperial College London. The new £5 million MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health will investigate the damage that our modern living and working environment could be doing to our health.
22 Jun 2009 King’s academic awarded 2009 Lister prizeNeuroscientist Dr Juan Burrone has received major external recognition of his research with the award of the 2009 Lister Institute Research Prize. The award is one of only three granted annually and the second awarded in two years to King’s researchers.
19 Jun 2009 The Church in London project launchesA pioneering project aiming to disseminate fascinating and important new insights into the modern history of religion in London was launched at a reception at Lambeth Palace last night (18 June). The project, ‘Building on History: The Church in London’, will inform both policy-making and self-understanding.
18 Jun 2009 New Centre for Biomedicine & Society launchedA new research Centre for Biomedicine & Society (CBAS) at King’s College London is formally launched today (18 June) with a series of inaugural lectures by leading academics and a keynote speech by Professor Renée C. Fox, Annenberg Professor Emerita of the Social Sciences, University of Pennsylvania.
16 Jun 2009 Breakthrough in understanding severe asthmaScientists from King’s and Imperial College London believe they have discovered a key element in the development of chronic asthma. Their research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explains why the structure and function of asthmatic airways are changed or ‘’remodelled’’ and how this contributes to chronic asthma.
12 Jun 2009 Personalised cancer therapy a step closerScientists at King's have for the first time been able to personalise treatment for leukaemia patients using a test that accurately predicts relapse. A UK study, funded by charity Leukaemia Research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows that individualising treatment reduces relapse rates by half.
12 Jun 2009 Aid lowest in conflict countriesLow income, conflict-affected countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia receive only US $1.30 for each person per year in development aid for reproductive health, which is half the amount received by countries without conflict, according to a new study published in PLoS Medicine.
08 Jun 2009 King’s spin-out raises £50mProximagen, a King’s College London spin-out company focusing on neurodegenerative diseases, has raised £50 million in one of the largest biotech fundraisings in the UK in the past ten years.
05 Jun 2009 New Faculty of Translational MedicineA new Faculty of Translational Medicine, a collaboration between King’s and the comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust will increase support for researchers as they search for new treatments and diagnostic tests for a range of diseases and conditions.
03 Jun 2009 Novel flood warning system developedResearchers from King’s College London and Hohai University are together developing a ground-breaking software system, the Novel Early Flood Warning System (NEWS). NEWS will be the first commercially viable multipurpose early flood warning system to take into account both climate change and corresponding hydrological effects.
01 Jun 2009 Sixth MRC Centre for King’sKing’s has been awarded a sixth MRC Centre in collaboration with Imperial College London. The new £5 million MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health will investigate the damage that our modern living and working environment could be doing to our health.
May
20 May 2009 The Madness of Mortgage LendersStrict new controls on mortgage lending are crucial if Britain is to avoid further house price bubbles in the future, says Chris Hamnett, King’s Professor of Human Geography and one of the Britain’s leading experts on housing, in a think tank policy paper just published.
19 May 2009 Later retirement 'delays Alzheimer's onset'Scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London have found that keeping the brain active by working later in life reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease at a younger age.
15 May 2009 Historian examines Thatcher's legacyThis month is the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher coming to power. King’s Professor Richard Vinen’s book Thatcher's Britain: The Politics and Social Upheaval of the Thatcher Era examines the politics and policies of her governments.
13 May 2009 ‘Protective’ gene increases MND survival A gene that significantly extends the life expectancy of people living with motor neuron disease (MND) by 14 months has been identified by scientists at King’s College London and partners working in an international research collaboration, funded in part by the MND Association.
07 May 2009 Four Academy of Medical Sciences Fellows electedFour of the College’s leading academics have been recognised for excellence in medical science and will be elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences with 40 of the United Kingdom’s foremost doctors and medical researchers in June.
06 May 2009 Minister meets King’s air monitoring expertsThe Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, visited the College yesterday to learn about the Environmental Research Group (ERG) work analysing air pollution. The visit, on World Asthma Day, comes ahead of the summertime smog season in London.
05 May 2009 £500k to create curriculum development blueprint King’s College London and the University of Warwick have secured funding of £544,000 from HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) to create a blueprint for curriculum development in research-led universities.
05 May 2009 €1 million EU funding for Chinese medicine researchKing’s College London successfully led a consortium bid for €995,100 of EU funding for a ground-breaking research project that will play an important role in the unification of Western and Chinese approaches to medicine.
01 May 2009 Social care dilemmas tackled by new national SchoolUrgent questions about how England should best support the 1.8 million adults receiving social care services will start to receive better answers from today with the opening of the School for Social Care Research in which King’s College London will have a leading role.
19 May 2009 Later retirement 'delays Alzheimer's onset'Scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London have found that keeping the brain active by working later in life reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease at a younger age.
15 May 2009 Historian examines Thatcher's legacyThis month is the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher coming to power. King’s Professor Richard Vinen’s book Thatcher's Britain: The Politics and Social Upheaval of the Thatcher Era examines the politics and policies of her governments.
13 May 2009 ‘Protective’ gene increases MND survival A gene that significantly extends the life expectancy of people living with motor neuron disease (MND) by 14 months has been identified by scientists at King’s College London and partners working in an international research collaboration, funded in part by the MND Association.
07 May 2009 Four Academy of Medical Sciences Fellows electedFour of the College’s leading academics have been recognised for excellence in medical science and will be elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences with 40 of the United Kingdom’s foremost doctors and medical researchers in June.
06 May 2009 Minister meets King’s air monitoring expertsThe Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, visited the College yesterday to learn about the Environmental Research Group (ERG) work analysing air pollution. The visit, on World Asthma Day, comes ahead of the summertime smog season in London.
05 May 2009 £500k to create curriculum development blueprint King’s College London and the University of Warwick have secured funding of £544,000 from HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) to create a blueprint for curriculum development in research-led universities.
05 May 2009 €1 million EU funding for Chinese medicine researchKing’s College London successfully led a consortium bid for €995,100 of EU funding for a ground-breaking research project that will play an important role in the unification of Western and Chinese approaches to medicine.
01 May 2009 Social care dilemmas tackled by new national SchoolUrgent questions about how England should best support the 1.8 million adults receiving social care services will start to receive better answers from today with the opening of the School for Social Care Research in which King’s College London will have a leading role.
April
30 April 2009 Centre to study health incentivesThe Centre for the Study of Incentives in Healthcare (CSI Health), a new research centre examining the ethics, economics and psychology of the use of incentives in healthcare, opens this week at King’s College London. It will be located in the Psychology Department on the Guy’s Campus. 28 April 2009 Parkinson’s disease exploredLeading experts on Parkinson’s disease explained their translational research and treatment into the disease, which affects an estimated four million patients worldwide, at the King’s College London annual Edmond J. Safra lecture. Gene discovery and deep brain stimulation were the themes explored. 24 April 2009 Outstanding assisted conception unit opensA £4 million assisted conception unit, a joint collaboration between King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation Trust, was officially opened yesterday by Health Minister Dawn Primarolo. 21 April 2009 Family violence influences bullyin behavioursResearchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, have published new research which highlights the influence of family factors, such as maltreatment or abusive parenting, as important risk indicators for children becoming involved in bullying once they reach school age. 17 April 2009 Top rating for software engineeringScientists from King’s Software Engineering Group, part of the Department of Computer Science, have won grants from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) with two top-rated proposals worth more than £1 million. 16 April 2009 PhD scholarships for ChinaKing’s College London and the China Scholarship Council (CSC) have signed an agreement jointly to fund PhD students to pursue research degrees at King’s. The agreement was signed by Professor Rick Trainor, Principal of King’s, and Li Jianmin, Deputy Secretary-General, China Scholarship Council, today (16 April) in Beijing. 14 April 2009 King’s top for Government fundingFigures just published confirm King’s College London’s position as one of the UK’s top research-led universities. The College is the most successful higher education institution in winning grants from the Department of Health. From 2005-6 to 2007-8, almost £18 million was awarded to King’s scientists. 09 April 2009 King's Health Partners pioneer for diabetes careA report published by Diabetes UK in collaboration with King’s College London and King’s College Hospital, which are part of King’s Health Partners, has highlighted the need for people with diabetes to receive psychological care in helping them to live and cope with their long term condition. 01 April 2009 Early abuse link to female psychosisNew research from the Institute of Psychiatry indicates that women with severe mental illness are more likely to have been abused in childhood that the general population. But the same association has not been found in men. The researchers believe their findings point to differences in the way boys and girls respond to traumatic and upsetting experiences.
March
31 March 2009 - TwinBank project announcedKing’s College London scientists are planning to create the largest database of twins in order to investigate the genetic and environmental origins of disease and behaviour. The TwinBank project aims to hold the records of 300,000 pairs of twins. 27 March 2009 Research findings into rheumatoid arthritisResearchers at King’s College London and the comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ have found that inflammation in the lining of the joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients promotes the development of cells that exacerbate the condition. 23 March 2009 Fires and falls in South LondonAn innovative study to examine the feasibility of integrating fire risk and functional ability assessments for older people living in Southwark and Lambeth, led by researchers at King’s College London, part of King’s Health Partners. It is launched this month with funding from the Dunhill Medical Trust. 18 March 2009 Why low GI makes you feel fullEating a low GI (glycaemic index) meal, such as a bowl of porridge in the morning, will keep you feeling fuller for longer, King’s scientists have discovered, in what could be the key to how the GI diet works. 16 March 2009 Imaging viscosity in cancer cellsThe viscosity inside live cancer cells dramatically increases during light-induced cancer treatment according to new images which give new insights into how cancer cells die, published in Nature Chemistry. 12 March 2009 Multi-million pound cancer collaborationScientists at King’s in collaboration with the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) will begin targeted experiments to gain a better understanding of how new cancer drugs could be developed by matching medication more precisely to individual patients. 09 March 2009 Stem cells could help treat strokesDisabling strokes could one day be treated by replacing damaged brain tissue with stem cells, scientists led by Dr Mike Modo, of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, have shown. 02 March 2009 Diet and exercise programme for pregnancyResearchers at King’s College London have been awarded a £1 million grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to improve the health of obese pregnant women and their babies.
February
26 February 2009 Scientists find second MND geneA collaborative research project involving Christopher Shaw, Professor of Neurology and Neurogenetics, Institute of Psychiatry has revealed that mutations in a gene called FUS (fused in sarcoma) cause familial Motor Neuron Disease (MND). This is the second gene to be discovered for MND in just one year and is an important step towards understanding disease mechanisms. 20 February 2009 Cervical cancer linked to deprivationA new study by researchers at King’s from the Thames Cancer Registry, has shown that the rate of cervical cancer varies among different geographical areas in Southeast England. The study published in the journal BMC Public Health shows that the occurrence of cervical cancer is increased in more deprived areas. 18 February 2009 Major study into children's asthmaAn innovative study to examine the links between air pollution and vitamin D deficiency, and their impact on the respiratory health of children in east London to be carried out by King’s researchers, has received a £1.2 million grant. 13 February 2009 Supermodel opens new £4m unitSupermodel Naomi Campbell opened a new £4m breast cancer research unit yesterday at King’s College London. The new unit funded by Breakthrough Breast Cancer will be dedicated to finding treatments for and ways of preventing a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer. 09 February 2009 Pregnancy risks for obese womenA new study led by Professor Lucilla Poston at King’s, published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, reveals that obese women in their first pregnancies have a particularly high risk of having a low birthweight baby, of pre-eclampsia and of premature birth.
January
29 January 2009 MRC scheme for translational researchThe Medical Research Council is working with King’s and four other universities in the UK to pilot a scheme set up to support translational research projects at these institutions. The aim is to drive forward the process of translating scientific discoveries into practice. 29 January 2009 Is it possible to eradicate homelessness?The Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King’s is involved with a major initiative launched today which aims to inform government policy and practice, and find solutions to bring vulnerable homeless people in from the margins of society. 23 January 2009 Ethnicity link to breast cancerResearchers from the Thames Cancer Registry at King’s College London have found, in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer, that a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer, the stage at which it is diagnosed, and the following treatment, can be influenced by ethnic background. 21 January 2009 Global mental health discrimination rifeResearch from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s published by The Lancet today looks at the global pattern of experienced and anticipated discrimination against people with schizophrenia. 16 January 2009 Palliative Care receives WHO statusThe King’s College London Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation has recently been awarded World Health Organisation (WHO) accreditation and has been named a WHO Collaborating Centre for its research, education and clinical care development in palliative care. 13 January 2009 Collaboration to advance diagnostic techniquesA strategic agreement has been made between King's College London, The comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust and BD Biosciences to advance research into the diagnosis and treatment of patients with a range of conditions. 09 January 2009 Dementia drugs 'double death riskNew research by King’s neuroscientist Professor Clive Ballard into the effects of antipsychotic drugs commonly prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients concludes that the medication nearly doubles risk of death over three years. The study, funded by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, is published in Lancet Neurology. 07 January 2009 Dopamine presence linked to early psychosisA new study involving research from the Institute of Psychiatry shows, for the first time, that people who may be at risk of schizophrenia show increased levels of the brain chemical messenger dopamine. The paper is published online in the Archives of General Psychiatry.