University team scoops prestigious awards

The University’s Communications and Marketing team has been named the best in UK higher education at the prestigious Heist Awards 2012. The judges remarked: “The scale of achievement in 18 months is astounding.”

As well as picking up the gold award for Team of the Year, the University won gold for Best Website; silver in two further categories – for both its Undergraduate and Postgraduate Prospectuses – and a bronze award for Best Use of Digital Marketing, for innovative work on the Advent Calendar 2011. The Life Cycle project was Highly Commended in the category of Best Alumni or Fundraising Campaign.

Emma Leech, Director of Communications and Marketing, said: “I’m delighted that these awards recognise the scope and depth of the Nottingham team and the very many skills that colleagues bring to the University. We’re really proud that we have such a great institution to showcase, and we look forward to continuing to support both the University and our city and region.”

Prestigious national fellowship

Dr Amanda Tatler, in the University’s School of Clinical Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious national fellowship, the David Sainsbury Fellowship from the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs).

Her work aims to develop our understanding of the biomechanisms leading to structural changes in the airways of patients with severe asthma. She will use novel methods that significantly reduce the numbers of animals, usually mice, traditionally used to study this disease.

First commercial space flight

A team of space flight veterans from the University have helped an American high school student launch his own experiment in space. It will be despatched on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, the world’s first commercial vehicle to visit the International Space Station (ISS).

Paul Warren approached Dr Nate Szewczyk and his team in the Derby-based School of Graduate Entry Medicine and Health because of their successful track record in carrying out experiments in space.

Paul’s experiment is one of 15 selected by the American Student Spaceflight Experiments Programme (SSEP) to fly on the first commercial spacecraft, SpaceX Dragon. Paul is trying to understand the effect of microgravity and radiation on a population of C. elegans. Freya Shephard, a research technician, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be involved in one of the only science experiments going to the space station on the inaugural mission of the Dragon.”

£7m building opens at Jubilee Campus 

A £7m building for the Institute of Mental Health has officially opened its doors.The building, on Jubilee Campus, has laboratories, training rooms, offices and meeting rooms and is built to ‘Excellent’ standard on the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) scale.

The Institute is a partnership between the University and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It aims to help transform our understanding and treatment of mental illness through innovative research and pioneering educational activities.

Prof Nick Manning, IMH Director, said: “The Institute was only formed in 2006 and we can now be considered as the UK’s prime location for inter-disciplinary research in the mental health field. This move into purpose-built accommodation demonstrates the huge achievements we have made and these excellent new facilities should provide the springboard for greater success.”