£500,000 for research into stress and the brain
Over £500,000 has been awarded to Bristol University academics to fund research into how stress hormones act in the brain.
News in 2008
Sporting achievements in powerlifting and fencing
Three members of the University’s High Performance Squad, which aims to help talented student athletes continue with their sporting careers without compromising their academic progress, have won events competing at national level.
Professor Paul Gregg interviewed in the Guardian
Professor Paul Gregg from the University’s Centre for Market and Public Organisation was interviewed by the Guardian about his appointment by the Department of Work and Pensions to conduct a review of sanctions in the benefits system.
A potted history of milk
Humans were using cattle for milk more than two thousand years earlier than previously thought, according to new research from the University of Bristol.
Kinship care: A family commitment
When children in care are placed with relatives or friends, do they do better or worse than children placed with unrelated foster carers – or do kinship carers look after less troubled children in the first place? In the first major study of kinship care in England, Elaine Farmer of the School for Policy Studies, addresses these questions.
Hunting the elusive L-function
There was a lot of excitement last month about ‘L-functions’. A PhD student in the Department of Mathematics, Ce Bian, in collaboration with his supervisor, Dr Andrew Booker, had discovered some new ones
Brain science rewarded
Sam Goodchild, a PhD student at the University of Bristol, was selected as the best pharmacology research student of his final year, winning a cash prize and a certificate.
Keeping it in the family
For a few minutes during the University’s July graduation ceremony, three members of the Emmett family – and three members of staff – were on stage all at once.
470 Junior World glory for Bristol student
Hannah Mills, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student from the University of Bristol, and her partner, Katrina Hughes, have won the 2008 Women’s Junior World Championship in sailing (470 class).
University supports researchers in developing countries
A new website aimed at helping researchers in developing countries to publish their work has been launched with the help of the University’s Institute for Learning and Research Technology.
English lecturer shortlisted for major poetry prize
Jane Griffiths, lecturer in English Literature, has been shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize.
What do doctors tell cancer patients?
Two thirds of cancer patients may receive vague or no information about the survival benefits of having palliative chemotherapy before making a decision about treatment, according to a study by researchers at Bristol University published today on bmj.com.
New horizons in chemistry
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has awarded a research grant worth £6 million over five years to a team of academics from the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry and colleagues from the University of Oxford.
Diamonds show how Earth is recycled
Tiny minerals found inside diamonds have provided us with a rare glimpse of the Earth’s deepest secrets. This exciting new research by a team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, is reported today (30 July) in Nature.
Dental graduate awarded £132,000 for PhD studies
Helen Petersen, a Walport Academic Clinical Fellow in the Department of Oral & Dental Science, has been awarded a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship (RTF) worth £132,000 to fund her PhD studies. She is one of the first Academic Clinical Fellows to receive such an award.
University awarded Ofsted top grade
The Graduate School of Education (GSOE) at the University of Bristol has been awarded the top rating – Grade 1 ‘Outstanding’ – in a recent Ofsted Secondary Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Short Inspection Report 2007/08.
The skull, the spider and the aircraft simulator
Dr Kazem Alemzadeh has invented a Dental Robotic Testing Simulator called ‘Dento-Munch’ that can replicate human chewing.
Bristol academic takes viewers on a second tour of the human body
Dr Alice Roberts, Senior Teaching Fellow at Bristol University’s Department of Anatomy, returns to television tonight for the second series of Don't Die Young, in which, through her presentation of the workings of the human body, she demonstrates how we can all be happier, healthier and live longer. To show how this is possible, she puts her own body through a series of tests and scans – including dropping it from the ceiling of the Birmingham Symphony Hall.
Life expectancy of HIV patients increases
HIV-infected patients in high income countries are living some 13 years longer thanks to improvements in combination antiretroviral therapy, according to new research by the University of Bristol published in a HIV Special Issue of The Lancet.
Maths grant for international research on biomaterials
Dr Tanniemola Liverpool of the Department of Mathematics has been awarded a grant worth US $810,000 as part of an international, collaborative project of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Materials World Network entitled ‘Microscopic models of cross-linked active gels’.
Paddling (and drumming) to victory
A team of 17 staff and students from across the University, with friends and family members, came second in the Bath Dragon Boat Race earlier this month. Two University teams – Bristol Allsorts and The Motley Crew – took part in the charity event, between them raising more than £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation.
Professor Andrew Lang, MSc, PhD, FRS 1924-2008
Andrew Lang, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Bristol, died in June. He joined the University in 1960 and was promoted to Professor of Physics in 1979.
The brain under pressure: Bristol Neuroscience attracts BBSRC grant
The BBSRC has awarded a grant of over £0.5 million to an interdisciplinary team, formed via Bristol Neuroscience, researching into the behaviour of brain cells during periods of acute stress.
Simon Burgess interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme
Professor Simon Burgess from the University’s Centre for Market and Public Organisation was interviewed about public-sector bonuses on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme yesterday [Tuesday 22 July].
Dinosaurrific!
An international study, led by the University of Bristol, shows that during their last 50 million years of existence, dinosaurs were not expanding as actively as had been previously thought and that the apparent explosion of dinosaur diversity may be largely explained by sampling bias.
Grey Walter and his tortoises
From the first autonomous robots to stem cells for treating multiple sclerosis.
New programme of children’s intensive learn-to-swim and adult courses
A new week-long intensive swimming course for children (aged five and over) wanting either to learn how to swim or improve their stroke begins next month [11-15 August] at the University of Bristol swimming pool in Clifton.
Royal Society honours Bristol researchers
Three academics from the University of Bristol have been awarded Royal Society Wolfson Merit Awards.
New BHF grants for Bristol heart research
Five heart research projects at the University of Bristol have been awarded prestigious grants by the British Heart Foundation
The new breed: Bristol’s first Audiology graduates
Eleven pioneering students are the first to complete Bristol University's four-year BSc degree in Audiology.
Ken Fox honoured at prestigious university in Portugal
Ken Fox, Professor of Exercise and Health Sciences, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Coimbra, Portugal
Next Dean of Arts selected
Charles Martindale, Professor of Latin and Head of the School of Humanities at the University of Bristol, has been selected to succeed Professor Robert Fowler as Dean of Arts from August 2009.
Drive to improve diversity in University decision-making
Members of the academic and support staff who would like to play a part in the formal running of the University can find out about opportunities to do so by logging on to Governance Opportunities.
Honorary degrees awarded today
Bristol University is awarding honorary degrees to two prominent people at today’s degree ceremonies in the Wills Memorial Building [Friday 18 July].
China in the World: Bristol hosts international summer school
The Centre for East Asian Studies has been hosting the ‘China in the World’ Postgraduate Research Summer School, a week-long, EU-funded event.
Arresting and self-healing cracks
Materials that can stop a crack and then self-heal have been brought a step closer to reality thanks to a new project launched by the University of Bristol and Imperial College London.
Convict history wins Australian Historical Association award
Dr Kirsty Reid of the Department of Historical Studies has been awarded the Australian Historical Association’s 2008 Kay Daniels Award for her book, 'Gender, crime and empire: convicts, settlers and the state in early colonial Australia'.
Honorary degrees awarded today
Bristol University is awarding honorary degrees to two prominent people at today’s degree ceremonies in the Wills Memorial Building [Thursday 17 July].
New therapies revealed for diabetes-induced microvascular disease
New findings from Bristol scientists could lead to future treatments to prevent lower limb amputations in diabetes - which currently affect 100 people a week in the UK (source Diabetes UK).
Honorary Fellowship for Dr Stella Clarke
Dr Stella Clarke, CBE, has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Bristol University, the highest honour the University can bestow. Dr Clarke received the distinction at Wednesday’s [16 July] degree ceremony in recognition of her sustained and outstanding contribution to the life of the University over many years.