In the rapidly developing field of biosciences, there’s always something new to discover. Our courses have an emphasis on laboratory-based practical work, and equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to excel in the world of work once you graduate.
It’s one of the world’s most deadly diseases, killing about 1.5million people each year, yet key questions about tuberculosis and other major diseases remain unanswered.
We’ve been investigating the metabolism of the TB bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, using a computer model to identity the nutrients it gets from its host cell and the chemical reactions that take place when it replicates. By understanding more about its novel features, we’ve identified how TB might be targeted with new drugs. It’s a step forward in our fight against lethal infectious disease.
A field of science that could help us to understand some of nature’s best tricks and biggest secrets is starting to emerge, and Surrey academics are at its cutting edge.
With recent technological advances, physicists have been intrigued to discover quantum effects previously thought to be confined to highly rarefied laboratory systems in living systems. Experiments performed by scientists at some of the most reputable laboratories in the world have suggested that the strange rules of quantum mechanics could play a role in natural processes as diverse as photosynthesis, bird migration and our even our sense of smell.
Johnjoe McFadden, Professor of Molecular Genetics, and Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Physics, are among a group of eminent international academics conducting research in this area. The pair are following up on a paper they jointly wrote over a decade ago that proposed that quantum tunnelling in the DNA molecule was a source of mutation. Their recent work includes both experimental and theoretical approaches to investigating whether quantum tunnelling of protons in DNA is feasible and whether it can cause mutations.
Last autumn, the University of Surrey brought experts from the fields of quantum physics, quantum chemistry and molecular biology together to discuss research in this emerging field. To find out more, and watch video interviews with Professor Johnjoe McFadden and Professor Jim Al-Khalili, see the University of Surrey Quantum Biology workshop review on the Surrey Institute for Advanced Studies website.
It’s widely accepted that what we eat has a key impact on our health. Vegetable-rich diets have repeatedly been linked to lower rates of common cancers. Vegetables from the cruciferous family, including broccoli, cauliflower and watercress, are known to contain chemicals that help the body protect itself from cancer-causing pollutants.
What we don’t know is how much we need to eat for optimum protection. We’re looking into it. After all, why spend money and resources designing a synthetic drug to protect us from cancer when common vegetables may have the answer?
In the UK alone, more than 10,000 men die from prostate cancer every year, yet the traditional diagnostic blood test is unable to detect a significant proportion of early prostate tumours. Scientists in our Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences didn’t think this was acceptable. So, in close partnership with the Prostate Project charity, Professor Hardev Pandha and his team devised a simple urine test that is more reliable, detects tumours earlier, and is much easier to administer and analyse. Find out more.
The rise in obesity is driving an increased prevalence of diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. We’re working to provide a detailed insight into how these diseases disturb the body’s normal metabolic pathways, using the University’s own mass spectrometry unit and collaborating with Royal Surrey County Hospital for clinical studies.
The research will aid investigations into which drug treatments, nutrition or changes in lifestyle are the most effective at combating the effects of diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It will help people live healthier and longer lives. This research is led by Professor Margot Umpleby, Professor David Russell-Jones and Dr Denise Robertson, who have secured more than £3 million funding from research councils, Diabetes UK, British Heart Foundation and pharmaceutical and food industry over the last five years.
Sleep seems like the simplest thing in the world, unless you’re not getting enough of it. We were one of the first universities to realise that sleep is both a complex process and a vital area of research. So we set up the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, a multidisciplinary team of world-leading experts dedicated to unlocking the secrets of sleep.
Our research has identified previously unknown links between sleep patterns and genetics, anatomy, psychology, society and productivity. Scientifically speaking, a quick nap will never be the same again.
Phone: +44 (0)1483 681 681
For postgraduate taught and research admissions enquiries, please see the individual course pages.
A new organisation that aims to improve the health of people in the south east by promoting greater collaboration between the NHS, academic institutions and industry is under development, and the University of Surrey is playing a key role.
Vaccines are widely acknowledged to be one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to combat infectious diseases in both developed and developing countries.
Thanks to a research project being led by the University of Surrey, safer, more effective vaccines could come into widespread use much faster.
A simple urine test that could save the lives of thousands of men with prostate cancer could soon be available worldwide, thanks to scientists from the University of Surrey.
