Molecular diagnostic tests have improved quality and reduced costs of cancer care, and are becoming more widely adopted in the NHS. The proposed programme will use novel next generation sequencing (NGS) and informatics to develop consistent, accurate tests for tumour profiling in order to identify therapeutic options, including enrolment into clinical trials, and to collect data linking patient genotypes to drug response. The programme will yield diagnostic tests that serve above purposes. The programme will also deliver a more comprehensive genetic reporting option leveraging the same platform technologies and commercialised through the same channels. Participating pharmaceutical companies will apply the results from medical testing to improve the efficiency of clinical drug development. In the programme, the panel sequencing assay will be developed and validated by Oxford University, then commercialised through the NHS, private labs, and internationally as a laboratory service. The test will benefit the UK economy through biotechnology product sales by a large UK employer; new clinical trial investment by global pharma; and accelerated drug development by UK-based pharma.

Human populations throughout the world are ageing with the numbers of people over the age of 60 increasing three times as fast as the number of people under the age of fifteen. These demographic changes have significant impacts on the way we live and in particular the types of products that we need in order to adapt to and cope with ageing populations. Ageing is a complex phenomenon and we don't really understand how or why it occurs. However, we do know the features of ageing in certain organs in the body and in particular the features of ageing in skin are quite well characterized. Skin ageing actually starts relatively early in life with a gradual loss of elasticity at around thirty years of age. This loss of elasticity occurs in a part of the skin underneath its surface called the dermis and at the same time as elasticity is impaired there is a gradual accumulation of aged cells that enter a state of senescence. The accumulation of senescent cells has several adverse effects including a reduction in the ability of skin to deal with oxidative stress and an increase in the production of inflammatory molecules. This in turn leads to adverse effects in the upper layers of the skin, which protect us from our environment, and eventually this leads to typical characteristics of skin in the elderly, including dryness and a propensity to wounding. Many skin care products attempt to deal with these problems and some do have very positive effects. However, until we understand in detail how ageing occurs and what are the key drivers of skin ageing it will be difficult to either slow it down or to reverse it. We will undertake a number of studies in this project that aim to map in detail the changes that occur in all parts of human skin over period of sixty years and use this information in model systems of skin to investigate how skin ageing starts and whether we can identify or design products that can either slow down or even reverse the skin ageing process. To achieve these objectives we will work with multinational companies to devise new, safe and affordable skin products that will be available for everyone. Importantly, we aim to carry out this research without recourse to testing these products on animals.

The SYNBIOCHEM Centre will be a UK and European Centre of Excellence for Synthetic Biology in relation to fine and speciality chemicals and production. It will provide a national focus that spearheads UK academic and industrial research to accelerate the application of synthetic biology in fine and speciality chemicals production and the generation of new state-of-the-art tools to facilitate this translation. Synthetic biology is an emerging science that has the capacity to transform the UK and European industrial landscape in sustainable manufacturing processes across all industrial sectors. UK industries, from large multinationals to a large number of small and medium enterprises, are internationally well positioned to benefit from the multitude of novel technologies developed in synthetic biology laboratories. To accelerate the translation of synthetic biology towards the fine and speciality chemicals market, the Centre will unite technologies, tools and ideas that emerge from academic institutions throughout the country, harvest synergies across the industrial and scientific sectors, and address the novel ethical and regulatory challenges faced by a disruptive technology at the interface of life sciences, chemistry and engineering. The Centre will be located in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, a unique cross-disciplinary research centre at the University of Manchester, bringing together more than 500 researchers with expertise in molecular biology, chemistry, engineering, material and computing science, and medicine at the forefront of international developments in synthetic biology. As part of the MIB, the Centre will build on a long and distinguished track record in spin-off formation and translating innovative research to industrial application, including a substantial portfolio of partnerships, e.g., with Syngenta, GSK, BASF and Shell. The Centre will operate an open and inclusive approach driven by the unique industrial needs of synthetic biology. This will allow it to harness the scientific expertise of the synthetic biology community at Manchester and throughout the country, by facilitating multiple research projects positioned primarily at the Technology-Readiness Levels 1 to 3, but also including industry-driven academic-led proof-of-concept and proof-of-utility projects with partners from industry and academia at the higher Technology-Readiness Levels. The Centre will develop major programs in the ethical and regulatory aspects faced by synthetic biology. By initiating early dialogue on responsible innovation, providing expertise, guidance and training in responsible governance of synthetic biology innovation, and promoting public engagement and training for the research community, the Centre will create the conditions for accelerated exploitation of the opportunities generated by the rapid advances in synthetic biology for the benefit of the UK economy. Colleagues at the Manchester Institute of Science Ethics and Innovation will be central to this effort to mitigate technology risks (real or perceived) associated with this new industrial revolution, while the University of Manchester Business School will develop the responsible innovation and market analysis strategies required to realize emerging opportunities as science progresses. This will be supported by analysis and stimulation of collaborative developments in this multi-disciplinary/multi-sector field. The Centre will respond continuously and flexibly to developing needs from industry partners new scientific trends across the academic landscape. Its strategic goal is to position UK industry at the forefront of the exploiting synthetic biology for chemicals and natural products biosynthesis by providing a 'one-stop access' to world class physical infrastructure/scientific knowledge that will propel fine and speciality chemicals production towards sustainable manufacturing processes.

We propose to create the world's first broad spectrum sensor technology - the Multi-Corder. We will do this by exploiting and advancing leading-edge microelectronic engineering. The world of electronics is dominated by complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. CMOS has made modern computing and communications possible and has also made an enormous impact on sensing technology such as the digital camera chip. Most recently CMOS has enable the development of the personal genome machine - a next generation sequencing system. We propose to create technology to sense the personal metabolome. This is important since where the genome may indicate an individual's propensity towards a disease, the metabalome is an immediate measurement of body function, hence provides a means of diagnose. Not all possible afflictions are measurable using the metabalome. Using the same fundamental technology we also propose to detect microbial infectious agents. Bacterial affliction already in the body, or in the environment (e.g. a hospital ward) will be targetted, alleviating major problems such as hospital acquired infection. Further beneficiaries are in point of use diagnostic tools and highly portable systems capable of use in the developing world where there is limited infrastructural support. We also foresee yet more ambitious outcomes from the research, and we expect to made progress towards their realisation. We envisage that once a full measurement and analysis of a patient or a contaminated area is achieved, the Multi-Corder technology will underpin new methods of chemical synthesis for drugs. We will demonstrate the use of the technology for direct, high-speed, visualisation of chemical activity, and the means by which the data can be used to control the chemical process required for synthesis. The targets that we will address will take advantage of the ability of microelectronics to make many (millions if needs be) of devices on a single chip, or to integrate diverse technologies together. The core semiconductor technology will be augmented by chemical, lithographic and bio-technologies in order to build complex functions. Our approach is based on a combination of established track record, new insights, and emergent technologies for which we have established trial feasibility. Using our current knowledge as a springboard, we will exploit the flexibility and collaborative framework that a Programme Grant will afford us to create an exciting new technology.