Nexxus Scotland

Glasgow Caledonian University School of Life Sciences

The School of Life Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University offers leading edge innovation and discovery in molecular biosciences; pharmacology; carbohydrate metabolism; forensic science and viral testing. Complimentary strengths in paramedical sciences including ophthalmology, medical imaging and biopsychology enhance the broad range of commercial opportunities on offer to collaborators and partners. The School is the largest trainer of Biomedical Scientists in the UK, has one of the largest Psychology Divisions and the only Vision Sciences Division in Scotland.

Commercialisation successes include two spin out companies, Biopta and Glycologic, several Proof of Concept and Nexxus awards, 5 Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (with industry) and a strong research and consultancy revenue stream from industry, charities and health organisations. Current investments of over £800,000 will enhance and better position the School to respond to the social, commercial, economic and educational requirements of both the public and private sectors.

As a result of these investments, including 12 internally funded Post Doctorates, the School projects significant increases in Knowledge Transfer and commercialisation outputs and simultaneous growth in support services for industry and public bodies.

Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Diversity and multi-disciplinarity are in common currency today, but this has always been the situation in this Division which is home to the Health Professions Council approved degrees of Biomedical Science and Dietetics, producing the largest number of graduates in Scotland for the NHS.  Research and expertise ranges from bacterial and fungal toxins through to factors in childhood obesity via cell and molecular biology, physiology and pharmacology. 

The Division has been the birthplace of 4 commercial ventures in recent years.  Glycologic's expertise lies in carbohydrate which is in stark contrast to Biopta, winner of this year's Nexxus Award for Innovation, who have developed advanced myographic equipment capable of rapid drug screening of explants of human tissue.

BluScientific's expertise is in viruses to develop analytical services for the detection of novovirus, SARS and other human viral pathogens and determation of the efficacy of eco-friendly disinfectants. The UKAS accredited Food Science Laboratory provides services for the analysis of food and environmental samples for fungal toxins, heavy metals and the like, alongside food quality.  These ventures are complemented by the newly formed Centre for Forensic Investigation.

• BluScientific Test Data provides data to the chemical industry for the basis of claims made on the biocidal activity of agents against a wide variety of Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi and Spores to EN and US standards. They also support product development for major US and UK chemical companies as well as novel new products from small to medium sized enterprises. BluScientific also provide consultancy to prominent institutions such as the National and European Banks, Cruise Lines and other major international companies.
• The Food Science Laboratory has grown over ten years through the provision of high quality services to an increasingly diverse client base.   The quality of services is acknowledged by two nationally recognised accreditation agencies - United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS) and The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS).  The laboratory is the only university-based UKAS accredited food technology laboratory in Scotland offering services in nutritional analysis and microbial toxin assay. It is expanding into other sectors including niche services to the GM food and the bio waste sectors.
• The Centre for Forensic Investigation has been created as part of the University's 2010 Vision. The Centre contains a new state of the art DNA Profiling suite, built to UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation standards. In addition to Human Identification by DNA fingerprinting for forensic casework, familial relationships and genealogy, the Centre provides a wide range of forensic services to the legal marketplace including; Analysis of Controlled Substances; Ballistics; Fibre Analysis; Toxicology; Identification of Blood and Biological Fluids; Forensic Psychology; GM Food Testing; Fire and Explosion (Ordinance); Forensic Anthropology/Taphonomy; and Microanalysis of Trace Evidence.
  

Vision Sciences

In addition to the professional program in optometry and its associated Eye Clinic, the Division pursues research in four areas of vision science: visual development, ocular motor function, visual psychophysics, and the anterior eye. The work of the anterior eye research group includes clinical assessment of ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, mechanisms of corneal infection, refractive surgery and visual performance, and the physiological effects of ophthalmic materials.

• Dry Eye Research includes tear physiology in dry eye states (tear production, evaporation, osmolarity etc); the effects of contact lens wear on the tear film and corneal physiology; tear structure analysis using various interferometric methods; and the development of methods to analyze and categorize meibomian gland dysfunction and other ocular states that alter the tear film.
• Visual Psychophysics research has developed a new method to study colour vision (partial colour matching) which allows him to reveal out objectively what colours an individual sees. This method is going to be applied to studying colour vision of dichromats and people with other colour deficiencies.
• The Eye Clinic at Glasgow Caledonian University is a purpose-built facility which provides eye examination facilities under the General Ophthalmic Services protocols. This entitles patients to a standard eye examination every 2 years. The clinic provides a full range of specialist clinics including diabetes and glaucoma monitoring, infant vision, special needs, visual stress, dyslexia and migraine, low vision, contact lenses and binocular vision anomalies.

Psychology

This lively and expanding Division within the School of Life Sciences is in demand from students who want to specialise in the discipline and from those who wish to study Psychology along with other subjects.

Research within the Division covers many areas, including Forensic Psychology, Music Psychology, Health Psychology, Cognitive Psychology and Applied Social Psychology, amongst others. They have also established a Glasgow Centre for the Study of Violence.

The Psychology Division is also active in Knowledge Transfer and Commercial activities through diverse consultancies and the newly formed Caledonian Psychological Research Services.

• Caledonian Psychological Research Services (CPRS) provides services to clients varying from SMEs to PLCs on their needs to collect, analyse and/or present research data.  The academic team leading the operation have many years experience providing services to clients ranging from PR agencies to multinational corporations.  The specific services offered by CPRS include: Questionnaire design and development; Data collection and analysis on new projects; Analysis of existing databases for client-focussed research; Synthesis, interpretation and presentation of research findings; Consultancy to develop, approve or award research contracts.
• The Glasgow Centre for the Study of Violence brings a new approach to the problem of violence; combining expertise that exists in the University with the experience of organisations in criminal justice and health. The Centre brings together academic contributions from Forensic Psychology, Criminology, and Risk, collaborating with experts from the police, prisons, the health service, social work and services for juvenile offenders.
• Research on Ingestive Behaviour takes place in a custom-built, specialist laboratory.  The group is particularly focussed on examining the biopsychological controls of food intake and in characterising appetite regulation across the lifespan.  In particular, they have recently gathered evidence on specific gene variants which influence appetite expression in children. These gene variants appear to offer some protection against obesity and the group is investigating how genotype might influence the pre-obese phenotype in relation to sensitivity to preloads which differ in energy content and in differences in the expression of appetite.  A central aim of this research is to understand controls of food intake with a view to applying this work to the prevention of obesity.
  

For further information how the School can help your business or organisation contact William Campbell, Business Development Manager

T: 0141 331 3267

E: William.Campbell@gcal.ac.uk 

W: www.gcal.ac.uk/sls/index.html