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Research and Business Engagement

Senate report – major achievements and awards 

08 May 2024

Congratulations to our colleagues for the recent major achievements and major funding, reported in the latest Senate report (April 2024) 

Major achievements and awards secured by the University since the last Senate report include:     

Funding

  • Dr Richard Kirkham (School of Engineering), Professor Sharon Clarke (Alliance Manchester Business School), Professor Mark Elliott (School of Social Sciences), Professor James Evans (School of Environment, Education and Development), Professor Duncan Shaw (Alliance Manchester Business School), Dr Constance Smith (School of Social Sciences) have been awarded £4.2m from UKRI to lead a Research and Coordination Hub, Building a Secure and Resilient World (SALIENT).   
  • Dr Edmond Smith (School of Arts, Languages and Cultures) has been awarded £1.2m for an ERC Starting Grant, Institutional Transformation and the Entangled Commercial Cultures of International Trade, 1450-1750.   

The University has been awarded £30m by the EPSRC to lead four new Centres for Doctoral Training:  

  • Professor Irina Grigorieva (School of Natural Sciences) is leading 2D Materials of Tomorrow (2DMoT).   
  • Professor Scott Heath (School of Engineering) is leading SATURN (Skills And Training Underpinning a Renaissance in Nuclear).   
  • Professor William Parnell (School of Natural Sciences) is leading Developing National Capability for Materials 4.0.  
  • Dr Simon Watson (School of Engineering) is leading Robotics and AI for Net Zero.   

The University is participating in three new EPSRC funded AI hubs: 

  • Dr Matthew Sperrin (School of Health Sciences) is leading the University’s participation in the Causality in Healthcare AI with Real Data (CHAI) hub led by the University of Edinburgh.  
  • Professor Catherine Powell (School of Natural Sciences) is leading the University’s participation in ProbAI: a hub for the mathematical and computational foundations of probabilistic AI led by Lancaster University.  
  • Professor Sami Kaski (School of Engineering) is leading the University’s participation in the AI hub in generative models led by University College London.   

The University has been awarded £7m via the UKRI and BBSRC Engineering Biology Hubs and Mission Awards.  

  • Professor Anthony Green (School of Natural Sciences) and Dr Sarah Lovelock and Professor Patrick Cai (both School of Natural Sciences) have received £1.7m for a Mission Award on engineering biological systems to enable economical production of functionalised proteins.  
  • Professor Jonathan Lloyd (School of Natural Sciences) is involved in a Mission Hub led by the University of Kent and with Dr Jennifer Cavet (School of Biological Sciences), Dr Victoria Coker (School of Natural Sciences), Professor Alejandro Gallego Schmid and Professor Chris Hardacre (both School of Engineering) have received £1.5m for a Mission Award on using engineering biology for critical metal recovery from industrial waste streams.  
  • Professor Michael Brockhurst (School of Biological Sciences) and Professor Patrick Cai (School of Natural Sciences) have received £824,928 for a Mission Award on engineering phages to develop new treatments against drug-resistant bacterial infections.  
  • Dr Lu Shin Wong and Professor Michael Shaver (both School of Natural Sciences) are participating in a Mission Hub led by the University of Portsmouth on engineering biology and plastic waste.  

Fellowships and Elected Fellows

  • Professor Tine Buffel (School of Social Sciences) has been named a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.  
  • Dr Pritish Behuria (School of Environment, Education and Development), Professor Nuno Palma (School of Social Sciences) and Dr Patrycja Strycharczuk (School of Arts, Languages and Cultures) have each been awarded a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship.   
  • Professor Sue Heath (School of Social Sciences) has been awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship.  
  • Professor Yoram Gorlizki (School of Social Sciences) has been awarded a British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship.   

Awards and Recognition

  • The University was recognised as one of the top 25 institutions in the world with the highest citation impact on digital health citations The University secured 4th place worldwide according to an analysis from Clarivate. 
  • The University of Manchester has been named by the National Cyber Security Centre and EPSRC as an Academic Centre of Excellence (ACE-CSR) in recognition of its internationally leading cyber security research. The Centre will be led by Professor Nicholas Lord (School of Social Sciences), Professor Daniel Dresner and Dr Mustafa Mustafa (both School of Engineering).  
  • Professor Matt Gibson (School of Natural Sciences) has been awarded the "Innovation in Formulation and Formulation Science Award" by the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) for significant breakthroughs in cryobiology.  
  • Professor Darren Ashcroft (School of Health Sciences) has been awarded the prestigious title of NIHR Senior Investigator.   
  • Dr Hema Radhakrishnan (School of Health Sciences) has been appointed as a registrant member of the General Optical Council, the UK’s regulator for optical professions.  
  • Professor Dame Robina Shah (School of Medical Sciences) has been appointed as an Independent Chair of the Greater Manchester Ethics Committee.  
  • Professor Gabrielle Finn (School of Medical Sciences) has been appointed as the Chair of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME).