Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced rapidly over the last five years, largely as a result of new algorithms, affordable hardware, and huge increases in the availability of data in digital form. The UK has recognised as a national priority the urgent need to exploit AI in human health, where digital data is being created from many sources, for example: images from tissue slices, X-ray devices, and ultrasound; along with laboratory tests, genetic profiles, and the health records used by GPs and hospitals. The potential is enormous. In future, AI could automatically identify those at risk of cancer before symptoms appear, suggesting changes in lifestyle that would reduce long-term risk. It could greatly speed-up and increase the reliability of diagnostic services such as pathology and radiology. It could help doctors and patients select the most appropriate care pathway based on personal history and clinical need. Such improvements will lead to better care and more cost-effective use of resources in the NHS. Our Centre for Doctoral Training will train the future researchers who will lead on this transformation. They will come from a variety of backgrounds in science, engineering and health disciplines. When they graduate from the Centre after four years, they will have the AI knowledge and skills, coupled with real-world experience in the health sector, to unlock the immense potential of AI within the health domain. Our scope is on AI for medical diagnosis and care with a focus on cancer for which there are particularly rich sources of digital data, and where AI is expected to lead to significant breakthroughs. Leading with cancer, we will inform the use of AI in medical diagnosis and care more widely. The Centre will be based in the City of Leeds, which has developed into the home of the NHS in England. The University of Leeds and the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT), working with key national partners from the NHS and industry, provides the ideal environment for this Centre. There is internationally excellent research on AI and on cancer, including a world leading centre for digital pathology. There is already strong collaboration between the different organisations involved. The Centre builds on a well-established track record in transferring research ideas into world-leading clinical practice and new products. Our graduates will become international leaders in academia and industry, ensuring the UK remains at the forefront in health research, clinical practice and commercial innovation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed how significant a role the indoor environment plays in the transmission of infection. The virus has highlighted how there are substantial gaps in knowledge relating to how microorganisms in aerosols and droplets are generated and dispersed in our buildings, how effectively we can measure and monitor risks in indoor environments, and how the design of the environment and the technologies within it can be used to control exposure to pathogens. While there is an immediate focus on respiratory infections, this challenge applies to a very wide range of microorganisms including gastroenteric pathogens and environmental microorganisms where exposure risks are driven by human interactions with the building layout, ventilation, heating and water systems. Understanding and tackling these challengers requires new knowledge about the interactions between microorganisms and the physical environment. Microbial aerosols in buildings are known to be released from human sources (respiratory aerosols, skin squame), building systems (aerosols from water, drainage and ventilation systems), industry processes (waste and waste water treatment, agricultural activities), the natural environment (sea, animals, plant pathogens) and medical procedures (dentistry, intubation). However we know very little about how the engineering design of the environment determines the generation, transport, deposition and control of microorganisms. Beyond microorganisms, there is growing awareness that human health is significantly affected by exposure to pollutants in indoor spaces and that many buildings are inadequately ventilated to provide healthy conditions for occupants. The CECAM (Chamber for Environmental Control of Airborne Microorganisms) facility will provide a new, multi-user research environment that can enable controlled experiments with aerosolised microorganisms under different indoor environmental conditions. The facility will enable key research questions to be addressed relating to sources and survival of microbial aerosols, methods for measuring and monitoring microbial aerosols and pollutants, the role of ventilation and room layouts on the dispersion and deposition of microbial aerosols and other pollutants, the development of effective engineering solutions including personal protective equipment, air cleaning and disinfection devices, and better designs of key components such as showers, hot air dryers, air conditioning units and drainage systems. The facility will enable research at the interfaces of fluid dynamics and aerosol sciences with microbiology and indoor air chemistry that is driven by clinical challenges and the need for improved indoor environmental quality in buildings across just about every sector of society. The CECAM facility will provide an integrated user environment that combines a controlled biocontainment chamber with dedicated air handling systems with a suite of environmental sensors and bioaerosol samplers including real-time bioaerosol sampling. Through location within a well-equipped microbiology laboratory and managed by a dedicated experimental officer, the CECAM facility will enable robust and safe experiments to be carried out by academic users, research organisations, NHS users and industry. This will include the ability for experiments to be carried out using human participants.

A Brand New Sense (BraNeS) aims to create a digital tool that makes movement fun and aids creative expression and intergenerational exchange within the user's home setting and/or community environments. Just like anyone else, when they exercise, old people experience important health benefits. They are able to move better, accomplish daily and routine tasks easier and experience a positive shift in their mood. However, a major challenge is how to get people to become active in a way that they enjoy. Research has shown that a combination of movement and music is enjoyable, and people are more likely to adhere to exercise programmes that involve music. Studies have also shown that the social dimension of physical activity is an important factor of enjoyment. BraNeS explores the use of movement sonification as a form of physical activity that combines creative expression and social interaction. Movement sonification is the synchronous production of sound and movement through a digital device. It is an emerging practice which, on the on hand, is spreading within youth and music subcultures through new products aimed at primarily young audiences. It is also being tested within health and clinical settings for the treatment of health conditions and/or the improvement of physical performance. Through developing an existing prototype, BraNeS capitalises on this trend, in order to develop an intuitive, affordable and accessible tool that can be used in the user's living environment and increase mobility, aid creative expression and encourage intergenerational social interaction.

The Centre for Doctoral Training in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine will provide postgraduate research and training for 75 students, who will be able to research, develop and deliver regenerative therapies and devices, which can repair or replace diseased tissues and restore normal tissue function. By using novel scaffolds in conjunction with the patient`s own (autologous) cells, effective acellular regenerative therapies for tissue repair can be developed at a lower cost, reduced time and reduced risk, compared to alternative and more complex cell therapy approaches. Acellular therapies have the additional advantage as being regulated as a class three medical device, which reduces the cost and time of development and clinical evaluation. Acellular technologies, whether they be synthetic or biological, are of considerable interest to industry as commercial medical products and for NHS Blood and Transplant as enhanced bioprocesses for human transplant tissues. There are an increasing number of small to medium size companies in this emerging sector and in addition larger medical technology companies see opportunities for enhancing their medical product range and address unmet clinical needs through the development of regenerative devices. The UK Life Sciences Industry Strategy and the UK Strategy for Regenerative Medicine have identified this an opportunity to support wealth and health, and the government has recently identified Regenerative Medicine as one of UK`s Great Technologies. In one recent example, we have already demonstrated that this emergent technology be translated successfully into regenerative interventions, through acellular human tissue scaffolds for heart valve repair and chronic wound treatment, and be commercialised as demonstrated by our University spin out Tissue Regenix who have developed acellular scaffold from animal tissue, which has been commercialised as a dCEL scaffold for blood vessel repair. The concept can potentially be applied to the repair of all functional tissues in the body. The government has recognised that innovation and translation of technology across "the innovation valley of death" (Commons Science and Technology Select Committee March 2013), is challenging and needs additional investment in innovation. In addition, we have identified with our partners in industry and Health Service, a gap in high level skills and capability of postgraduates in this area, who have appropriate multidisciplinary training to address the challenges in applied research, innovation, evaluation, manufacturing, and translation of regenerative therapies and devices. This emerging sector needs a new type of multidisciplinary engineer with research and training in applied physical sciences and life sciences, advanced engineering methods and techniques, supported by training in innovation, regulation, health economics and business, and with research experience in the field of regenerative therapies and devices. CDT TERM will create an enhanced multidisciplinary research training environment, by bringing together academics, industry and healthcare professionals in a unique research and innovation eco system, to train and develop the medical and biological engineers for the future, in the emerging field of regenerative therapies and devices. The CDT TERM will be supported by our existing multidisciplinary research and innovation activities and assets, which includes over 150 multidisciplinary postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, external research funding in excess of £60M and new facilities and laboratories. With our partners in industry and the health service we will train and develop the next generation of medical and biological engineers, who will be at the frontier in the UK in innovation and translation of regenerative therapies and devices, driving economic growth and delivering benefits to health and patients

The retail sector is a crucial part of the UK economy accounting for 11% of UK economic output and nearly 16% of GB employment in 2014 (Rhodes, 2014). The UK government recognises the importance of the sector and its potential to contribute to economic growth and published 'A Strategy for Future Retail: Industry and Government Delivering in Partnership' in 2013. A UKCES report (Vokes and Boehnke, 2014) highlights key themes for the sector including attracting talent, image of the sector (as employers), employee retention and progression and employee issues relating to technological innovation/change. A great deal has been written about diversity and inclusion, and prior to that equality and equal opportunities, in the business, academic and public policy domains. Yet much of this literature focuses on the negative effects of inequality or lack of diversity or on making the business and moral case for adopting diversity policies and relating diversity to organisational performance. While this has been a worthy focus, what is lacking is a clear understanding of the processes involved in bringing about a major programme of organisational change in a large company or public sector organisation and understanding what it is that makes diversity policies actually work and achieve the desired results. The research focus on a major British retail company who are collaborative partners with the University of Leeds provides a unique opportunity to access a large organisation during a period of strategic change. The proposal has been user-led with the research objectives and topics being discussed and agreed with the company and emerging from an initial exploratory study commissioned by them with members of the research team. Using a case study approach focusing on the company, the team will investigate diversity and inclusion in relation to a number of Human Resource (HR) issues: retention and inclusivity, career success, progression and development and the intersectionality of protected characteristics under UK legislation (The Equality Act, 2010). The research objectives cover these topics. The research design uses mixed methodologies including face to face interviews with employees, HR staff, directors and senior managers. There will be a shadowing/observation study with regional teams in the company. Survey data will be collected at two intervals. The research team will analyse the data on an ongoing basis throughout the longitudinal study, with themes emerging and building as the data grows. This organic process will mean that the company will be provided with interim reports on the findings at various stages along the way. DELIVERABLES SUMMARY 1) Direct benefits for the employees, senior management and Directors of the company. Research findings to be shared in a business-friendly manner with regular presentations and full involvement of the company in the process 2) Generalizable findings to be disseminated through academic channels: research conferences and seminars, journal articles and business channels: business conference presentations and seminars, business networks, institutions (e.g. 30% Club, 2% Club, Women in Business), Executive Education and teaching 3) Policy engagement including a parliamentary briefing and an event targeted specifically at policymakers. Proactive use of the key findings to stimulate progress in all sectors