The energy crisis and environmental issues caused by the burning of fossil fuels are major challenges facing mankind. In recent years, energy storage materials have attracted increasing scientific and industrial attention, coupled with the development of green and renewable energy sources. Renewable energies must be transformed into electrical energy for practical uses. In this form, the energy is safe, clean, well-suited to long-distance transportation, and can easily be transformed into other types of energy. Various technologies have been used to store energy from renewable sources. Dielectrics play an important role in high-power energy storage applications, such as electromagnetic devices and hybrid electric vehicles, due to their fast charge-discharge capability (typically in the nanosecond range). However, the energy storage density of commercial dielectric capacitors is very low compared to batteries which have low power density. The energy density of dielectric capacitors is closely related to the electric field-induced transitions in the ferroelectrics. To date, the best ferroelectric materials are based on lead-containing oxides. However, toxicity and environmental concerns have prompted the search for lead-free alternatives. High-entropy materials represent a promising class of disordered multicomponent materials with tailorable properties and potentially unprecedented performances, including excellent dielectric properties. Here, considering the high entropy effect on structures and electrical properties of ferroelectrics, the compositions are designed according to the high entropy concept, and the strategies to improve the energy density in environmentally-friendly lead-free ferroelectrics are proposed to enable the development of these materials for high-power energy storage capacitors.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

We have demonstrated a novel molecular pathway by which dual activation nutrient-sensing G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), GPR84 and FFAR4, results in synergistic release of potent appetite lowering hormones - PYY and GLP-1, in human gut tissue samples. These hormones are stored and released by enteroendocrine cells, specifically L-cells which are found predominantly in the lower bowel (colon). By delivering our nutrient combination, that simultaneously activates GPR84 and FFAR4, to the colon, we demonstrated increased PYY levels resulting in lower calorific intake, in obese volunteers (Peiris et al, Gut, 2022). We now want to assess the efficacy of our strategy for weight loss.

In this proposal, the leading pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca teams up with two groups at the Institute of Cancer at St Bartholomew?s Hospital in London, namely the Centre for Experimental Cancer Medicine and the Centre for Cell Signalling. The aim of this proposal is to facilitate the transition of new anti-cancer drugs into the clinic, with a focus on cancer of the white blood cells. The Centre for Experimental Cancer Medicine has a long-standing expertise in both research and clinical trial work in this type of cancer. The Centre for Cell Signalling has world-class expertise in a group of molecules termed PI 3-kinases, which are new targets that AstraZeneca is aiming to block in cancer cells. Together they will provide new methods to assess how blockade of PI 3-kinase will affect the internal wiring of signals that allow cancer cells to survive and multiply. Jointly, the teams are looking for new ways to monitor the impact of drugs againts PI 3-kinases in patient samples, to better assess and predict potential responsiveness, with a view to selecting patients that may respond to these new therapies and to facilitate entry of these potentially new drugs into the clinic.

In the first year of the Integrated PhD, Dorsa Abdolkarimi will attend an induction and introductory training programme followed by taught modules in Research Methods and Quantitative Cell Biology. In addition, Dorsa Abdolkarimi will undertake three 12 week research projects rotating through different laboratories.