Ray finned fishes account for more than half of living vertebrate diversity, yet their early diversifications remain mysterious. This project will use mu-CT and Synchrotron tomography to investigate the preservation of soft tissues in fossils from those early diversifications. Experimental taphonomy will also be used to better understand the conditions under which such exceptional preservation occurs.

"BactiVac was established in 2017 with a mission to advance vaccine development against bacterial infections of global significance to reduce disease, death, and antimicrobial resistance, and enhance economic development. We have brought together academia, industry, policymakers and funders from high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in a network of over 1,600 members from 83 countries, with 49% of membership from LMICs. We have supported member collaborations in vaccine development through Catalyst Project Awards which have leveraged 545% of follow-on funding. We have delivered key trainings and supported Catalyst Training Awards that facilitate specific training exchanges. Annual Network Meetings have brought the Network membership together and we have advocated for bacterial vaccines at all available opportunities. The goal of BactiVac Phase 2 is to enhance Network impact. This will be achieved through building on the successes of Phase 1 with further Catalyst Project Awards, Annual Network Meetings and Catalyst Training Awards. As an established network, we will expand advocacy initiatives and improve communications through development and delivery of rich and engaging media content. Network growth will focus on increasing industry interactions and strengthening links to organisations with aligned missions. This will enable BactiVac to become a network within a highly functioning network of networks, promoting bacterial vaccines."

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.

Parkinson‘s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative condition, primarily affecting older people. Although treatments help with the symptoms of the disease, they do not prevent disease progression. It is known that iron accumulates in parts of the brain affected by PD and that this may cause damage to surrounding brain cells, contributing to disease progression. We hypothesize that qualitative and/or quantitative alterations in proteins involved in maintaining iron balance underlie the changes in iron that contribute to the disease mechanism in PD. We have identified three key proteins for further study: the lactoferrin receptor, mitochondrial ferritin and ferroportin. We will test our hypothesis by measuring levels of expression of these three genes and resultant proteins in post mortem tissue from people who have died with PD, compared with controls. We will collect DNA from a large cohort of people with PD and controls to allow us to examine the genetic structure of the genes encoding these proteins to see if there are any disease-related differences. Lastly, using a cell culture system, we will investigate the relationship between expression levels of the genes and proteins and survival after exposure to oxidative stress. If the mechanisms underlying neuronal degeneration can be identified, it may be possible to intervene therapeutically in patients with early PD to prevent disease progression.

We are performing experiments that will allow us to understand how salmonella bacteria become multi-drug (antibiotic) resistant (MDR) after exposure to antibiotics. Every year people are exposed to salmonella and some people get ill. The very old and young are particularly vulnerable to this infection and they may be so sick that they need antibiotics to help them recover. Treatment of antibiotic resistant salmonella can be difficult. One way in which bacteria can resist antibiotic action is to pump the drug out of the cell. This is why some bacteria are always resistant to some drugs. Some MDR salmonella produce even more of these pumps than normal strains, making these MDR strains additionally resistant to antibiotics. Whilst we know the identity of some of these pumps, we do not know what controls when they are produced, or what makes the bacterium produce more. New methods allow us to look at what happens to bacteria when we have removed or ‘knocked out’ the pump. Other methods allow us to both inactivate, and label, the antibiotic resistance. By doing this the DNA sequence, and hence the gene/s involved, are found. Understanding how MDR is caused will allow us to develop screening tests to quickly identify this type of resistance. Inhibitors of the pumps or genes that control their production can also be developed.