News

Angel Alliance secures £2.6m to boost healthcare

(6 April 2009)

The Angel Alliance is celebrating a major success after securing £2.6million to harness science and engineering technology which could ultimately lead to improvements in healthcare.

This is the first funded project within the Alliance, which comprises Durham and Newcastle Universities, and Regional Development Agency One North East. Durham University receives the grant on behalf of the Alliance, formed in October 2008. The money will be used to jointly transfer research carried out at Durham and Newcastle Universities for economic and social benefit, helping to maximise the exploitation of the scientific discoveries being made at both institutions. The award of a Knowledge Transfer Account (KTA) over the next three years will allow the results of research by engineers and physical scientists from the universities to be applied commercially to the healthcare sector. Academic clinicians will be directly involved in demonstrating the feasibility of using the technologies in the healthcare sector. The project, "Crossing the Clinical Boundary", aims to reduce the time taken for a novel material or process to come into use. The joint project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), is also designed to create collaborative programmes between researchers and industrial users so that key challenges are addressed earlier and barriers are broken down in the application of new materials. Technologies already patented by the universities to be exploited for the benefit of the wider community includes a sensor that is able to diagnose cystic fibrosis from a patient's sweat, computer software to increase protection of personal medical data and new imaging agents to show greater detail on MRI images. Professor Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, said: "This award demonstrates the genuine partnership the two Universities have now forged, which enables us to best exploit ideas generated from our research activities to benefit the economy and jobs in the North East and beyond.” Professor Chris Brink, Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University, said: "The project builds on Newcastle's great strength in clinical medicine to provide a unique bridge between outstanding scientists and engineers in both universities and the healthcare industry." Malcolm Page, Deputy Chief Executive of One North East, said "This is an excellent start to the Angel Alliance. It is just the beginning of a much wider collaboration which will have major benefits for North East businesses and people." Within the framework of the Angel Alliance all three partners are using their different expertises and resources to accelerate the development of science-based businesses in the region. The KTA represents just the first in a series of coordinated joint projects bringing Government and private funding into the region.