The University of Dundee is one of the leading universities in Europe for research in Life Sciences. We make fundamental discoveries on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying health and disease in humans, animals, plants, parasites and bacteria and translate that knowledge to address global challenges. In the most recent UK-wide assessment of research quality in UK higher education institutions – REF2021 –Dundee was ranked the top University in Biological Sciences. More recent rankings widely recognized as indicators of scientific excellence place Dundee high in their rankings. The CWTS Leiden Ranking 2021 for Biomedical and Health Sciences Impact places Dundee is 5th in the UK and Europe, 11th in the World and the 2021 QS World University Rankings in Biological Sciences place Dundee 2nd in the UK, 3rd in Europe and 19th in the World as judged by ‘citations-per-paper’, one of the most widely recognized metrics of scientific excellence. ‘The State of Innovation’ report by Clarivate Analytics in 2017 ranked Dundee as the most influential scientific research institution in the world for pharmaceuticals for the period 2006-16. The School enjoys a reputation as one of the most dynamic international centres for molecular cell biology, with outstanding laboratory and technology facilities.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are essential for us to ensure a vibrant and sustainable workplace culture. Accordingly, we aim to support and develop all our staff and students so they can work to the best of their ability. This requires professional conduct that creates a culture where everyone feels empowered and safe to question and challenge behaviours that compromise this goal. Accordingly, we expect performance at the highest standard of integrity for everything we do, not only in how we conduct all our activities, but also how we work together, treat each other and how we interact with external partners.
Researchers from the Universities of Dundee and Oxford have made a discovery that helps explain why variations in the virus that causes Covid-19 spread so rapidly. The Dundee-Oxford team found that most, but not all, of the common mutations in Spike individually strengthened binding to ACE2, a protein found on the surface of our cells. This work is published in eLife.
Seven new papers have been published this month in The Biochemical Journal, representing a major collaboration between multiple groups at the Francis Crick Institute in London, University College London and The University of Dundee. Led by John Diffley at the Francis Crick Institute, with important contributions in Dundee from the groups of Yogesh Kulathu and Karim Labib in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylatio
The Scottish Public Engagement Network (ScotPEN) is a group dedicated to supporting practitioners of public engagement across Scotland, both within higher education and without. We have over 700 members from a variety of backgrounds, and every year we hold an annual gathering with sessions dedicated to skills development, networking and sharing of good practice.
This year our gathering will be virtual, which allows us to hold even more ambitious and exciting sessions.
Advancing in vitro science by providing advanced ex vivo human skin models that closely mimic intact living skin. Their technology offers users a reliable alternative to animal testing and thus a more ethical and economic route to market.
Michele Tinti, a postdoctoral researcher in Mike Ferguson’s lab, has competed on the international stage to search for a stable mRNA sequence in order to create a stable COVID-19 vaccine. Michele teamed up with Gilles Vandewiele and Bram Steenwinckel, PhD students from Department of Information Technology (INTEC) of the University of Ghent, and achieved fourth place out of 1,636 teams.
The MRC PPU’s collaboration with the MRC CVR in Glasgow to generate a SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus Toolkit has yielded its second important publication.
The University of Dundee’s contribution to a major Covid-testing facility has been recognised at the 6th Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards. The COVID-19 Collaborative Response Award was made to the Lighthouse Laboratory in Glasgow, a project that has involved Prof David Gray from the School.
Armstrong M, Hein I. 2021. Identification of Resistance Genes Using Diagnostic R-Gene Enrichment Sequencing (dRenSeq). Dobnik D, Gruden K, Ramšak Ž, Coll A, editors. In Solanum tuberosum: Methods and Protocols. 1 ed. New York: Humana Press. pp. 213-219. (Methods in Molecular Biology). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1609-3_10
Arends DW, Miellet WR, Langereis JD, Ederveen THA, van der Gaast-de Jongh CE, van Scherpenzeel M, Knol MJ, van Sorge NM, Lefeber DJ, Trzciński K, Sanders EAM, Dorfmueller HC, Bootsma HJ, de Jonge MI. 2021. Examining the distribution and impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the capsular locus of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 19A. Infection and Immunity. 89(11):Article e00246-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00246-21
