Case Studies

Welsh scientists are helping to keep our food healthy, safe and sustainable

Kirstie Goggin in the lab

Much of our food in the UK is sourced via often-complex supply chains involving numerous producers and processors from around the world. Unfortunately this can lead to illicit and/or unethical practices as some food ingredients may be contaminated by adulterants or obtained from undesirable sources. Recent examples include the use or horsemeat instead of beef… Read more »

Current KESS 2 projects in partnership with Tenovus Cancer Care

Tenovus Cancer Care

The research supported through KESS 2 and Tenovus Cancer Care has already done so much to help cancer patients. Below are projects that Tenovus Cancer Care is currently supporting with KESS 2, to continue helping people affected by cancer.   2018 Delineating how PI3K/PTEN oncogenic signalling contributes to prostate cancer Student: Manisha Dass Supervisor: Dr Helen Pearson… Read more »

Turning waste gases into renewable products

Rhiannon Chalmers-Brown

Rhiannon Chalmers-Brown has returned to study her PhD at the University of South Wales, having initially studied BSc Chemistry at USW. She was encouraged by her research supervisor Richard Dinsdale to apply for the KESS 2 scholarship, as she has a keen interest in renewable energy and the environmental sector in general. Rhiannon started her… Read more »

Supporting people with alcohol-related brain damage

Rob Heirene

Rob Heirene is currently undertaking an ESF-funded KESS 2 PhD at the University of South Wales, carrying out research into how people with alcohol-related brain damage could be cared for in supported housing. His partner organisation, Solas Cymru, is a charity based in Newport that provides a broad range of services for people who are… Read more »

Using Big Data to increase productivity

Rebecca Peters

Rebecca Peters is a research student in the School of Computing and Mathematics at the University of South Wales, currently undertaking an ESF-funded KESS 2 PhD in Big Data Analytics. Working with Tata Steel in Talbot, Rebecca is using her keen interest in the real-world applications of Data Science, and exploring its varied techniques within… Read more »

Low carbon behaviour change improves the bottom line

RUMM

Low carbon behaviour change is a fundamental aspect of a transition to a low carbon society, but is also key when a large company is looking into reducing its utility bills. RUMM (Remote Utility Monitoring and Management) is a University of South Wales spin-out company helping companies consuming more than £100,000 of electricity, gas or water per year to reduce their energy bills…

Read more »

Enhancing technology to improve patient care

Huntleigh Healthcare

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is the less well-known branch of cardiovascular disease which relates to the narrowing or obstruction of the arteries in the legs. Previous research has shown that individuals with PAD have a three-to-six-fold increased risk of cardiovascular death compared to those who don’t have it. The main symptom of PAD is pain in the legs when… Read more »

Novel Approaches to the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon (Presentation)

Presentation by Danny Clegg, University of South Wales. The goal of the project is to provide tested and trialled gloves to people with Raynaud’s disease; with the intention of reducing severity of symptoms. Potential sites in the gloves for further intervention (such as heated elements) are being investigated based on anatomical sites of vascular insufficiency; as described by the use of infrared image analysis following symptom provocation.

Read more »

Multi-dimensional visitor-engagement tracking: an innovative case study with the National Botanic Garden of Wales

The Student Perspective by Gwendoline Wilson, Swansea University. My KESS project is looking at visitor behaviour in the National Botanical Gardens using animal tracking devices on humans. These devices not only track people’s movements throughout the garden but also where they are looking. This allows me to map out the parts of the garden that receive the highest volumes of traffic and those areas where there is less interest.

Read more »

Defining the utility of novel pre-clinical cohort model systems

The Student Perspective by Huw Morgan, Cardiff University. The project that I am working on is in partnership with Tenovus. I am looking at the utility of a novel pre-clinical cohort model system, which is in relation to breast cancer. The discovery and development of new drugs at any given time point is termed the drug pipeline and it can be broken down into four broad categories: i) discovery, ii) pre-clinical trials, iii) clinical trials and iv) marketing.

Read more »