Discovering Excellence | Introduction
Introduction
From Professor Mark Ormerod,
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise)
Welcome to the first edition of Discovering Excellence,
which showcases a selection of some of the world-leading
innovative research being carried out at Keele University,
and shows how this research is tackling some of the most
pressing challenges facing society today both regionally
and globally, and is having a significant positive impact
on our health and our social, cultural and economic
wellbeing and the communities we serve.
As a strong research-led university,
Keele is committed to research
excellence, with world-leading
research undertaken across health,
natural sciences and the humanities
and social sciences – much of it
interdisciplinary. This research is
helping to tackle global problems
that impact across a range of issues
including health, environmental
sustainability and population
ageing, our three overarching
themes as an institution.
This edition gives an insight into
research we are doing at Keele in the
areas of providing new approaches
to back pain, tissue engineering and
regenerative medicine, cancer and
malaria, the role of aluminium in
biological systems, reducing energy
consumption, ageing and social
gerontology, living with HIV,
discovering new planets, and taking
musical composition to new levels
using the latest digital technology.
Keele is proud of its thriving
stimulating research environment
which nurtures talent and actively
encourages high quality research,
much of which is interdisciplinary.
Keele has always been a university
which has given promising earlycareer researchers an opportunity
to flourish and thrive and develop
their own research profile, and I am
delighted to include a section which
focuses on just some of our rising
research stars, who I am confident
will become key international
researchers of the future.
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Over recent years our research
activity has grown very
substantially, with research grant
income showing significant
year-on-year growth, this year
showing a further 10% increase on
last year’s record income. This is
particularly impressive given the
increasingly competitive funding
climate. Alongside this we have
seen very impressive increases in
our postgraduate research student
population, with a 50% growth in
research student numbers over
the last three years, adding real
vitality to our research culture
and environment.
I hope you enjoy this first edition
and it gives you a flavour of the
wide range of exciting, high quality
research being carried out by Keele
staff, and I very much look forward
to sharing more of Keele’s research
in future editions.
Professor Mark Ormerod
Pro Vice-Chancellor
(Research and Enterprise)