Connecting the Babraham Institute and Newcastle University: funding success enabling collaborative projects to supercharge staff skills

Key points:

• The Babraham Institute and Newcastle University have received a Flexible Talent Mobility Accounts grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, part of UKRI, to support knowledge exchange opportunities focused on the ageing strategic priority.
• The funding will support three key activities; competitive knowledge exchange funding calls to enable staff skills exchanges and collaborations, development of career development frameworks for technicians and early career researchers, and the exchange of enterprise expertise.
• The first round of funded collaborative projects are already underway, enabling the exchange of a range of scientific, policy and operational expertise.
• A programme of events and funding calls will run over the next three years, providing conferences, seminars and secondments.

The Babraham Institute and Newcastle University have joined forces for an ambitious three-year programme of close collaboration to accelerate research, staff career development, career mobility and significant cross-sector societal and commercial impact. The Flexible Talent Mobility Accounts (FTMA) funding from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, part of UKRI, will support events and skills exchanges between the two organisations.

Dr Jon Houseley, the grant’s project lead and group leader at the Babraham Institute, highlights “While the Institute has been awarded FTMA grants over the last couple of years, this new funding and partnership with Newcastle is particularly exciting; Newcastle University is an international leader in healthy ageing research with significant and wide-ranging scientific expertise that will provide unique opportunities for our researchers and technical specialists to develop collaborations and networks to share cutting edge expertise, operational know-how and training right across the ageing field. We’re really excited to find new ways we can together maximise our impact on the sector and develop longer-term relationships. Without great teams the science can only go so far, and the real advantage of this grant is it being able to bring the right people together.”

The FTMA grant supports networks, collaborations placements and exchanges for bioscience research staff from and to a range of universities, BBSRC institutes, businesses, policy, or other settings, in the UK and overseas. The Babraham Institute and Newcastle University’s Biosciences Institute, within the Faculty of Medicine and Facilities, are both leaders in research in healthy ageing across the life course. The three year collaboration will leverage technologies, networks and expertise across the organisations’ research, facilities and scientific support departments to build high functioning teams delivering excellent research, staff career development and career mobility opportunities and significant cross-sector societal and commercial impact.

"This collaboration is a fantastic opportunity to bring together the strengths of two world-leading institutions in ageing research. By enabling our researchers, technicians, and operational teams to share skills, knowledge, and innovative approaches, we are building a foundation for transformative scientific advances. This initiative not only enhances individual careers but also maximises the impact of our research in the ageing field" said Andrew Filby, Deputy Dean for the Newcastle University Biosciences Institute.

The first round of funded projects have already been awarded. They include:

• The creation of a collaborative academic network focused on redox signalling in health and ageing, involving a range of UK-based researchers with complementary expertise, to facilitate skill exchange, promote collaborative research publications, and develop joint funding applications for larger projects.
• A project focused on improving facility management and supporting technicians though staff exchanges and knowledge sharing with staff at CRUK Cambridge Institute, the Natural History Museum, Warwick University and University of Cambridge. This project will strengthen the UK Research Facility Coordinator’s Network, with a focus on enhancing research capabilities in health and ageing studies.
• A collaboration between the Babraham Institute, Newcastle University, and the University of Cambridge to share knowledge and best practices in Research Integrity training at all career stages.
• A research collaboration between Babraham Institute and Newcastle University to develop advanced proteomics and mass spectrometry applications, aiming to improve techniques used to study the role of ubiquitin in cellular stress, aging, and inflammation.
• Training at MRC Harwell to enable Babraham Institute researchers and technicians to embed knowledge of advanced techniques in microinjection and electroporation into teams at the Institute and share training with counterparts at Newcastle; these are key methods for epigenetics research in early mammalian development that have implications for ageing and disease.

Both organisations recognise the value of diversity and are committed to developing an open and inclusive initiative providing professional development opportunities for all eligible bioscience research staff, including technicians and science support roles.

Dr Simon Cook, Director of the Babraham Institute, said: “This partnership with Newcastle is an exciting opportunity for all our staff. It is especially important to connect our operations teams and technical staff who play such an important part in supporting cutting-edge science by focusing on skills exchange over the next three years.”

Notes

Press contact

Honor Pollard, Communications Officer, honor.pollard@babraham.ac.uk

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About the Babraham Institute

The Babraham Institute undertakes world-class life sciences research to generate new knowledge of biological mechanisms underpinning ageing, development and the maintenance of health. Our research focuses on cellular signalling, gene regulation and the impact of epigenetic regulation at different stages of life. By determining how the body reacts to dietary and environmental stimuli and manages microbial and viral interactions, we aim to improve wellbeing and support healthier ageing. The Institute is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, through Institute Strategic Programme Grants and an Institute Core Capability Grant and also receives funding from other UK research councils, charitable foundations, the EU and medical charities.

About BBSRC

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.

BBSRC invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.

Funded by government, BBSRC invested £451 million in world-class bioscience in 2019-20. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.