Insigneo Newsletter - April 2024

Welcome to our monthly Insigneo newsletter!  

Our monthly e-newsletter keeps you up to date with events, funding, success stories and information. We hope you will find it useful! 

Insigneo Showcase 2024: speakers confirmed

Exciting fundamental science and beyond: from innovative research to translation and commercialisation.

This full day event is an opportunity for our members, funding agencies, regulatory agencies, industrial colleagues, and other academic groups in the UK to meet and see first-hand the innovative research produced by our Institute.

The day will feature:

• A plenary talk from Prof Peter Coveney from the Centre for Computational Medicine at UCL;
• Sessions from our five research themes:  Biomaterials / Biomechanics / Cell engineering; Computational modelling in medicine; Imaging life; Smart devices and sensors; and Healthcare data / AI;
• Early Career Researcher presentations – hear about emerging research with perspectives from the next generation of researchers;
• Poster exhibition - We are pleased to offer a prize for the best poster for each research theme and a best student poster prize sponsored by the Society of Chemical Industry. 
• Networking opportunities with industry, funders, academics and clinicians.

We're delighted to share our fantastic line of up speakers, see our programme below:

CLE Kit Triumphs at Medipex for Pediatric Health Innovation

Congratulations to Insigneo member Dr Jen Rowson, from the University of Sheffield's Department of Mechanical Engineering, who is a co-investigator on the  'Progressing Dynamic Diagnosis of Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction in Children' project which won the £5000 prize in the Medipex Innovation Awards Delivering Benefits through Diagnosis and Screening category. Led by Dr Nicki Barker at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, the project developed a CLE Kit designed specifically for children to support diagnosis of Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction. This  award recognises innovations designed to improve the detection and diagnoses of health conditions or disease. 

Teleregain impact case study: Accelerating stroke rehabilitation from home

Exploring impact: case studies of colleagues creating a positive change is a series of case studies, hosted on the University of Sheffield Player, which explore how University of Sheffield colleagues are creating positive change in the world and features Teleregain, a revolutionary device created to rebuild these connections from the comfort of a person’s home.

In England, one in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. Stroke survivors can be left with lasting damage as signals between the brain and muscles become weakened. Researchers at the University of Sheffield have designed TeleRegain, a revolutionary device created to rebuild these connections from the comfort of a person’s home.

The project, which is part of the University’s Insigneo Institute, is led by Dr Mahnaz Arvaneh from the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering. Her expertise is in brain-computer interface, neural signal processing, and their applications in monitoring and enhancing physical and mental health. She and her team, with help from external partners, are using Teleregain to restore signal pathways between the brain and muscles while equally reducing calibration time and complexity of set up.

World leading expert on bio-inspired AI to direct University of Sheffield’s Centre for Machine Intelligence

One of the world’s leading innovators in bio-inspired AI has joined the University of Sheffield, as part of a new multi-million pound centre that is set to transform the institution’s research, innovation and teaching around artificial intelligence. 

Professor James Marshall, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Opteran Technologies Limited, has been appointed Director of the University of Sheffield's Centre for Machine Intelligence (CMI). 

Pint of Science festival is brewing ahead of Sheffield return

The world’s largest festival of public science is set to return to Sheffield next month (Monday 13 May - Wednesday 15 May), with scientists from the University of Sheffield taking to the city’s pubs and venues to share their scientific discoveries.

There's a fantasic programme of talks and it's great to see so many Insigneo members involved, check out:

• A bit of a mouthful with Professor Craig Murdoch
• Let's get physics-al! with Professor Christine Le Maitre and Dr Tom Newman
• The Quest for a cure: adventures in future medicine with Dr Greg Wells
• The Mind's Playground with Dr Hazem Toutounji
• Artificial brains diagnosing drains (and disease!) with Dr John Charlton and Dr Art Gower
• AI hidden in plain sight with Dr Krit Dwivedi and Dr Mark Stevenson.

Insigneo Summer Research Placement 2024

We are pleased to confirm that we will be funding nine summer research placements this year, with research topics spanning all five of the Insigneo Institute's research themes. These placements offer training to our Early Career Researchers (ECR) in writing a small/pilot grant along with supervisory experience and the opportunities for undergraduate students to undertake a research internship.

Placements will take place over the summer with the students completing a poster to share their research. 

This year's placement projects and ECRs are:

• The sensitivity study of the parameter variation in a computational model of inflammation and obesity in osteoarthritis - Juntong Lai
• Slow Release of Angiogenic Factors from Porous Polymer Scaffolds to Boost Bone Healing - Caitlin Ryan
• A Virtual Reality Environment for a Novel Flow Imaging PhantomAlanaMatthews
• Texture analysis and manual segmentation of placental MRI - Suzie Coldman
• Development of homogenized finite element (FE) models of human vertebrae with and without metastatic lesions from medical image data - Rajdeep Ghosh
• An ergonomic study of human hand and wrist’s muscular effort while performing colonoscopy procedures - Zeyu Song
• Incorporation of bioactive in Polycaprolactone(PCL)-based PolyHIPEs scaffolds and evaluation of morphology and stability of scaffolds for bone engineering applications - Prarthana Mistry
• Applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence to child growth - Neil Lawrence
• Disclosing significant treatment effects on osteoporotic mice bones using dimensionality reduction methods - Saleh Pouresmaeeli

Insigneo Early Career Researcher (ECR) Group: Career Development Seminar

We are establishing a series of seminars focused on career development for the Insigneo ECR community. Talks will be given by Insigneo members or alumni on their career experiences in academia, industry, government, policy and beyond, and sharing advice and promoting discussion with ECRs.

For this first session, on Monday 20 May at 16:00 (planned to be hybrid, room TBC), we have two speakers:

Professor Gwendolen Reilly is Professor of Musculoskeletal Bioengineering at the University of Sheffield, where she has been since 2004 having undertaken a PhD at the University of York, and several postdoctoral positions in the USA and Switzerland.

Dr Iain Hannah is Senior Manager in Engineering at Adidas Innovation, where he has been since undertaking a postdoctoral research position at the University of Sheffield (he is an Insigneo alumni), and before that a PhD at Loughborough University.

Insigneo Members please check your calendar invitations for joining details.

If you are not already an Insigneo member, apply for membership and join here.

Please also pass this information on to friends / colleagues!

The Insigneo Institute’s ECR group aims to help ECRs across our interdisciplinary membership connect and enrich their research, with a focus on networking and career development opportunities.

This group is inclusive of PhD students, postdocs, fellows and those who self-define as an ECR at the University of Sheffield.  

Coming soon:

Our ECR Committee will be organising a number of activities related to the following themes:

• Grant writing and specific calls dedicated to ECR
• Data sharing
• Publications and journal clubs
• Conferences and networking

If you are interested in taking part please make sure you are signed up to our ECR group. If you are not already an Insigneo member, apply for membership and join here.

The Node: Lab meeting with the Tsakiridis Lab

The Node, a community site for and by developmental and stem cell biologists, met with Insigneo member Anestis Tsakiridis' Tsakiridis Lab and interviewed the team.

Launch of the NIHR Healthtech Research Centre in Paediatrics and Child Health

The NIHR have awarded £42 million to a total of 14 new NIHR HealthTech Research Centres (NIHR HRC) across England that will strive to improve healthcare by developing medical devices, diagnostics and digital technologies.

The NIHR HRC scheme has replaced the NIHR MedTech and In Vitro Diagnostic Co-operatives (MICs) and officially launched in April 2024. The NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health (formerly NIHR CYP MedTech) is the only HRC dedicated to developing medical technologies for children, young people, and families. 

The NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health will continue to work with academics, industry experts, and young people and families to transform healthcare with innovative technology.

Insigneo member Professor Paul Dimitri, Professor of Child Health, Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology and Director of Innovation and Child Health Technology at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, is the Director of the NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health and the TITCH network and we have been working in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, the NIHR Children and Young People MedTech Co-operative (now NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health) to offer a PhD programme in paediatric digital health.

BORS 2024: abstract submission is open!

We are hosting the 2024 British Orthopaedic Research Society (BORS) Annual Meeting at the University of Sheffield's The Edge venue on 9 - 10 September 2024.

Abstract submission is now open - closing date 28 June 2024

EPSRC IAA Stage 3 grant on "Advancing Acoustic AI Technology for Low-cost Tuberculosis Screening"

Congratulations to Dr Ning Ma, Insigneo Research Theme Director for Healthcare data/AI and Lecturer in Medical Computing at the University of Sheffield's Department of Computer Science who has been awarded a one year EPSRC IAA Stage 3 grant with his Co-I Professor Guy Brown, Interim Director of the Centre for Machine Intelligence at the University of Sheffield.

Advancing Acoustic AI Technology for Low-cost Tuberculosis Screening

TB is preventable and curable, but an estimated 10 million individuals fall ill with TB each year, with approximately 1.5 million deaths globally (WHO, 2021a). People with HIV have an increased risk of TB as HIV weakens the immune system. Early diagnosis and treatment are key to preventing most TB-related deaths, yet only 59% of estimated TB cases were reported in 2020. Systematic TB screening stands out as a crucial strategy for significantly enhancing early detection and treatment. The team will work with the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) to advance acoustic AI technology through cough sound analysis and address the challenges raised by HIV in order to untangle factors related to multi-morbidity. Our novel solution has potential for providing a low-cost TB screening and reaching vulnerable groups in the low-income socio-economic group throughout Africa. The ultimate goal is to become a WHO approved tool for TB screen.

Professor Ilaria Bellantuono receives Inaugural Academy Excellence Award from Dunhill Medical Trust

Congratulations to Insigneo member Professor Ilaria Bellantuono, Co-Director of the Healthy Lifespan Institute, who has been acknowledged for her dedication to enhancing research culture.

• Professor Ilaria Bellantuono received a Senior Leader award for outstanding research in an ageing-related field
• The award acknowledges individuals dedicated to enhancing research culture at all stages of their career and who strive to translate their work into practice

Engineering Researcher Society Development Opportunity funding for Rajdeep Ghosh

Congratulations to Insigneo Member, Rajdeep Ghosh from the University of Sheffield's  Department of Mechanical Engineering who has received Development Opportunity (DO) funding from the University's Engineering Researcher Society. The society funds early career researchers for professional development ranging from funds for research to travel awards. 

Royal Microscopical Society (RMS)  AFM & SPM Conference poster prize for Libby Holmes

Congratulations to Insigneo member Libby Holmes, Phd Student from the University of Sheffield's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, who was awarded third prize for her scientific poster at the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS)  AFM & SPM conference.

We would like to introduce some of our new members who have joined the Insigneo Institute recently.

Find out more about Insigneo membership and our members here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/insigneo/membership 

I also co-lead the Advanced Biomaterials Seminars (ABS), ABS is aimed to be a friendly environment where students and academics can practise speaking, listening and presenting skills.

Prior to this, I completed a MEng in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. 

My research project is focused on Bacterial Cellulose, which we produce in Sheffield, through bacterial fermentation. I use this material to create wound healing patches, via different functionalisation and production techniques, with the aim to help patients suffering from diabetic foot ulcers. 

My research concerns foundations for efficient information retrieval, data management and knowledge discovery from different types of data such as spatial data, spatio-textual data, and spatio-temporal data. In particular, I worked on the problems of query processing on spatio-textual data, pattern mining, and in the area of indoor location-based services (LBS).

I am also interested in applying machine learning models in databases to improve the quality and query efficiency of spatial data.

Full profile

She was previously a post-doctoral researcher at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science and the Institute of Cancer research, and completed a Wellcome Trust D. Phil in Structural Biology in the Biochemistry department at Oxford University.

Her research aims to unravel how protein factors that are responsible for chromosome organization function; exploring the impact of mutations and drugs on these critical processes. Growing cells have to segregate meters of DNA, ensuring one full and correct copy of the genome is present in each daughter cell. A number of factors, including condensin, cohesin and topoisomerases, organise DNA into chromosomes to help facilitate faithful division. Rapidly dividing cells, such as those found in development and cancer, heavily rely on these factors. Mutations within these factors can lead to human diseases such as developmental disorders and cancer, while also presenting promising targets for cancer therapies.

Understanding the molecular mechanism these factors employ is paramount to elucidating their disease implications and developing improved drug interventions. Erin's research employs a range of methods including cutting-edge single-molecule imaging techniques to directly visualize the dynamic behavior of these proteins in isolation, their DNA organization mechanisms, and how they respond to pharmaceutical interventions. This approach not only enhances our fundamental understanding but also offers insights crucial for developing more effective therapeutic strategies targeting these proteins in disease contexts.

Lab website: https://cuttslab.uk

Prior to this, I worked at a medical communications company in Manchester and completed a MEng in Bioengineering at the University of Sheffield.

My research project is focused on regenerating the myocardium following a heart attack by developing a cardiac patch composed of melt-electrowritten polyhydroxyalkanoate blends. I am interested in soft tissue research and the cardiovascular system, and I also enjoy learning about computational modelling in medicine.

I come from a very different background to most, as my interest in natural language processing stems from being a practising Veterinarian for ten years! Having seen first-hand how technology can improve welfare on a large scale, I undertook a Master's in Artificial Intelligence, which I enjoyed so much it led me to the fifth cohort of the Speech and Language Technologies CDT in Sheffield.

I am from Lancashire, in the United Kingdom, and I have a grumpy cat called Oscar! I enjoy board games, science fiction and horror films in my spare time.

She gained professional experience as a subject matter expert in business operations; she adeptly managed data analysis, report generation, and dashboard creation before transitioning to academia in 2022 as a Research Assistant in the Pervasive Computing Group. Here, she significantly contributed to research projects focused on data analysis and user-centred data visualisation.

Currently, she has undertaken the role of a data manager and oversees critical aspects of health and research data management and governance while collaborating with various organisations and research hubs, such as the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub. She is also a member of the Insigneo Institute, which further exemplifies her dedication to advancing the field of Digital health research. 

Sheeba's research interests include: Data Visualisation, Health Data Management and Governance, User centred research and Information and Knowledge Management.

His research focuses on the development of systems to extract knowledge from text and assist users in accessing this information.  He is particularly interested in applying these technologies to problems in the health domain. An example is recent work on evidence synthesis (systematic reviewing) where he has developed techniques to identify relevant studies efficiently, thereby reducing the effort required to carry out reviews.

He has published on a range of topics within Natural Language Processing and Information Retrieval including Word Sense Disambiguation, Information Extraction, identification of text reuse, Literature Based Discovery, Technology-Assisted Review and scholarly document processing. He has published over 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences.

He is a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College (2006-present), served as area chair for multiple conferences (EACL 2023, EACL 2021, ACL 2019, CoNLL 2019 and EACL 2017), is a standing reviewer for TACL and has been an editorial board member of Computational Linguistics. He has been PI for projects funded by the EPSRC, EU, NIHR, DSTL and Google.

Full profile

Do you have news to share with us?

If you would like us to include information and/or events to this newsletter please email: info@insigneo.org (the newsletter will be issued during the 2nd week of the month, excluding January and August). 

Insigneo members - please let us know when your students are graduating so that we can celebrate their success!

Please ensure that you submit items for inclusion with a minimum of one week's notice.

Guest Lectures, Conferences & Seminars

We will share a link to our Online Training Opportunities document here each month.

Insigneo events

14 June
Insigneo Showcase 2024

1 July
Joint Insigneo Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Cell Engineering theme Mechanobiology Summer event - Save the date!
Speaker: Guillaume Charras, UCL
Further details to follow

A selection of Insigneo seminar recordings are available to view on our YouTube channel.

Other events

26 April
ACSE Research Seminar: Non-invasive neurostimulatory and neuromodulatory approaches to improve sensorimotor function in neurological population
Dr Amit N Pujari, University of Hertfordshire 
15:00 to 16:00, LT01, Pam Liversidge Building

29 April
Sano Seminar: From MRI pipelines to lesioned functional and structural brain networks

6 May
Sano Seminar: Brain Networks at the Microscale: Visualization and Modeling

9 May
Science Museum: "Can We Trust Computers?"

10 May
NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Showcase

23 May
HELSI symposia: Social Science & Health Inequalities

3 - 7 June
The Human Digital Twin Summer School Barcelona

10 June
HELSI symposia: Computer Science & Statistics - save the date!

1 July
NIHR ARC Yorkshire & Humber Lunch & Learn: Practicalities of research with NHS data

10 June
HELSI symposia: Bioscience - save the date!

10 -12 July
BRS Annual Meeting 2024, Sheffield

16 July
NIHR ARC Yorkshire & Humber Lunch & Learn: Using routine data for decision making

4 - 9 September
VPH2024 

9 - 10 September
BORS Conference 2024, Sheffield - abstract submission open!

9 - 13 September
OpenFest2024 - submit proposals by 26 May 2024.

11 - 13 September
8th International Symposium on Academic Makerspaces (ISAM) 2024, Sheffield

For a full list of upcoming events visit: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/insigneo/overview/events

Vacancies

Research Assistant in AI for Intelligent Sports Training Systems (closing date: 28/04/24)

Research Associate in Soft Robotic Implantable Technologies for Short Bowel Syndrome (closing date: 30/04/24)

PhD Opportunity: Biomechanics of internal fixation methods for ankle fusion (closing date: 18/06/24)

Publications

Evaluation of models of sequestration flow in coronary arteries—Physiology versus anatomy? (Computers in Biology and Medicine) D. J. Taylor, H. Saxton, I. Halliday, T. Newman, J. Feher, R. Gosling, A. J. Narracott, D. van Kemenade, M. van’t Veer , P. A. L. Tonino, M. Rochette, D. R. Hose, J. P. Gunn, P. D. Morris

Uncovering the relationship between macrophages and polypropylene surgical mesh (Biomaterials Advances) N. T. H. Farr, V. L. Workman, S. Saad, S. Roman, V. Hearnden, C. R. Chapple, C. Murdoch, C. Rodenburg, S. MacNeil

Revealing The Morphology of Ink and Aerosol Jet Printed Palladium-Silver Alloys Fabricated from Metal Organic Decomposition Inks (Advanced Science) N. T. H. Farr, M. Davies, J. Nohl, K. J. Abrams, J. Schäfer, Y. Lai, T. Gerling, N. Stehling, D. Mehta, J. Zhang, L. Mihaylova, J. R. Willmott, K. Black, C. Rodenburg

Utilizing 3D Models to Unravel the Dynamics of Myeloma Plasma Cells’ Escape from the Bone Marrow Microenvironment (Cancers)  S. W. Verbruggen, C. L. Freeman, F. E. Freeman

On Gait Consistency Quantification Through ARX Residual Modeling and Kernel Two-Sample Testing (IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering) A. Stihi, T. J. Rogers, C. Mazzà, E. J. Cross

Learning the sound inventory of a complex vocal skill via an intrinsic reward (Science Advances) H. Toutounji, A. T. Zai, O. Tchernichovski, R. H. Hahnloser,  D. Lipkind