Katherine Dunn to build European network to solve challenges in medicine

Dr Katherine Dunn of the Institute for Bioengineering, has been awarded funding to establish a European consortium that will focus on the development of new devices and systems to improve the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of disease, using engineered biological molecules and nanotechnology.

The funding was awarded by the Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering (SRPe) in October 2018, and will pay for a brainstorming and networking event in Edinburgh in early 2019 and follow-up activities.

Catalysing collaboration

At the planned event, researchers drawn from academia and industry across Europe will share best practice for funding applications, work together to come up with ground-breaking ideas for major research proposals, and formulate an action plan to realise these ideas.

The SRPe award will also pay for Katherine to conduct follow-up visits with collaborators to discuss joint projects.

Real-world engineering solutions

The focus of Katherine’s research group is re-engineering biological molecules or systems and using them in new technologies that solve real-world problems in areas such as medicine and energy.

The SRPe- funded activities fall within her ‘Nucleic Acids in MEdicine’ programme (‘NAME’) and will catalyse development of new European partnerships that have the potential to lead to innovative engineering-based solutions for pressing challenges in the medical arena.

Related links