Quadram Institute welcomes UKRI Chief Finance Officer

5th May 2019

Ian Kenyon, Jackie Hinton, Paul Burrows, Ian Charles

The Quadram Institute was delighted to welcome Ian Kenyon, Chief Finance Officer for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to tour its new facility on Norwich Research Park.

Quadram Institute Director Professor Ian Charles welcomed Mr Kenyon, who was joined by Dr Jackie Hinton, UKRI Strategy Business Partner and Dr Paul Burrows, Executive Director, Policy, Strategy & Evidence at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

The group was shown round the Quadram Institute Clinical Research Facility (CRF) by Dr Melanie Pascale and they heard how members of the public are volunteering to take part in cutting edge research. Projects based in the CRF are addressing many chronic conditions such as diabetes and dementia as well as finding out how the bacteria that live in our guts, our microbiota, keep us healthy and what happens if the balance of bacteria is disrupted.

In the Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) laboratories, which are supported through strategic funding from BBSRC, Mr Kenyon heard more about QIB’s food research from Dr Fred Warren who is considering how we can develop different starch that will contribute to a healthier diet. He also heard from Dr Justin O’Grady who demonstrated how he is developing new diagnostic tools using the latest sequencing technology, all contained within a device smaller than a match box. Dr Aimee Parker provided background about the research that she and others at QIB undertake to establish how the microbiota could be contributing to dementia. The tour concluded with Dr Evelien Adriaenssens introducing the idea of the human virome, the community of viruses that may infect both human cells and other microbes such as bacteria.

“It’s always a pleasure to show our funders the new Quadram Institute and have the opportunity to highlight some of the amazing findings and contributions their funding can do for UK science” said Professor Charles.

“The Quadram Institute and its partners on the Norwich Research Park are world leaders in food, plant and gut health research and we welcome all opportunities to work with the UK government in ensuring we are at the cutting edge of international science.”

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