News

Professor David Curtis contributes to guidelines on the use of genetic testing in psychiatry

Professor David Curtis of the UCL Genetics Institute is one of the contributors to a statement on Genetic Testing and Psychiatric Disorders which has been issued by the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. The statement is intended to give guidance to psychiatrists, patients and their families as well as other healthcare professionals. It reflects the latest advances in research and their implications for the clinical care of patients. Subjects covered include tests used to clarify diagnosis and risk as well as tests used to guide treatment. The statement also addresses broader issues such as ethical implications of testing, direct to consumer (DTC) testing and incidental findings.

Published: Mar 14, 2019 9:56:00 AM

Alien species are primary cause of recent global extinctions

Alien species are the main driver of recent extinctions in both animals and plants, according to a new study by UCL researchers.
The study, published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, used data from the 2017 IUCN Red List on the total numbers of species that are considered to have gone extinct globally since 1500.

Published: Mar 11, 2019 11:08:47 AM

Dr Christophe Dessimoz laureate of the ISCB Overton Prize 2019

Each year with the Overton Prize, the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) recognises the outstanding achievements of an early to mid-career scientist who has made a significant contribution to the field of computational biology.
We are pleased to report that the 2019 laureate is Christophe Dessimoz, Associate Professor in Bioinformatics in GEE and Computer Science.

Published: Feb 26, 2019 9:12:45 AM

Dr Ivan Kadurin awarded a Project Grant from the British Heart Foundation

Dr Ivan Kadurin has been awarded a £160K grant as a PI from the British Heart Foundation. Ivan will lead a project investigating how auxiliary proteins regulate Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels (VGCCs) in sensing and responding to electrical signals in arterial smooth muscle cells. Elucidating these mechanisms can provide rationale for targeting dysfunctions of the cardiovascular system. Ivan’s project builds on his postdoctoral work on VGCCs in the group of Professor Annette Dolphin (NPP) and on his existing collaborations with Professor Riccardo Olcese (UCLA) and Professor Andrew Tinker (QMUL).

Published: Feb 26, 2019 9:03:15 AM

Dr John Labbadia secures an Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Award

Congratulations to the IHA’s Dr John Labbadia who has just received an Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Award.
The award will fund his work using C. elegans genetics, human tissue culture models and high-throughput approaches to understand the interplay between mitochondria, protein quality control and susceptibility to age-associated protein conformational diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's.

Published: Feb 22, 2019 1:18:56 PM