RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
2019-2020
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
World-leading research at UCLan                                                     Our research is divided into six themes:
    When you come to study at the University of Central Lancashire
    you’ll have the privilege of working alongside, and being
    taught by, academic staff who are leading experts in their fields.
    Many of our academic staff are active researchers whose work
                                                                                         Arts, Culture
                                                                                         and Heritage                     4
    is leading to new discoveries and making a positive impact on
                                                                                         Citizenship, Society
                                                                                                                          6
    people’s lives all over the world.
    UCLan research staff work collaboratively with major international                   and Justice
    organisations, from the United Nations and the World Health Organisation
    to the European Space Agency and NASA. As well as contributing to policy

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    and practice, they are often sought out by the world’s media for their expertise.    Lifelong Health
    This brochure provides a snapshot of some of the most exciting, innovative and       and Wellbeing
    life-changing research projects our academics have been engaged in recently.
    You’ll see that our University’s longstanding mission to transform lives now
                                                                                         People, Place
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    extends to every corner of the globe - from educating deaf students in India to
    solving crime and improving maternity care worldwide.
                                                                                         and Environment
    At UCLan we offer a wide range of postgraduate research-based degrees which
    are ideal if you are aspiring to pursue an academic career, contribute to the

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    advancement of human knowledge and make a positive difference to the world.          Sustainability, Business
    Find out more about our life-changing research at                                    and Enterprise
    uclan.ac.uk/research

    Cover image: Red Bird flight simulator, used by academics and students on our
    Aerospace Engineering courses.
                                                                                         Transformative Sciences
                                                                                         and Technology                14
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
UCLan professor in deep space discovery
UCLan was recently involved in a remarkable worldwide collaboration
which resulted in scientists capturing the first ever image of a black
hole, located in the distant reaches of space.
The supermassive black hole captured in the image resides 55 million light years from
Earth in the distant galaxy Messier 87 and has a mass 6.5 billion times that of our Sun.
Eight telescopes in remote locations around the world were synchronised to create one
Earth-sized virtual telescope, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), enabling unprecedented
sensitivity and resolution. One of these, the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, located near
the summit of the dormant Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, is partially financed by UCLan.
Derek Ward-Thompson, Professor of Astrophysics and Head of the School of Physical
Sciences and Computing, was involved in analysing data from the telescope to help
confirm the ground-breaking astronomical breakthrough, which made headlines around
the world.
In September 2019, Derek and the other scientists involved in the international EHT
collaboration were awarded the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics,
regarded as the ‘Oscars of Science.’
                                                                                                    Image credit: EHT Collaboration

         800+                               Annual total
                                         research income of                           800+               100+
      research or                                                                                      readers and
 knowledge transfer-                        £6.9                                  research
                                                                              students currently
                                                                                                   professors currently
  active members of
    staff at UCLan                         million                                enrolled
                                                                                                     working at the
                                                                                                        University

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
ARTS, CULTURE AND
    HERITAGE
    Celebrating black art and
    highlighting discrimination
    The Turner Prize winning artist Lubaina Himid CBE is
    Professor of Contemporary Art at UCLan. Acclaimed as a
    pioneer of the British black art movement of the 1980s,
    her works and research celebrate the contribution made
    to society by the black diaspora. Lubaina describes herself
    as “a political strategist who uses a visual language to
    encourage conversation, argument and change.” Her
    works give voice to the oppressed and highlight the trade
    in enslaved people.
    Lubaina co-leads the Making Histories Visible project at UCLan, working
    with major museums and cultural organisations to connect artists
    and communities with their local and international heritage through
    exhibitions, archive interventions and public art projects.
    Her Turner Prize win in 2017 followed her career-spanning exhibitions
    which brought together paintings, sculpture and ceramics. Her works
    have been exhibited at leading institutions including Tate Britain and
    Modern Art Oxford. She regularly works with museums and galleries to
    enhance the visibility and recognition of black artists.
                                                                              Professor Lubaina Himid CBE

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
Capturing rare sounds                             Documenting life in Britain through photography
of the world                                      Craig Atkinson, Lecturer in Fine Art, has masterminded the widespread
Global Sound Movement is an award-                publication of thousands of photographs depicting everyday life in post-
winning arts project which sees                   war Britain. Before this, no accessible collection of British documentary
researchers travelling to remote parts            photography existed, and millions of images taken by photographers,
of the world to capture the sounds                celebrated and amateur, lingered in private collections, invisible to the public.
of rare musical instruments which are             He has since curated and made available over 500 bodies of work by more than 300
unique to a remote indigenous tribe,              international photographers through the release of almost 500 titles via his publishing house,
community or geographic location.                 Café Royal Books. Each one is a carefully curated selection of themed images.
The recordings are then digitised and added       Crucially, these books are inexpensive for collectors to acquire. As a result, more than
to online sample libraries. These are made        100,000 of Craig’s books are now in circulation. Many have been purchased by major
available for sale to musicians, producers and    international galleries and libraries including Tate, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
artists worldwide, with proceeds generated        USA, and Victoria & Albert London. His research has been used in leading universities,
to the communities involved. Researchers          including Oxford and Harvard. In collecting, archiving and curating these images, Café Royal
have recently travelled to Uganda, Bali, China,   Books has prevented these important time capsules documenting everyday
Croatia, Morocco, Cyprus, Turkey and other        British life from being lost forever.
locations all over the globe. ‘Environmental
sounds’ from all of these locations have
also been recorded, preserving not just their
instruments but also sounds from their
acoustic environment.
This unique project, led by Phil Holmes,
Senior Lecturer in Music Production, and
Paresh Parmar, Senior Lecturer in Brand
Management, won the Excellence and
Innovation in the Arts prize at the Times
Higher Education Awards in 2016.

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
CITIZENSHIP, SOCIETY
    AND JUSTICE
    Fighting crime with digital
    technology
    Police forces worldwide are using advanced
    digital technology co-developed at UCLan to
    help in the fight against serious crime.
    The Police work with witnesses and victims of crime
    to construct computer-generated facial composites of
    offenders. These images can be crucial in helping to
    identify criminals and bring them to justice.
    Charlie Frowd, Professor of Forensic Psychology, has co-
    designed the pioneering EvoFIT software, a facial composite
    system which substantially outperforms previous ‘photofit’
    methods used to construct the face. His collaborative work
    has led to the successful identification of many serious
    criminals, including murder suspects and rapists.
    EvoFIT has already been used by 26 police forces in the UK
    and overseas (from Israel to the USA) and has played a role
    in over 5,000 investigations worldwide.

                                                                  Professor Charlie Frowd

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
Using DNA to identify human remains following international conflict
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on the expertise of Dr Will Goodwin, Reader in the School
of Forensic and Applied Sciences, to improve the usage of forensic analysis to identify the remains of people killed in
conflicts and disasters.
Will helped to draft their current guidelines on the use of DNA analysis and these have since been applied all over the world, from Argentina to
Egypt, Indonesia and Ukraine. In 2017 he was an expert adviser on an ICRC initiative which led to the identification of around 100 Argentine
soldiers who were killed in the Falklands War in 1982 and buried in the island’s Darwin Cemetery.
Will’s expertise in forensics has been sought out by other international agencies, including the United Nations, aiding their work in other
former war zones. Reuniting families with the bodies of their loved ones can help ensure that the deceased receive a proper burial, as well as
bringing a sense of closure to the bereaved.

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
LIFELONG HEALTH
    AND WELLBEING
    Stroke experts saving lives
    When someone is experiencing the symptoms of a stroke, it’s vital
    that they get immediate access to specialist treatment to save their
    life and prevent long-term disability.
    The Stroke Research Team at UCLan is delivering improvements in diagnosis and
    treatment, working with national and international partners including the NHS,
    Public Health England and the George Institute for Global Health in India.
    The team is the only nurse-led stroke research unit in the UK and is led by Professor
    Caroline Watkins, who was made a dame for her services to stroke and nursing
    care in 2017.
    Research carried out by members of the Stroke Research Team has helped to
    ensure that people with suspected stroke get the quickest ambulance response
    times possible, and that when they arrive at emergency departments they get
    rapid access to specialist stroke treatment and care.
    Key projects have included informing the content of the national stroke awareness
    FAST campaign, which helps people to identify the most common signs of
    a stroke (Face, Arm, Speech problems) and emphasises the need to call 999
    immediately.
    Through the Emergency Stroke Calls: Obtaining Rapid Telephone Triage (ESCORTT)
    project, 999 call handlers undertook training which resulted in more patients with
    stroke being identified and rapidly transported to hospital. Members of the team
    also led the international HeadPost trial in the UK which explored whether the
    head position of stroke patients made a difference to their chances of survival.

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
Improving mental health care
for people with cystic fibrosis
Research by Janice Abbott, Professor of Health
Psychology, has been instrumental in improving
the care of people with cystic fibrosis, a genetic,
life-limiting condition with an immense
treatment burden.
                                                               Improving global experiences
                                                               of childbirth
Janice co-led the UK arm of a large international study
spanning nine European countries and the USA. The              Research led by Soo Downe, Professor of Midwifery, is
UK-based research, involving over 2,700 participants           improving standards of maternity care worldwide, with
from 39 UK Cystic Fibrosis Centres, revealed that a            a view to ensuring that all pregnant women, babies and
significant proportion of people living with cystic fibrosis   families have a positive experience of childbirth.
experience depression and anxiety. It highlighted the need
to measure and treat mental health issues in patients,         In 2013 the team published a world-leading study revealing that
families and care givers, sparking an aspiration within the    some women in low income settings globally don’t use antenatal
cystic fibrosis community to improve mental health.            care because it doesn’t fit with their cultural norms, or because they
                                                               experience lack of respect and compassion from maternity care staff,
The research recommended that screening and treatment          which could possibly increase mortality and morbidity. Findings have
for depression and anxiety should become a routine             directly shaped recent World Health Organisation antenatal and
aspect of cystic fibrosis care (in the same way that           intrapartum guidelines for positive, respectful maternity care, and
measuring lung function and weight already are). This has      influenced global initiatives around appropriate use of caesarean
been widely implemented.                                       section, and a key global Lancet Series on stillbirth. The team’s
Janice is a core member of an international committee          studies have also been used for professional educational modules
which has published guidelines for practitioners designed      designed to improve practice around stillbirth and how parents can
to improve the mental health of people with cystic             best be helped through this traumatic experience, and their research
fibrosis. Her research has sparked changes in international    has provided input to government policy for personalisation of
policy and clinical practice.                                  maternity care as well as improved safety, through Soo’s membership
                                                               of the NHS England Better Births Stakeholder Group.

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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS - UCLan
PEOPLE, PLACE AND
     ENVIRONMENT
     Reconnecting Native Americans
     with their heritage
     Dr David Robinson, Reader in Archaeology, has been
     assisting Native American communities to reconnect
     with their heritage.
     Processes of colonialism, nation building and urbanisation have
     disconnected many Native Americans from the deep prehistory,
     especially for indigenous Californians. David has carried out research
     at two culturally important sites on the spectacular lands of the
     Wind Wolves Preserve: Pleito (one of the most elaborately painted
     rock-art sites in the world) and Cache Cave, which features elaborately
     hand-woven baskets and other objects created by their ancestors.
     Despite their cultural importance, these remote locations are difficult
     to access for tribal members and the objects inside them are fragile.
     David’s research has led to the development of innovative virtual
     reality technology. This has enabled tribal members to explore these
     culturally important sites and fragile basketry and other objects
     through an immersive virtual experience. Additionally, training
     events on film making (via UCLan led Storylab) and rock-art
     stewardship has helped to empower members of the Native
     community to experience these places and develop new skills to
     reconnect with their ancestry in creative ways.
                                                                                                      Dr David Robinson
                                                                               Image credit: Devlin Gandy and Josh Roth

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Transforming the prospects of
deaf students worldwide
A project led by UCLan’s International Institute for Sign
Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS) is transforming
the lives and future prospects of deaf young people
aged 16-25 in India, Ghana and Uganda.
Many of the youngsters had been marginalised since their school
days, with institutions lacking the resources needed to teach
children using sign language. By giving them the opportunity to
learn through sign language as the language of communication
in the classroom, they have been able to radically develop
their reading, writing and other literacy skills. The project, led
by Ulrike Zeshan OBE, Professor of Sign Language Linguistics,
has changed people’s lives, improving their educational
attainment, independence and self-confidence.
Another facet of this work involves training and employing deaf
research assistants and peer tutors for teaching and research
roles. Between 2009 and 2015, 70 deaf individuals from 10
developing countries studied UCLan’s groundbreaking BA in
Applied Sign Languages Studies in New Delhi, taught using
Indian Sign Language. This has resulted in a substantial number
of skilled deaf graduates who have gone on to teach language
and literacy skills to deaf students in their home countries.
Deaf graduates are now working to improve the lives of deaf
people around the world, including in Mexico, China, Burundi,
and Nepal.
                                                                     Professor Ulrike Zeshan OBE

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SUSTAINABILITY, BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE
     Game-changing recycling solution wins industry award
     An award-winning partnership between UCLan and                                 result, Recycling Lives is on the verge of implementing a ‘closed loop
     Preston-based enterprise Recycling Lives has been                              recycling solution’, where 100% of waste gets processed into useful
     generating literally tonnes of benefits for the environment,                   materials with no detrimental impact on the environment. It has enabled
                                                                                    the company to meet government and EU targets regarding the recycling
     local communities and the regional economy.
                                                                                    of end-of-life vehicles. Recycling Lives has gone on to invest more than
     Recycling Lives are experts in total waste management – processing and         £7 million in two new plants in order to commercialise the process,
     recycling industrial waste, including vehicles. They divert the profits from   generating jobs in the region. The University and Recycling Lives have also
     their work into life-changing community projects.                              invested £750,000 in a joint research and demonstrator plant which will
                                                                                    enable the exploitation of thermal recycling processes, further building
     Professor Karl Williams, Director for the Centre of Waste Management
                                                                                    bridges between academia and industry.
     at UCLan, worked in partnership with Recycling Lives to develop an
     innovative new thermal process which converts the residue left over from       The project won the Most Innovative Contribution to Business-University
     the shredding process into oil and gas which can be used to generate           Collaboration Award at the Times Higher Education Awards in
     energy. This residue would otherwise have ended up as landfill. As a           November 2018.

                                                                                                Professor Karl Williams and Dr Ala Khodier of Recycling Lives

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Transforming Preston’s
                                                              economy
                                                              Research led by Dr Julian Manley, Social
                                                              Innovation Manager, has been instrumental in
                                                              transforming the economic fortunes of Preston.
                                                              Working alongside Preston City Council (PCC) and
                                                              the Mondragón Co-operative Corporation in Spain,
                                                              his research on communities and co-operative values
                                                              has directly inspired the city-wide adoption of the
                                                              ‘Preston Model’ as a catalyst for generating wealth
                                                              and creating jobs.
                                                              The Model involves local ‘anchor’ institutions (such as
                                                              the University and the hospital trust) adapting their
                                                              procurement policies in order to retain wealth within
                                                              the city, as well as launching new enterprises which
                                                              adhere to co-operative principles and operate ethically.
                                                              Since adopting the Preston Model, the city has been
                                                              named as the most rapidly improving urban area in the
                                                              UK.* Its success has inspired political action nationally
                                                              and internationally. At least 40 councils across the UK
                                                              are developing socio-economic policies which emulate
                                                              the Preston Model and it has attracted international
                                                              media attention.
                                                              *In research by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the think tank Demos, 2018.

Outside the Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library in Preston

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TRANSFORMATIVE
     SCIENCES AND
     TECHNOLOGY
     World-leading fire research
     ignites positive change
     The expertise of Richard Hull, Professor of Chemistry
     and Fire Science, and Anna Stec, Professor of Fire
     Chemistry and Toxicity, has been called on by
     architects, constructors and politicians in the
     aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which
     caused the deaths of 72 people in June 2017.
     The majority of fatalities in a fire are caused by people inhaling
     toxic fumes emitted by combustible materials. Surprisingly, the
     toxicity of this smoke is not regulated in the UK, meaning that
     building materials, such as insulation and cables, and furniture are
     often constructed out of materials which produce deadly smoke
     when they burn.
     Richard has worked with the European Commission (EC) and
     the UK’s Ministry of Housing to develop regulations in this area,
     and they are urging manufacturers to declare the smoke toxicity of
     their products. In 2016 Richard was the only academic appointed
     to the steering committee overseeing the EC Smoke Toxicity study.

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After the Grenfell fire, which sent
shockwaves around the world, Richard
appeared on national TV and in the press
to provide expert insight into the causes
and rapid spread of the fire. In particular,
combustible cladding materials used on
the building were shown to be highly
toxic when burning.
Anna and Richard’s research on the fire
behaviour of polythene-filled panels and
insulation foams helped to bring about a
major review of building fire safety and
a government ban on the use of such
materials on tall residential buildings. Anna
was appointed as an Expert Witness to the
Grenfell Tower Inquiry in June 2018.
Anna has identified high levels of
potentially cancer-causing residues that
firefighters are regularly exposed to, in
order to explain their higher incidence
of many cancers. She also discovered
high levels of contamination of the area
surrounding Grenfell Tower which threaten
the long-term health of local residents.

                                                Professor Anna Stec

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Improving horse safety in elite sporting competitions
     Dr Sarah Hobbs, Reader in Equine and Human Biomechanics, worked on the world’s largest study into the effect of
     arena surfaces on the health of horses in sporting competitions.
     She was the lead author of The Equine Surfaces White Paper, published by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), which reviewed the
     effects of surfaces on horses’ welfare, performance and orthopaedic health. It outlined a framework for testing equestrian arena surfaces. Its
     recommendations were piloted at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the World Equestrian Games in 2018.
     Research at UCLan has built on the White Paper’s recommendations, leading to the development of a certification process which is expected
     to be a mandatory requirement for elite events from 2021. This will help to deliver enhanced horse and rider welfare, improve performance,
     reduce injury and extend their careers.

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Improving emergency
water rescues
Potentially life-saving research led by Dr Loel
Collins, Senior Lecturer in the Institute of
Coaching and Performance, has improved the
safety and effectiveness of equipment used in
water-based emergency rescue operations.
Working alongside Rescue 3 Europe (the largest trainer of
technical rescue for water, air and land emergencies) and
Palm Equipment International, the research has improved
the performance of key buoyancy and rescue equipment,
enabling rescuers to enter the water to perform rescues
with greater security.
Across a number of linked ongoing studies, the research
has enhanced the training of rescuers, advanced the
design and manufacture of rescuer equipment, and
developed a greater understanding of the techniques in
rescue operations.
Loel’s recommendations have been adopted by British
Canoeing and Rescue 3’s 2,000+ instructors in Europe
who have trained a further 21,000 rescuers in the
emergency services.

                                                            Image credit: Karl Midlane, Plas y Brenin National Outdoor Centre

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Life as a research student
     is out of this world
     Simon Ebo had always wanted to reach
     for the stars and pursue a dream career in
     Astrophysics. His prospects rocketed after
     he completed a Foundation Year at UCLan
     and now he is undertaking a PhD exploring
     planets beyond our solar system and looking
     ahead to a thriving career in research...
     He explains: “I was accepted onto the first ever intake
     of Foundation Year students at UCLan. After achieving a
     first-class grade, I progressed to the Astrophysics degree.
     I was enrolled on the MPhys course, achieving a 2:1,
     and graduated in summer 2018 before starting my PhD
     the following October.
     During my degree I completed two summer internships
     studying Asteroseismology with Professor Don Kurtz
     in the School of Physical Sciences and Computing. The
     first of these led to a publication in a notable scientific
     journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
     Society (MNRAS), and I was sent to the University of
     North Carolina Asheville (UNCA) in the USA to present
     our work at an international conference of Physics and
     Astronomy students.”

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After graduation, Simon spent a number of months doing research during a             Our research degrees
summer internship at Leiden University in The Netherlands and the European
Space Agency (ESA)’s Research and Technology Centre.                                 You can study the following postgraduate
                                                                                     research degrees at UCLan:
He is now undertaking a PhD in Astrophysics at UCLan’s Jeremiah Horrocks
Institute, where the focus of his research is exoplanets – planets which are         • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
orbiting stars other than the Sun. He explains:
                                                                                     • Doctor of Medicine (MD [Res])
“I am currently writing a program that will study every star we observe with our
own telescope, the Moses Holden Telescope (MHT) at Alston Observatory, before        • Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
applying it to observations made by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
(TESS), the latest generation exoplanet space mission. I will hopefully detect, or   • Master of Surgery (MCh)
confirm, new exoplanets and describe their parameters and characteristics.“
                                                                                     • MA (by Research)

                                                                                     • MSc (by Research)
Simon has been impressed by the standard of
                                                                                     • LLM (by Research)
UCLan’s facilities. He says: “It even has its own
observatory site in a dark sky area, with the largest                                • PhD (by Published Work) is
                                                                                       available to graduates and staff
working teaching telescope in the UK.”                                                 of the University

                                                                                     • Professional Doctorates are
Simon has ambitions to continue his career in academia after completing his PhD.       available in a variety of fields
He has the following advice for anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps and
reach for the stars: “If you are passionate about something you will succeed.”       Find out more at uclan.ac.uk/research/study

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uclan.ac.uk/research

                       9/19 08228
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