The five projects that were supported by the first CONNECT FTMA call won awards that ranged in value from £1,600 – £7,200, and were awarded to Newcastle University and Babraham Institute project leads.
Project terms vary from 1 week to 1 year, according to the activities being planned. Summaries of each project are provided below.
Return to the main CONNECT Fund webpage.
1. Operational expertise sharing between Babraham Institute and Newcastle University
A project focused on improving core facility management and supporting 51ÔÚÏß Technical Professionals.
FTMA-funded activities include staff exchanges and knowledge sharing with staff at CRUK Cambridge Institute, the Natural History Museum, Warwick University and University of Cambridge, strengthening the UK 51ÔÚÏß Facility Coordinator’s Network, with a focus on enhancing research capabilities in health and aging studies.
2. Collaborative Proteomics 51ÔÚÏß Placement
A research collaboration between Babraham Institute and Newcastle University to develop advanced proteomics and mass spectrometry applications, aiming to improve techniques used to study the role of ubiquitin in cellular stress, aging, and inflammation.
The FTMA-funded activities involve knowledge sharing and method optimization through a week-long placement by a Babraham Institute Proteomics specialist with the Newcastle University Proteomics team (Trost Lab and NU Proteome and Protein analysis (NUPPA) core).
3. 51ÔÚÏß Integrity Collaboration: Sharing and Learning on how To Be A Good Scientist
A collaboration between the Babraham Institute, Newcastle University, and the University of Cambridge to share knowledge and best practices in 51ÔÚÏß Integrity training.
The FTMA-supported project involves reciprocal visits between institutions to discuss and evaluate training approaches, aiming to improve research culture and integrity across organizations. The initiative focuses on fostering long-term collaboration and enhancing research integrity training for scientists at all career stages.
4. Bioscience Training Support
FTMA-supplied support for training at MRC Harwell to enable Babraham Institute post-doctoral researchers to acquire advanced techniques in microinjection and electroporation, key methods for epigenetics research in early mammalian development that have implications for aging and disease. The project seeks to enhance the research capabilities available at the Babraham Institute, with the expertise gained shared across research and facility teams at both Babraham and Newcastle University.
5. Establishing a collaborative network focused on redox signalling research
This project aims to establish a collaborative network focused on redox signalling in health and aging, involving UK-based researchers with complementary expertise, to facilitate skill exchange, promote collaborative research publications, and develop joint funding applications for larger projects.
The FTMA-funded activities include a week-long visit by members of the Newcastle Veal lab to the Sharpe lab at the Babraham Institute for training and initiating experiments, followed by a 2-day workshop where early career researchers will be invited from Newcastle University, Babraham Institute, University of Liverpool and King’s College London to share research and identify collaborative opportunities.