The Vice-Chancellor's Awards 2021
for Research Impact and Engagement
Established Academic Award
Winner: Professor Daniela De Angelis, MRC Biostatistics Unit, School of Clinical Medicine
Real-time monitoring of the SARS-COV2 pandemic
Daniela De Angelis directs the Cambridge team of statisticians working on Real time monitoring of the SARS-COV2 pandemic. This has provided the official Public Health England real time estimates and projections of the state of the pandemic in England, including: the R numbers; the risk of death after infection; the daily number of current and future infections and deaths; and the total number of currently infected individuals, by age group and England region. These regular outputs are fed directly to the SAGE sub-group, Scientific Pandemic Influenza sub-group on Modelling and have been key to the government’s management of the pandemic.
Runners up:
1/3
Dr Fiona Mayne, Education, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
DIALLS: Dialogue and Argumentation for cultural Literacy Learning in Schools
DIALLS is a European project (2018-2021) which has focused on teaching children and young people the dialogue skills needed to engage together with tolerance, empathy and inclusion. Led by the University of Cambridge, DIALLS has engaged 10 universities in nine countries, with over 350 teachers and 10000 primary and secondary children taking part. We produced a website in 12 languages with open-access teaching resources; a large multi-lingual corpus of transcribed lessons; and a student-created Manifesto about living together in the 21st century. In these difficult times, learning to communicate ideas and understand each other’s perspective is more important than ever.
From the judges:
“Clear evidence of collaboration and impressive use of the resources produced. The impact on the communities was very clear.”
Runners up:
2/3
Professor Tony Kouzarides, Gurdon Institute, Biological Sciences
Engagement with industry to convert discoveries into therapies
Tony Kouzarides is a Professor of Cancer Biology, a Senior Group Leader at the Gurdon Institute and Director/co-founder of the Milner Therapeutics Institute. He is a pioneer of the field of Epigenetics and the most cited Epigenetics scientist in Cambridge over a twenty two-year period. He has discovered fundamental pathways leading to cancer and has applied this knowledge towards the development of therapies, by founding biotech companies and collaborating with the pharmaceutical industry. Building on his entrepreneurial successes, he co-founded a successful University Institute, which engages academics with pharma and venture companies, to convert discoveries into therapies.
From the judges:
“Substantial impact not only through his own research but also in founding the Milner Institute which is now a key part of the translational research environment at the University.”
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Runners up:
3/3
Dr Alessandro Launaro, Faculty of Classics, School of Arts and Humanities
Past forward – Archaeological research as a driver of local growth
Past Forward is a project which has hugely increased and profoundly transformed our knowledge of the Roman town of Interamna Lirenas (Pignataro Interamna, Italy). Close collaboration with the Italian Archaeological Service and the local Municipality resulted in considerable resources being committed to preserving and promoting the archaeological heritage. The public communication strategy (Open Days, collaborations with local schools, popular articles on local and national periodicals) greatly enhanced the level of engagement among the local population with their Roman heritage, turning archaeology into a focus of civic pride and an effective vehicle for the cultural and economic growth of this community.
From the judges:
“This project has changed how a community feels about its place and turned them into custodians of their own history.”
Early career researcher
Winner: Dr Jan van der Scheer, The Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, School of Clinincal Medicine
Building solutions together: improving management of maternity emergencies during COVID-19
Jan van der Scheer, a researcher at The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, found a way to mobilise the ingenuity and expertise of NHS staff to adapt established processes for COVID scenarios. Developing new online methods for working collaboratively and at scale to build solutions together, Jan used THIS Institute’s Thiscovery platform to bring together over 100 maternity unit staff, human factors specialists, and infection control experts. The resulting video and other resources have been endorsed and shared by royal colleges, NHS bodies and professional societies, helping to improve quality and safety of care and to produce a replicable methodology.
Runners up:
1/3
Dr Kate Noble, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Arts and Humanities
‘It’s Our Museum Too’: Exploring cultural value in collaboration with a local community group
The ‘It’s Our Museum Too’ collaborative research project brought together museum and playgroup practitioners to challenge assumptions about how young children engage with museum collections. The young age of the children involved (2-4 years) responds to current research recognising the importance of high quality pre-school support to improve social mobility (Education Select Committee, 2019). The research focused on a group of culturally-underserved children and supported them to engage meaningfully with art and culture through the University’s collections and research. The project had an impact on professional practice and also informed the development of new methodologies for undertaking action research with community groups in museums.
From the judges:
“A hugely collaborative project changing early years education and professional practice, with aspiration raising and social inclusion at its heart.”
Runners up:
2/3
Professor Ewan St. John Smith, Department of Pharmacology, Biological Sciences
Explaining pain
Almost every individual experiences pain, sensory nerves providing a detect and protect system. However, sometimes, this system goes wrong. Chronic pain is a key symptom in various conditions, from osteoarthritis to Crohn’s disease, and drives clinical decision making. Overall, ~40% of the adult population experience chronic pain during their lifetime. Considering the high prevalence of chronic pain, I have undertaken numerous engagement activities and developed online resources to enhance the understanding of what pain is, how it works, how it is researched and how it is treated.
From the judges:
“This engagement is novel and adventurous, and I was impressed at how hard they had worked to engage charities and the use of patient involvement to shape future research as well.”
Runners up:
3/3
Dr Ebele Mogo, MRC Epidemiology Unit, Technology
Engage Africa Foundation
Engage Africa Foundation is a volunteer-run advocacy platform shedding light on the rising rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on the African continent. Some of our most recent activities include: our COVID-19 Translation Project providing evidence-based health posters translated to 18 African languages; the NCDs and health in all sectors in Africa series spotlighting crucial dialogues on promoting health in our society to a digital community of close to 3000 members. In line with our mission to spark action that puts health and wellbeing at the centre of Africa’s development, we are also running our first annual Engage Africa Foundation Festival to be held digitally in July. The Festival will be led by young people, and feature a wide range of African artists, health innovators, community based organizations, and policy leaders, converging on the theme of healthy development in Africa and intersections with COVID-19.
From the judges:
“I was really impressed with the engagement shown by this project. I know how tough it is to reach these under-represented communities and the project is delivering really critical and crucial pieces of information.”
Collaboration Award
Winner: Professor Howard Griffiths, Department of Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences
TIGR2ESS (Transforming India’s Green Revolution by Research and Empowerment for Sustainable food Supplies): UK-India Collaboration is Driving High-level Policy Engagement and Positive Outcomes for Rural Communities in India
TIGR2ESS is a collaborative research programme led by the University of Cambridge, comprising more than 20 organisations and over 30 early career researchers. We are working to find sustainable ways forward for Indian agriculture through engagement with rural communities, female empowerment, academic exchanges, and policy translation. Our research is identifying practical solutions to tackle issues such as depleting groundwater, reduced crop resilience, inadequate nutrition, and limited market opportunities for smallholder farmers. We have shaped policy to support more than 2 million farmers to access markets in Punjab and saved 58 billion litres of water through more efficient irrigation practices.
Runners up:
1/3
Professor Duncan McFarlane, Institute for Manufacturing / Department of Engineering, School of Technology
Rapid application of industrial engineering and operations management research to hospitals to address multiple COVID challenges
In March 2020, the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) responded to the urgent needs of local hospitals to deliver three research engagement projects:
1. Hospital Logistics: Rapid application of industrial engineering approaches to: managing oxygen supplies; modelling patient flows; predicting staff availabilities; redesigning testing procedures; and increasing flexibility. - PPE Supply: Design and operation of a temporary logistics hub for coordinating the delivery of millions of items of donated PPE.
2. Ventilator Sharing: Designing, prototyping and in-hospital testing of a ventilator sharing system to provide back-up ventilator capacity.
3. This COVID-driven engagement has enabled multiple further research collaborations between IfM and regional healthcare partners.
From the judges:
“An excellent project which was rapidly put in place to support the Covid-19 emergency, an impressive multi-disciplinary collaboration bringing in people from different backgrounds to solve a very pressing problem.”
Runners up:
2/3
Professor Robert N. M. Watson, Computer Science and Technology, School of Technology
Digital Security by Design: Transitioning CHERI capability-based security through the Arm Morello industrial demonstrator
Since 2010 we have undertaken over 150 researcher years of effort, supported in significant part by DARPA, at Cambridge and SRI International into fundamental hardware and software advances in computer security resulting in the CHERI security model. A major technology transition effort is underway through a £70m Innovate UK programme with £116m of industrial backing to produce and evaluate an Arm-processor based version of CHERI called Morello. Arm processors are in every mobile phone, tablet and increasingly in servers and laptops and it is our ambition to fundamentally improve security in all of these application domains.
From the judges:
“An exceptionally impactful programme of research, which has global significance for the future security of mobile devices.”
Runners up:
3/3
Dr Raghib Ali, MRC Epidemiology Unit, School of Clinical Medicine
Dr Raghib Ali’s collaboration with the Race Disparity Unit, Government Equalities Office, and Minister for Equalities to understand and reduce the impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minorities in the UK.
Dr Raghib Ali was appointed as an independent expert advisor on Covid-19 and ethnicity to the UK Government in 2020 based on his longstanding epidemiological research into ethnic disparities in health and his clinical experience with Covid-19 as a consultant in Acute Medicine. He has worked with the Race Disparity Unit, Government Equalities Office, Minister for Equalities and Minister for Vaccine Deployment to help them understand and reduce the disproportionate impact of Covid 19 on some ethnic minorities in the UK. His work has been invaluable in interpreting the published data and developing policies that will have saved many lives.
From the judges:
“Working with community leaders and intermediary groups has really amplified this important message.”
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