BBSRC Impact Showcase 2023

Supporting equality, diversity and inclusion in science

BBSRC supplies DTP centres with the Flexible Supplement Fund (FSF) to support skills training and EDI initiatives for DTP students. Below are just some of the ways the FSF has been used.

Underrepresentation

Funding training and other opportunities for underrepresented groups, such as disabled, BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic), LGBTQ+, and low-income background students, has been a priority area. Many DTPs have funded Research Experience Placement (REP) programmes, which support these groups in bioscience training and skill building. This includes summer schools and lab placements that improve access and help build research experience and key lab skills.

Skills needs

The FSF is being used to target broader skill needs within bioscience, in line with UK skill deficits:

• several run in vivo skill courses
• data analysis, computational skills, and mathematics are a priority, including SySMIC training for mathematical modelling
• Industry Skills School run by EASTBio
• The University of Manchester DTP provides an entrepreneurship course for business engagement training

Travel, care, and subsistence

The FoodBioSystems DTP used the FSF to fund relocation expenses and conference attendance for doctoral researchers with caring responsibilities, as well as supporting students with mobility issues who require a carer when travelling. Similarly, the South Coast Biosciences DTP has set up a Childcare Fund to assist students with childcare needs in attending DTP activities, as well as childcare provision.

15 years of science leads to world-first for cosmetic industry

In April 2023, Boots No7 released its ground-breaking Future Renew skincare line, which targets visible signs of cumulative damage. The product is backed by 15 years of collaborative scientific research between No7 and University of Manchester (UoM). Professor Mike Sherratt, who is part of the Division of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine at UoM, and Dr Mike Bell, Head of Science Research at No7, led the project.

Dubbed as a ‘super peptide’ blend and a world-first, the technology underpinning the new line is No7’s biggest cosmetic science innovation ever. These are brand-new, novel peptides that have never been used in a skincare product. The ‘peptide discovery pipeline’ uses machine learning, combined with subsequent testing in cultured cells and on the skin of volunteers, to predict and characterise novel peptides. The pipeline is ground-breaking and could benefit other areas of bioscience and health, including age-related diseases.

Read more

The economic impact of establishing spin-outs

Spin-outs play a crucial role in delivering impact, driving economic growth and creating jobs. BBSRC has published an independent report, an “Economic impact assessment of BBSRC attributable spin-outs”. The report demonstrates the significant impact of BBSRC funding in driving economic value through the UK spin-out community. The BBSRC attributable cohort, spanning a wide range of market sectors, contributes an estimated real net Gross Value Added of over £5 billion, which is predicted to grow to an estimated £7 billion on a 20-year projection.

In 2020/21, the BBSRC spin-out cohort employed over 8,000 people, growing approximately 20% faster and remaining active for longer than the comparison group.

Along with the “Bioscience: Lost In Translation?” review of 2022, the data supports a predominance of Business to Business models, a commercial model where the spin-out sells a set of services or products to another business within the supply chain. The spin-out assessment demonstrates the critical role these businesses play in fuelling economic growth by meeting customer needs.

40% of the cohort sighted no competition with the existing UK market, and across the mean total revenue per company over 50% of the income was generated through overseas markets. Attracting private investment to support potentially market-disruptive approaches is a key ingredient in growing and scaling a business. Bringing in investment requires a wide range of commercial readiness alongside market-driven technology development. The BBSRC attributable cohort has currently raised equity and loan-based finance investment of approximately £4 billion.

Industrial biotechnology research and innovation is highly versatile, creating impact in sectors other than the manufacturing of materials and chemicals, such as agriculture and food, health, and energy. In collaboration with innovative companies, such as those described below, industrial biotechnology results in products that benefit and impact society. Spin-out companies resulting from this research and innovation create high-tech employment and support the UK economy across the regions.

Thermally stable rapeseed oil offers biodegradable alternative

Nuspec Oil provides an efficient supply chain of rapeseed oil for use as a base (lubricating) oil or feedstock to produce bio-based chemicals such as cosmetics.

In its original form, rapeseed oil is largely limited for industrial use due to breaking down at higher temperatures. This thermal instability derives mostly from its high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

Research led by Professor Ian Bancroft at the University of York developed an oilseed rape plant line that produces oil with a lower PUFA content, which increases its thermal stability. This provides an alternative oil to fossil-derived products that removes CO2 from the atmosphere as it grows, is biodegradable, and has lower toxicity levels.

Usually, around 25 to 35% of toxic mineral base oils used are lost to the environment, meaning the rapeseed oil provides an environmentally friendly and renewable alternative.

Following a long-term BBSRC investment (sLoLa) and an Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst grant, alongside Innovate UK funding to industrial partner Velcourt, a nationally listed rapeseed variety, HOLP101, has been developed for commercialisation.

Creating climate-friendly food from CO2

Animal farming is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. With a rapidly growing population, it is vital that we increase our food supply sustainably whilst reaching net zero aims.

Deep Branch could provide the first route to sustainable generation of protein using CO2 from renewable sources. The gas fermentation process developed by the team takes edible microbes that use CO2 created from bio-energy production to make “Proton^TM”. This provides a sustainable alternative protein source for poultry and aquaculture feed. The process creates a high-value, price-competitive product without increasing CO2 emissions, instead reducing them.

Compared to current conventional protein sources, Proton^TM:

• can be produced locally without reliance on importation, reducing CO2 emissions by over 90%
• has a comparable nutritional profile to the gold standard currently used in aquaculture
• can be tailored using Deep Branch’s (R)evolve platform for precision nutrition to meet animal feed needs
• will produce 70% protein under optimal conditions, unlike soy at 45% and aquaculture feed at 65%

Deep Branch is now leading the REACT-FIRST consortium with academic and industry partners, including Sainsbury’s, SBRC-Nottingham, and BioMar, to scale up production to a commercial level.

Although founded by three ex-SBRC-Nottingham PhD students, Deep Branch deviates from traditional synthetic and engineering biology by utilising non-GMO microbes in the Proton^TM production process. It also is a key industry partner in ongoing BBSRC-funded Doctoral Training Partnerships.

IBERS’ continued success in grass for green energy

Miscanthus grass is a great energy source and a valuable way of cutting carbon emissions due to how it can absorb CO2 and displace fossil-based feedstocks as a biofuel. This makes it a valuable feedstock for energy, materials, and chemical industries. The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences’ (IBERS) leadership and breakthroughs in Miscanthus research have cemented the institute as experts in grass science.

Through 2022 and 2023, seven new varieties of Miscanthus were successfully registered, supported by BBSRC core strategic funding. New projects, like Miscanspeed, are accelerating the development of new varieties more resilient to climate change.

Demonstration of scaling biomass crop use in the BBSRC Perennial Biomass Crops for Greenhouse Gas Removal (PBC4GGR) project is helping to optimise the planting of these crops to deliver the maximum greenhouse gas reduction benefits. PBC4GGR is also supporting policymaker interactions, such as through roundtable activities, visits from government, and inputting into national consultations, such as the recent POSTnote, Biomass for UK Energy.

Bridging science and art, Dr Kerrie Farrar is collaborating with Aberystwyth Printmakers to use some of the extra grass grown at IBERS’ greenhouses and laboratories for paper making. The Aberystwyth University-funded collaboration resulted in an exhibition of Miscanthus-inspired designs printed on paper made from grasses.

Revolutionising wheat

Wheat is crucial for feeding a growing population. For over two decades, BBSRC has been at the forefront of wheat research, investing over £300 million since the turn of the century. In October, BBSRC published a ground-breaking report showcasing the significant impact of these investments. Research that has propelled UK wheat research to new heights and driving economic growth. 

BBSRC investments in wheat research are projected to create £900 million Gross Value Added (GVA) for the UK economy over a 25-year period. Globally, these investments are even more significant, contributing an estimated additional £1.99 billion to the global GVA.

Read the report of the independent evaluation of the socio-economic impacts arising from BBSRC’s investments in wheat research here. 

BBSRC’s strategic leadership and sustained long-term investment, through key flagship programmes, has been transformative. A celebration of these achievements is set out in the accompanying Revolutionising Wheat Showcase, which highlights analysis, flagship programmes, leading international wheat partnerships and case studies, spanning agriculture, health and technology. 

Safeguarding the genetic biodiversity of chickens

Pioneering work at the Roslin Institute has created an exciting novel technique to conserve the genetic biodiversity of over 1600 chicken breeds.

Chickens play an important role in food security, particularly for small-holder farmers in resource-poor areas who rely on poultry as a primary source of income and food. Due to climate change and disease, rare indigenous breeds are at an increased risk of extinction, creating a pressing need to create a genetic biobank.

Previously, cryopreservation proved unsuccessful in chickens due to being limited to only male gametes. This restricted the conservation of genetic information, had varying viability, and relied on time-consuming processes to regenerate flocks. However, a method developed by Professor Mike McGrew successfully cryopreserves reproductive cells, Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs), from chicken embryos. Once injected into sterile chicken hosts, PGCs provide the reproductive material needed to produce chicks that derive entirely from the donor chickens. 

This low-tech and cost-effective method will provide a vital resource to safeguard the vast genetic biodiversity of chickens and help ensure food security. Preserving specific genetic traits will be instrumental in developing livestock resistant to climate change and emerging diseases.

This work was co-funded by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). The technique reduces reliance on live animals in research facilities and improves animal welfare, also reducing the costs, technology, and time needed for poultry husbandry.

Could tomatoes be the answer to vitamin D deficiency?

With over 1 billion sufferers worldwide, vitamin D deficiency is an extremely common problem associated with conditions like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Parkinson’s.

Our bodies use UVB to convert provitamin D3 in the skin to the usable form. In sunlight-sparse regions, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere during winter, diet becomes the primary source. Dietary sources are mainly animal products, as plants do not naturally make vitamin D, and there are limited alternatives with sufficient levels in vegetarian and vegan diets.

This year, research led by Professor Cathie Martin at the John Innes Centre (JIC) have produced a tomato containing significant levels of vitamin D. Tomatoes naturally produce provitamin D3, which is converted into other compounds by two enzymes. By editing the gene encoding one of these enzymes, they produced a tomato with the equivalent vitamin D as two whole eggs.

This small but mighty tomato could offer a plant-based solution to the vitamin D deficiency epidemic. As a widely consumed food, it could provide an easy way to increase the vitamin in our diets without reliance on animal products or supplementation and with the added benefits of its other nutritional content (Provitamin A and vitamins B9, C and E).

The ‘Super-Soup’ for high cholesterol and diabetes

Professor Richard Mithen, previously at the Quadram Institute, successfully founded the Smarter Naturally spin-out. Following over 30 years of research, Smarter Naturally was created to develop food products using ingredients maximised for their natural health benefits.

2022 saw the launch of their first product, ‘Super-Soup’, which boasts the ability to ‘re-tune’ metabolism and help maintain healthy cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

The soup’s ‘super’ properties lie in the main ingredient, GRextra, a unique broccoli variety developed by Professor Mithen to have increased levels of glucoraphanin. In our gut, this nutrient is converted into sulforaphane, a compound thought to improve the way our cells function. Multiple studies have linked sulforaphane to widespread health impacts, including the potential to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

Consuming ‘Super-Soup’ provides the equivalent level of glucoraphanin as 1kg of broccoli or 14 standard supplements. This provides an attainable way of increasing glucoraphanin dietary intake to a level needed to achieve potential health impacts. It does so without contributing to tablet fatigue, a common issue for ageing populations. It also ensures a reliable dose is delivered, alongside other vitamins and minerals that broccoli has, as glucoraphanin can be destroyed by cooking. Consequently, this broccoli-based product was crowned with the Nutra Ingredients Award for Healthy Ageing Ingredient of the Year 2023.

Potential mpox treatments in licensed drugs

Research at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and the Pirbright Institute investigated how orthopoxviruses, including mpox, evade our immune defences. The research discovered that the mpox virus exploits a host protein for replication and that this protein can be targeted with existing drugs. This work has provided an exciting opportunity to explore more durable mpox treatments.

The mpox virus hijacks a protein called cyclophilin A to counteract the activity of another cell protein called TRIM5 that restricts virus replication, thereby evading our cells’ defences.

Cyclophilin A is already the molecular target for commonly used drugs that treat certain viral infections and immunosuppression. Therefore, repurposing non-immunosuppressive versions of these drugs could provide an alternative treatment for mpox that:

• is less susceptible to viral drug resistance due to targeting a cellular protein rather than the virus directly
• could treat multiple poxviruses that use the same hijacking mechanism
• can be produced far more quickly than a novel drug as they have already passed through clinical trials

Due to the £2 million invested by BBSRC and the Medical Research Council (MRC), the formation of the Mpox Consortium during the global epidemic in 2022 helped to facilitate this research. These findings clearly show that the consortium is already delivering fast-paced and impactful discoveries. 

An animal-free cell culture platform for better bioscience

PeptiMatrix is a University of Nottingham spin-out, led by co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr Johnathan Curd. It is providing an innovative hydrogel platform for 3D cell culture, which aims to replace the use of animals in research.

BBSRC, EPSRC and NC3Rs funding enabled the development of a short self-assembling peptide hydrogel (SAPH) platform that is superior to market alternatives. Current in vitro models fail to express the full complexity of human biology, as well as relying on animals or animal-derived products. This leads to a lack of applicability when translating drugs or molecules from the lab to clinical trials.

To reduce production and research costs, we need more sophisticated model platforms. PeptiMatrix’s SAPH platform aims to address these shortcomings by being:

• entirely animal-free
• fully synthetic with limited batch variability for better reproducibility
• customisable to match specific tissues
• usable under brightfield and fluorescent microscopes for better visibility

BBSRC ICURe funding supported the commercialisation of the technology, enabling the market research needed for the team to spin out. This was followed by an Innovate UK ICURe Follow-on-Fund grant to expand capacity and accelerate product development.

Exscientia: a clinical pipeline for AI-designed drug candidates

Dundee spin-out Exscientia is using artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise the discovery, design and development of new drug candidates. Early BBSRC funding proved crucial to demonstrating the potential and practicality of using these AI-led approaches and underpinned Exscientia’s formation and early development.

Exscientia’s drug hunters use its AI platform, Centaur, to help generate new molecules and drug targets that have a higher chance of translating successfully into clinical settings. The average industry timeline to discover a clinical development candidate takes around 4.5 years from synthesising between 2,500 and 5,000 molecules.

Based on performance to date, it takes Exscientia around 12 to 15 months from synthesising around 200 to 350 precision-designed compounds. This underscores how the company’s AI-driven approach is not only differentiated in terms of precision design but also faster and more efficient than conventional methods.

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Automatic detection of stressed pigs

Integrating automatic detection methods for livestock health issues with manual human inspection can improve animal welfare and reduce production costs. Manual inspection alone is subjective, open to human error, and difficult to undertake 24/7. 

Research led by Professor Melvyn Smith at the University of the West of England and Dr Emma Baxter at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), in collaboration with Agsenze Ltd, JSR Genetics, and Garth Pig Practice Ltd, used machine learning to develop a system that could continuously assess aspects of pig welfare.

The project successfully trained a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) that examines pig facial expressions to differentiate between stressed and unstressed pigs with an accuracy of over 90%.

A BBSRC LINK grant supported the work, which has been followed by:

• an Innovate UK funded project to realise a commercial animal health station including facial expression assessment
• an MRC-funded project to apply the research to reducing antimicrobial use in pigs
• a BBSRC responsive mode grant to support research into CNNs for tracking pig behaviour

Can we make electrics environmentally friendly?

Following the £4.9 million BBSRC funded ‘Circuits of Life’ Project, Professor Ross Anderson and his team at University of Bristol, in collaboration with University of Portsmouth, University of East Anglia and UCL, have developed nanoscale protein-based electronic wires made entirely from natural amino acids and heme molecules.

These are conductive, biodegradable and programmable, yet could be compatible with copper and iron electrical components. The proteins act as simple building blocks that could be combined into longer chains for conducting electrons, meaning they could be used in a wide array of electrical applications, such as crucial components in biosensors for disease diagnostics or detection of environmental pollutants.

The tailor-made proteins can be tuned for specific electronic properties in a way that is not possible with natural proteins. Manufactured from harmless bacteria, they bypass the common environmentally damaging production of synthetic analogous molecules. Read more here.