SMD

News story: Vitamin D supplements do not prevent bone fractures in children

A major clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has found that vitamin D supplements do not increase bone strength or prevent bone fractures in children with vitamin D deficiency. The findings challenge widely held perceptions relating to the effects of vitamin D on bone health.

News story: Queen Mary staff recognised in the King’s New Year Honours list

Queen Mary University of London is proud to congratulate Professor Rupert Pearse who has been recognised with an OBE for services to intensive care medicine in the 2024 New Year Honours list.  

News story: Professor Robert Hill wins major prize for research and innovation in biomedical materials

Professor of Physical Sciences in Relation to Dentistry, Robert Hill, has been awarded the Chapman Medal by the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining. This prestigious award was presented to him for his distinguished research and innovation in the field of biomedical materials.

News story: A breath of fresh air: narrowing the inequality divide in public health

Professor Jonathan Grigg, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine at Queen Mary University of London  In the face of political rumblings and media attention, the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has sparked fractious debate around tackling vehicle emissions. But the science speaks for itself – the effects of air pollution on our health (and particularly the health of our children) is devastating.  

News story: Queen Mary’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry receives Athena Swan Gold Award

Queen Mary University of London’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) has received an Athena Gold Swan Award, recognising its significant progression and achievements in gender equality in medicine. The FMD is one of seven faculties in the UK to receive a Gold Award.

News story: Queen Mary’s Professor Thomas Powles in Nature’s global list of ‘the ten people who shaped science in 2023’

Professor Tom Powles, cancer researcher at Queen Mary and physician, is recognised for leading a transformative clinical trial for the treatment of severe bladder cancer.

News story: New digital education partnership opens the doors of opportunity for Indian doctors

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London has joined forces with the OC Academy, an Indian-based upskilling online platform for medical professionals, to offer online Postgraduate Diploma programmes in India.

News story: Professor Edel O’Toole awarded triennial Moxon Medal by Royal College of Physicians

This prestigious award is given to individuals who have produced distinguished observation and research in clinical medicine. Professor O’Toole is the first woman to receive it since its inception in 1891.

News story: Blood tests may show which women would benefit most from taking anastrozole to prevent breast cancer

Research led by Queen Mary University of London’s Wolfson Institute of Population Health has found that hormone levels, measured through blood tests, are an important indicator of whether post-menopausal women who are most at risk of developing breast cancer will benefit from aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole.

News story: Ground-breaking science education centre for children and young people revitalised following £550,000 investment

Centre of the Cell is the first informal science education centre in the world to be located within working biomedical research laboratories. Following a £550,000 refurbishment, the centre is now re-launching its digital immersive STEM Pod with new, state-of-the-art interactive exhibits.

News story: Innovative health collaboration wins HSJ Award

A collaborative team aiming to prevent heart attacks and strokes in North East London has won the Medicines, Pharmacy and Prescribing Initiative of the Year at the HSJ Awards 2023.

News story: Let Communities Lead: this year’s theme of World Aids Day

The Sexual Health, HIV All East Research (SHARE) Group – a collaboration between Barts Health NHS Trust and Queen Mary University of London - demonstrates the power of bringing local people into the heart of research about poor sexual health and HIV.

News story: Queen Mary researchers among world's most highly cited researchers

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have been recognised for ranking in the top 1% by citations in their field for 2023. 

News story: The future of cancer care in the UK: a report co-authored by Queen Mary University of London’s Professor Fiona Walter

Professor Fiona Walter, Director of the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, is one of 12 of the country’s leading cancer experts who have today (Wednesday 15 November) published a 10 point plan for the improvement of the UK’s cancer services.

News story: New injection-based treatment reduces high blood pressure

A new study led by researchers  from Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust shows a novel drug called Zilebesiran given as injection under the skin once every three or six months, successfully reduces high blood pressure (hypertension).

News story: A participant from Queen Mary University of London Genes & Health study is the 10th person enrolled in a gene-editing clinical trial for heart disease.

This is a major milestone for the Genes & Health study, which aims to improve health outcomes for people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent, who are often underrepresented in genomic studies.

News story: Tens of thousands of women set to benefit from repurposed NHS drug to prevent breast cancer

Clinical trials led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London lead to approval for anastrozole as a breast-cancer preventative drug.

News story: New drug combination doubles survival for people with bladder cancer

Results from a clinical trial carried out by researchers at Barts Health NHS Trust and Queen Mary University of London show that a new combination of drugs doubles overall survival for patients with bladder cancer that has spread (metastatic bladder cancer).

News story: Higher than expected risk of cancer following ‘all clear’ after suspected cancer referral

A new study led by Queen Mary University of London finds that people who were referred to urgent suspected cancer pathways, but were found not to have cancer, have a higher than expected risk of cancer in subsequent years. These findings suggest that this cohort of patients would benefit from additional support to help them manage down these risks of cancer.

News story: Queen Mary University of London wins Excellence in Digital Health Education Award

Queen Mary University of London has been awarded the Excellence in Digital Health Education Award at the third Med-Tech Awards Event held in Valletta, Malta.

News story: Trust is the most important factor for British South Asians when taking part in genetic research to tailor medications

A study led by Dr Emma Magavern from the Centre of Clinical Pharmacology and Precision Medicine at Queen Mary University of London has gathered detailed insights from the British South Asian community that could lead to more successful implementation of genetic testing to help tailor the use of routine medications.

News story: Trail blazing microplastics project examines the impact on our health

Every day we consume food and water contaminated with microplastics – tiny pieces of plastic debris resulting from the disposal and breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste. What is this doing to our bodies?

News story: New study suggests promising approach for treating pancreatic cancer

A new study carried out in mice, led by Queen Mary University of London, has identified cells that drive the spread of pancreatic cancer and discovered a weakness in these cells that could be targeted using existing drugs. This offers a promising new approach for treating pancreatic cancer.

News story: Professor Paul Evans appointed as the new Dean of Research Impact for the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry

Queen Mary University of London is delighted to announce that Professor Paul Evans has been appointed as the new Dean for Research Impact for the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. 

News story: Not all major trauma patients benefit from receiving additional blood-clotting factors when treating blood loss

Major blood loss is experienced by many severely injured patients, and it contributes to the death of more than half of the 4.4 million people who die from trauma every year across the world. It is the most common preventable cause of death in the trauma population.

News story: Researchers find genetic cause of Raynaud’s phenomenon

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London’s Precision Healthcare Research Institute (PHURI) and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified the genetic causes of Raynaud’s phenomenon. 

News story: New report finds sexual and reproductive health rights of women, girls and other marginalised people missing from most national climate plans

Only a third of countries that have published plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for climate shocks have committed to upholding the sexual and reproductive health rights of women, girls and other marginalised people in these plans, according to a new report from Queen Mary University of London and UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency.

News story: You’ve heard of long COVID, but did you know there might also be a long cold?

Giulia Vivaldi, Statistician and Epidemiologist on the COVIDENCE UK study from Queen Mary University of London, has written for The Conversation on a new study that suggests 'long colds' may exist.

News story: Scientists discover ‘long colds’ may exist, as well as long Covid

A new study from Queen Mary University of London, published in The Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine, has found that people may experience long-term symptoms —or ‘long colds’—after acute respiratory infections that test negative for COVID-19.

News story: Queen Mary and Tower Hamlets unite to reduce the risks of nitrous oxide misuse

“Nitrous oxide (NOX/N2O) can damage your spinal cord and cause serious, permanent disability” - that is the message to young people in Tower Hamlets as part of a programme to highlight the consequences of using the drug.

News story: Professor Nitzan Rosenfeld appointed as the new Barts Cancer Institute Director

Queen Mary University of London is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Nitzan Rosenfeld as the new Director of the Barts Cancer Institute from 1 February 2024.

News story: E-cigarettes are not a gateway into smoking

The most comprehensive study to date investigating whether e-cigarettes are a gateway into or out of smoking finds that, at the population level, there is no sign that e-cigarettes and other alternative nicotine delivery products promote smoking.

News story: Women given new insight into blood clot risk

New research from Queen Mary University of London, published in iScience, shows an increased risk of blood clots in women who have any combination of a particular gene mutation, oestrogen use, or common medical conditions – specifically: obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and kidney disease.

News story: New research evaluates the UK’s current salt reduction programme

New research from Queen Mary University of London and published in the Journal of Hypertension, shows the Government has failed to reduce population salt intakes and consequently improve public health in England since 2014  – putting thousands of lives at risk.

News story: New study shows effectiveness of mpox vaccine

A new international study led by Queen Mary University of London has shown mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) infections to be less severe among those who are vaccinated or had a previous infection in 2022, underlining the importance and effectiveness of vaccination.

News story: New genes and natural toxins offer hope for cancer patients unresponsive to chemotherapy

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London have discovered two new genes that cause head and neck cancer patients to be resistant to chemotherapy, and that silencing either gene can make cancer cells previously unresponsive to chemotherapy subsequently respond to it.

News story: New Centre for Preventive Neurology established in Queen Mary's Wolfson Institute of Population Health

Queen Mary University of London is proud to announce a new Centre for Preventive Neurology (CPN), based in the Wolfson Institute of Population Health (WIPH). This will be the only Centre for Preventive Neurology in the UK.

News story: Common heart medication less effective in south Asian people – new research

Dr Emma Magavern, from Queen Mary’s William Harvey Research Institute, has written for The Conversation on new research around clopidogrel’s effectiveness.

News story: Assessing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer prevention

A review of the international effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer prevention, led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, found that prevention services were severely affected in the early months, and in some places are still recovering.

News story: Genetic study shows that common medication used to prevent heart attacks may be ineffective for majority of British South Asians

A new study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London has found that a commonly prescribed medication used to prevent heart attacks is much less likely to benefit people of Bangladeshi and Pakistani ancestry, compared to people of European decent.

News story: Professor Morris Brown honoured by the Endocrine Society

Morris Brown, Professor of Endocrine Hypertension at the William Harvey Heart Centre at Queen Mary University of London, will be honoured by The Endocrine Society as one of the 14 winners of its prestigious 2024 Laureate Awards.

News story: Campaign group calls for the removal of packaging that appeals to children on sugary cereals

NEW research by Action on Sugar, based at Queen Mary University of London, has revealed that both breakfast cereals and yogurts with packaging that appeals to children, have unnecessary amounts of sugars – with some products containing the equivalent of up to four teaspoons of sugar (per suggested serving).

News story: Queen Mary University invites aspiring young scientists into their labs

This month Queen Mary University of London welcomed more than 20 promising A level students from schools around the capital into their Barts Cancer Institute.

News story: East Londoners to receive questionnaire via text message from their GP

From August, as part of a new campaign by NHS North East London and Queen Mary University of London, GP practices will be asking their patients four question about their day-to day lives in order to gain a more holistic picture of their health.

News story: E-cigarettes may be better than nicotine patches in helping pregnant women stop smoking and in reducing the risk of low birthweight

E-cigarettes (vapes) may be more effective than nicotine patches for pregnant women trying to quit smoking, research led by Queen Mary University of London and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has found.

News story: New policy research unit to improve dementia prevention, diagnosis and care

A new NIHR Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit (DeNPRU) is to be co-led by Queen Mary University of London and the University of Plymouth.

News story: Three students from Queen Mary awarded at this year’s University of London Gold Medal Viva for Dentistry

Graduates from Queen Mary University of London’s Institute of Dentistry were awarded at this year’s prestigious University of London Gold Medal Viva for Dentistry.

News story: One size does not fit all: changing the way we think about multi-morbidities

In the next 20 years, there will be a substantial global rise in multimorbidities, with consequences for patients, carers, healthcare systems and society. Addressing this challenge requires a shift in the prevailing clinical, educational, and scientific thinking and organisation.

News story: Queen Mary-led research uncovers why people who have Down’s Syndrome age prematurely

An overdosed gene on chromosome 21 causes people with Down’s Syndrome to age faster than the general population.

News story: Scientists join forces to transform treatments for childhood brain tumours

Experts at Queen Mary University of London, University College London (UCL), and Great Ormond Street Hospital are joining forces with researchers in Germany to develop pioneering treatments for children diagnosed with brain tumours, following major new funding from the UK’s leading brain tumour charity.

News story: Genetic study of British South Asians challenges previous work linking statin use to increased cataract risk

New research, led by Queen Mary University of London, has unpicked the threads linking statin use, ethnicity and the risk of developing young-onset cataracts in British people with South Asian ancestry. 

News story: DNA discovery highlights how we maintain healthy blood sugar levels after meals

A study of the DNA of more than 55,000 people worldwide has shed light on how we maintain healthy blood sugar levels after we have eaten, with implications for our understanding of how the process goes wrong in type 2 diabetes. 

News story: Professor Márta Korbonits honoured with 2023 Laureate Award from Endocrine Society

Márta Korbonits, Professor in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Queen Mary University of London, has been selected as one of 13 leading endocrinologists to receive a prestigious 2023 Laureate Award from the Endocrine Society.  

News story: Launch of new Violence Reduction Academy to help tackle interpersonal violence in London

  Queen Mary University of London have partnered with the NHS London Violence Reduction Programme to launch the Violence Reduction Academy (VRA). 

News story: Jumping genes which can lead to rare syndrome in children identified

A new family of DNA elements which control the activation of certain genes to cause a rare disease known as 'MSL3 syndrome’ in children has been identified. 

News story: Cause and cure discovered for common type of high blood pressure

Clinicians at Queen Mary University of London and Barts Hospital have identified a gene variant that causes a common type of hypertension (high blood pressure) and a way to cure it, new research published today in Nature Genetics shows. 

News story: Skin cancer rewires its energy systems to spread more efficiently

Melanoma skin cancer cells radically rewire their internal power systems to drive their spread to other parts of the body, a new study shows.  

News story: New book unearths the untold stories of the African contribution to the UK HIV response

The lived experiences of Black African women living with HIV have for the first time been brought together in a new book.     

News story: Young people with nerve damage from nitrous oxide use are most likely to be Asian men 

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London speculate that social factors and genetic susceptibility may contribute to the predominance

News story: New book by Dr Jonathan Kennedy is BBC Radio 4’s Book Of The Week

Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History, a new book that explores the role of germs in shaping humanity, will be serialised and broadcast each weekday morning on BBC Radio 4 at 9.45am from today (Monday 29th May).

News story: Queen Mary joins Leading Health Organisations' Call for the Health Secretary to Release Commercial Baby Food & Drink Guidelines

Action on Sugar, the expert group based at Queen Mary University of London, along with 16 NGOs are calling for the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, to release the much-awaited Commercial Baby Food and Drink Guidelines, as data shows the main contributor of sugars in infants, aged four to nine months, is coming from shop brought baby foods – in particular fruit-based and cereal-based foods.

News story: Queen Mary announce Professors Mark Bradley and Maik Pietzner to join the Precision Health University Research Institute

The arrival of Professor Maik Pietzner as the new Chair for Health Data Modelling, shows that Queen Mary’s new Precision Healthcare University Research Institute (PHURI) continues to attract top academic talent from around the world. 

News story: Study finds Huge and Unnecessary Amounts of Salt found in the Majority of Pizzas.

Restaurants and takeaway companies are drowning our food in salt and failing to meet the voluntary salt reduction targets as new research by Action on Salt, the expert research group based at Queen Mary University of London, reveals half of all pizzas sold in the UK provide a days’ worth (or more) of salt per pizza.

News story: Ovarian cancer's protective barrier: how the tumour matrix teaches cells to disarm immune attack

A structure surrounding ovarian cancer trains cells called macrophages to protect the tumour from immune attack, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London. The work uncovers tactics that the tumour uses to disarm the immune system and points towards potential therapeutic strategies to overcome the cancer’s defences and treat patients more effectively.

News story: Queen Mary University of London opens new centre for medicine

This week Queen Mary University of London held the opening ceremony for their new satellite campus for the teaching of medicine in the heart of Ilford.

News story: Ethnic minority patients yearn for warmth from health care professionals, research finds

Developing better connections between ethnic minority patients and health care professionals could drive more positive health care experience for ethnic minority patients, researchers have found.

News story: Genes & Health expands to mental health and pregnancy research with £2 million Medical Research Council award

Genes & Health, a pioneering genetic research programme that aims to improve health for British Bangladeshi and British Pakistani communities, has started 2023 celebrating new milestones.

News story: New computer model addresses inequity in selecting clinical trial participants

A new computer model will improve equity in clinical trial participants by ensuring representation of all major societal and ethnic groups.

News story: Previous cancer linked to long term heightened risk of cardiovascular disease

UK Biobank study suggests a greater risk for blood and breast cancer survivors.

News story: Clinical trial shows tumour-starving drug improves survival of mesothelioma

An innovative therapy provides new hope to patients with malignant mesothelioma – a rare but rapidly fatal type of cancer with few effective treatment options – according to results presented by Queen Mary researcher at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting.

News story: Queen Mary researcher receives major funding award

Philip Eaton, Professor of Cardiovascular Biochemistry at Queen Mary University of London, has been awarded €2.5 million by the European Research Council (ERC) to help tackle cardiovascular disease.

News story: Professor Christopher Tredwin to become Queen Mary’s new Dean of Dentistry from 1st August 2023

Queen Mary University of London is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Chris Tredwin as its new Dean of Dentistry and Director of the Institute of Dentistry. 

News story: Queen Mary University of London and icometrix receive prestigious AI Award

Queen Mary and icometrix have together been awarded the prestigious AI Award in Health and Care by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

News story: Vitamin B5 could help improve red blood cell production in people with Myelodysplastic syndromes

Scientists from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London and the Francis Crick Institute, have uncovered why patients with a rare type of blood cancer suffer from ineffective red blood cell production, and how vitamin B5 could be combined with existing drugs to improve outcomes.

News story: Ten-minute scan enables detection and cure of the single commonest cause of high blood pressure

Doctors at Queen Mary University of London and Barts Hospital, and Cambridge University Hospital, have led research using a new type of CT scan to light up tiny nodules in a hormone gland and cure high blood pressure by their removal. The nodules are discovered in one-in-twenty people with high blood pressure.

News story: Identification of disease-causing proteins leads to new potential treatments for diseases like diabetes

New research has identified hundreds of proteins that might contribute to the onset of common, chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, and consequently pathways to potential treatments.

News story: Surge in nitrous oxide abuse: New guidelines to help clinicians recognise cases and prevent spinal cord damage

Recommendations from research published today on the diagnosis and treatment of spinal cord damage caused by nitrous oxide abuse have been simultaneously adopted as official clinical practice guidelines by the Association of British Neurologists. 

News story: Clinicians identify severe form of mpox with high mortality in people with advanced HIV

An international collaboration of clinicians, led by Queen Mary University of London and the Fight Infections Foundation/Hospital Germans Trias of Barcelona, has identified a severe, necrotising form of mpox with a high mortality in immunosuppressed people living with HIV.

News story: Target the microbiome to improve child undernutrition, says researchers

Research led by Queen Mary University of London suggests that nutritional interventions used to tackle child undernutrition in lower and middle-income countries should target gut microbiome development, rather than just human nutritional needs, to more effectively improve child growth and development.

News story: New Managing Director for Barts Life Sciences

We’re delighted to announce that Grant Bourhill will be the new Managing Director for Barts Life Sciences.

News story: Review calls for a refreshed look at clinical approach to heart muscle disorder

A global review of left ventricular non-compaction has called for future efforts to better understand the features of excessive trabeculation in the heart. 

News story: Is a Government programme to tackle childhood obesity doing more harm than good?

Research from Queen Mary University of London is the first to focus on the experiences of parents and their children who were categorised as ‘overweight’ and ‘very overweight’ by England’s National Measurement Programme (NCMP), an intervention designed to tackle childhood obesity. The results suggest that the current programme may be at risk of harming the children it aims to help.

News story: HRH Princess Beatrice meets scientists tackling the UK’s rising skin cancer numbers in first visit as Patron of the British Skin Foundation

HRH Princess Beatrice, in her newly appointed role as Patron of the British Skin Foundation, today visited London’s prestigious Blizard Institute at Queen Mary University of London to see first-hand how scientists are tackling the UK rising skin cancer numbers.

News story: Cochrane review finds that vitamin D does not reduce risk of asthma attacks

Taking vitamin D supplements does not reduce the risk of asthma attacks in children or adults, according to an updated Cochrane review published today.

News story: New product combining blood and plasma in one bag saves lives, study finds

A new blood product combining red blood cells and plasma in one bag is associated with a better survival from a penetrating major trauma injury, a new study involving Queen Mary University of London has found.

News story: UK’s first Semmelweis statue unveiled at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry

Queen Mary University of London and the Embassy of Hungary in London mark the 204th birthday of Dr Ignác Semmelweis, the Hungarian obstetrician responsible for identifying the cause of puerperal fever.

News story: Researchers identify protein that helps skin cancer spread throughout the body

Research led by Queen Mary University of London, King’s College London and the Francis Crick Institute has identified a protein that makes melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, more aggressive by giving cancer cells the ability to change the shape of their nucleus – a characteristic which allows the cells to migrate and spread around the body.

News story: Expanding radiation research at Queen Mary University of London

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD), including Dr Jane Sosabowski and Professor Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke at Barts Cancer Institute (BCI), have received funding from the University and Barts Charity for a new piece of research equipment that will accelerate radiation research at Queen Mary.