University of Bath

Life Sciences Research

Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology is internationally recognised as a centre for research excellence. With strengths in the pharmaceutical and biological sciences, the Department has great expertise in the drug discovery process. Other specialisms are medicinal chemistry related to signal transduction, cardiovascular and immunopharmacology, pharmaceutical biology and pharmaceutical technology.

Department of Biology and Biochemistry Research includes structural molecular biology, enzyme structure and function, cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience and microbial pathogenicity, and evolution and mathematical biology. The Department has its own DNA sequencing facilities and also a dedicated molecular biology computing facility. 

Centre for Extremophile Research brings together interdisciplinary expertise on extremophilic micro-organisms, and provides a platform from which the biotechnological potential of these organisms can be commercially exploited. The centre comprises of staff from Biology and Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering, with the additional involvement of staff from the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Research is also undertaken into bioproducts from extremophiles, extremophilic organisms as biocatalysts, and environmental applications. 

Centre for Research into Regenerative Medicine concentrates upon the problems of using the bodies own stem cells and growth factors to repair organs, tissues and cells.  It encompasses such activities as stimulating tissue regeneration in situ, grafting of stem cells to bring about repair, causing differentiation of one tissue type into another and creating functional tissues and organs by tissue engineering.  The centre provides a formal structure to support a focus for joint research by the research groups (currently 6) within the University currently working upon different aspects of the problem.  Other departments involved include Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy & Pharmacology.

School of Health: Research and teaching of a high standard in the health-related disciplines has taken place for a number of years throughout various parts of the University and is now amalgamated into the School of Health which incorporates teaching programmes and a portfolio of specialist programmes at various levels, (undergraduate, postgraduate and post-qualification)

Centre for Orthopaedic Biomechanics: - The Centre for Orthopaedic Biomechanics represents a joint venture between Departments of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath and Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Bristol, linking engineering and clinical orthopaedics.  Engineering and materials based research is carried out in facilities at the Bath site while the Avon Orthopaedic centre at Southmead Hospital offers clinically based research facilities to support Biomechanics, Histology, Microbiology and cell Biology.  The centre has an Industrial Steering Team representative of the Orthopaedic Industry in the UK and provides research opportunities for postgraduate students and orthopaedic trainees and a resource for conducting research council, charity and industrial supported research projects.

Centre for Biomimetics and Natural Technologies is an interdisciplinary research unit involved in developing new materials and artefacts based upon the concept of taking ideas from nature and implementing them with other technologies such as engineering, design, computing etc. 

Centre for Electron Optical Studies is involved in the development of electron microscopy techniques and their application to the life sciences. The centre possesses a range of modern instruments a scanning probe microscope which performs atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopy. 

Centre for Protein Analysis and Design focuses on antibody modelling and protein folding, using leading edge research in the application of computational methods to the problem of protein folding and protein design (notably ab-initio folding and antibody modeling). 

Bath University Spin-outs Companies

Vectura Ltd

Novel drug delivery techniques and advanced tissue targeting approaches

Molecular Sensing

Electronic method for fast DNA amplification and detection suited to use in inexpensive systems for clinical diagnostics (recently acquired by Osmetech plc)

Sterix

Developing novel therapeutic approaches using steroids and related molecules mainly in the areas of cancer treatments, women's health, diabetes and hormone-associated diseases. Sterix was acquired by Ipsen SA Ltd in March 2004.

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