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The projects are designed to stimulate exciting new interdisciplinary research.

Treatment for bile duct cancer, degradation of toxic organic pollutants, historical accounts that inform marine ecosystem management, and techniques to protect children’s digital data are among the breakthrough projects being funded.

Additionally, the second round of funding is launching today with a further £32.5 million available.

The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) cross research council responsive mode (CRCRM) pilot scheme is supporting new and creative interdisciplinary ideas emerging from the research community.

The scheme:

  • unlocks new research, approaches and methods that would not be possible from established disciplinary thinking
  • encourages new and unexpected types of interdisciplinary research not currently funded through existing UKRI responsive mode schemes
  • supports research that will be potentially transformative for the participating disciplines or lead to the creation of new disciplines

A novel snake-like robot to treat bile duct cancer

Among the successful projects announced today is a 21-person interdisciplinary team led by Professor Guru Aithal from the University of Nottingham.

The team will develop ground-breaking technologies, a snake-like robot and wireless electrical treatment to diagnose, map and treat Cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer).

The snake-like robot will navigate the narrowed bile duct and capture images to draw a 3D map of the cancer.

Stents placed across the narrowing will be pre-loaded with nanoparticles and activated using wireless electrical fields to stimulate the death of cancer cells.

To improve survival and quality of life outcomes for patients with bile duct cancer, the project brings together experts in:

  • medicine
  • endoscopy
  • engineering
  • robotics
  • imaging
  • bioelectrics
  • genomics

Empowering young children to understand and benefit from their personal data

Professor Andrew Manches from The University of Edinburgh will lead a project to change perceptions about children and their personal data through the creation of cutting-edge, child-centred tools and teaching practices.

The project will work with 270 children aged three to eight in schools, Edinburgh Zoo and Glasgow Science Centre to construct physical representations of personal data that children can touch, explore, talk about and learn with.

It will contribute knowledge to early learning, cognitive psychology, child-centred design, data ethics, data visualisation and computer science.

The greatest impact of this project will be on children, who will be able to engage, enjoy and understand their data-saturated world better.

It will give them greater confidence that they should and can play a role in the design of their future.

Driving progress across diverse fields

Professor Alison Park, UKRI CRCRM Champion and Deputy Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) said:

The perspectives of different disciplines, working together in collaboration, are vital to solving some of the most pressing problems we face as a society.

The UKRI cross research council responsive mode scheme is designed to break down silos and champion research that transcends, combines and significantly spans traditional discipline boundaries.

The projects announced today will drive progress across diverse fields by creating fresh approaches to research questions, methodologies and ways of working.

We were all excited to see the innovative and bold approaches being adopted to tackle major issues ranging from climate change to global healthcare and look forward to following their progress.

Converting historical knowledge into sustainable ocean management

Dr Alec Moore from Bangor University will bring together historians and marine scientists to convert historical observations of fishers, past and present, into knowledge that will inform marine ecosystem management.

The project will focus on historical data about the Atlantic herring, a fundamentally important component of the marine ecosystem in the northeast Atlantic which collapsed in the mid-20th century.

It will use historical sources mostly from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, including:

  • the writings of early modern naturalists and travellers
  • newspaper archives
  • government inquiries
  • the memory of living fishers

The findings will help to identify ecologically important herring spawning areas and understand the long-term variations in spawning activity in response to changing climates.

Microbes that listen: sono-bio technology for persistent organic pollutants

Dr Madeleine Bussemaker and her team from the University of Surrey will combine ultrasound and microorganisms to develop a novel hybrid technology for the treatment of persistent organic pollutants.

Per and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of synthetic chemicals used in consumer products including non-stick food packaging, cleaning products and water-resistant clothing.

PFAS do not fully degrade naturally, so they persist in the environment and can be toxic to animals and humans.

Microbial and ultrasonic degradation work best on different PFAS types.

The combined sono-bio technology will aim to deliver a complete, sustainable and efficient treatment.

A sustainable building material to combat climate change

Dr Mehreen Gul with a team from Heriot-Watt University, Aston University and University of Birmingham will explore the use of biochar, a charcoal-like material made from non-recyclable biomass, as a low-carbon building material to help reach net zero.

The project will consult with key stakeholders, including policymakers and ministers to understand the effectiveness, readiness, cost, social acceptability and limitations of biochar as a building material.

It will test the performance, durability and thermal conductivity of biochar in materials such as concrete, brick, plaster and grout.

It will also run building modelling to investigate energy savings and thermal efficiency in buildings.

A tool to predict the age-appropriateness of children’s media

Professor Tim Smith from the University of the Arts London will lead a team across four research organisations to build an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can predict a video clip’s potential impact on children’s ability to learn, understand and develop self-control.

The AI tool will be used by media creatives to check whether content is developmentally appropriate for their target audience, aiding in the creation of higher-quality content and allowing parents to make more informed decisions on content selection.

This project will specifically focus on the impact of children’s media on children aged three to six, a key stage in neurocognition development.

It will bring together a unique team of researchers from:

  • children’s animation practice
  • media theory
  • developmental psychology
  • neuroscience
  • AI

Why it’s vital to support cross council interdisciplinary research

Video credit: UK Research and Innovation
Video transcript and on-screen captions are available by watching on YouTube.

Further information

Full list of projects

FisHistory: converting historical knowledge into sustainable ocean management

Led by Alec Moore, Bangor University.

Dynamic live cell imaging at sub-zero temperatures

Led by Melody Clark, British Antarctic Survey

A novel, real-time tuberculosis detector for animals and humans

Led by Adrian Porch, Cardiff University

Satellite-Aided Technologies for advancing resilience: Guarding energy services under climate hazards, risks, and disasters (SAT-Guard)

Led by Hongjian Sun, Durham University

Advancing the use of biochar in the building industry: a multi-stakeholder study

Led by Mehreen Gul, Heriot-Watt University

Longitudinal machine learning of molecular and phenotypic trajectories of pulmonary hypertension

Led by Dennis Wang, Imperial College London

Testing fundamental physics using arrays of ultracold molecules

Led by Michael Tarbutt, Imperial College London.

Developing a human-iPSC skeletal muscle model of glucose metabolism on responsive elastomer nanofibers

Led by Ivo Lieberam, King’s College London

Sonic intangibles: Northumbria and Newcastle universities sonification hub for innovation in sound and meaning

Led by Paul Vickers, Northumbria University

Protocol development and feasibility study for the Elevated Childhood Lead Interagency Prevalence Study (ECLIPS)

Led by Jane Entwistle, Northumbria University

BeefTwin: AI powered digital twin for sustainable beef farming

Led by Xiao Ma, Nottingham Trent University

LOCAST: enabling low-carbon structures by understanding human effects of motion

Led by Ian Walker, Swansea University

Feeling the untouchable: Haptic touch experiences for naturalistic learning

Led by Advaith Siddharthan, The Open University

ANIMATING MINDS: triangulating the age-appropriate impact of children’s media

Led by Tim Smith, University of the Arts London

ESCAPE: Engaging Science and the Creative Arts to Prepare for Eruptions

Led by Christopher Kilburn, University College London

CO-produced Mathematical Modelling of Epidemics Together (COMMET): methods and tools for integrating public voices into epidemic response modelling

Led by Elizabeth Fearon, University College London

Holistic optical biomarkers to transform dementia diagnosis (HOpE)

Led by Christopher Kipps, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

FUSION FOREST: a holistic approach for the design of disease-suppressing treescapes

Led by Bruño Fraga, University of Birmingham

When memories come alive: an interdisciplinary study of the vividness of memory

Led by Jon Simons, University of Cambridge

Creating foundation systems for environmental planetary intelligence

Led by Anil Madhavapeddy, University of Cambridge

GRASPING DATA: co-creating physicalisations to empower young children to interact with, understand, and benefit from their personal data

Led by Andrew Manches, The University of Edinburgh

Pollinator pathmaker

Led by Christopher Kaiser-Bunbury, University of Exeter

High resolution molecular profiling platform to investigate the role of tumour microbiota in anti-tumour immunity

Led by Huabing Yin, University of Glasgow

LILACS (Looking Inside Living Algal Cell Walls: a soft matter approach)

Led by Anders Aufderhorst-Roberts, University of Liverpool

Interdisciplinary systematic review: mechanistic evidence and epistemic justice

Led by Jon Williamson, The University of Manchester

Realtime wireless monitoring of inflammation for improved healthcare outcomes

Led by Morgan Alexander, University of Nottingham

Combining snake-like robot with wireless electrical-molecular signalling to tackle cholangiocarcinoma

Led by Guruprasad Padur Aithal, University of Nottingham

Advanced Interdisciplinary Models of dEstructive lung Disease: AIMED

Led by Bindi Brook, University of Nottingham

CHAILD: Children’s Agency In the age of AI: Leveraging InterDisciplinarity

Led by Nigel Shadbolt, University of Oxford

Three-dimensional spatial patterning of tissue development dynamics using light-addressable small molecule morphogens

Led by Matthew Fuchter, University of Oxford

HIDDEN SAND: Holistic Investigation of the Distribution, Extraction, and Networks associated with SAND

Led by Julian Leyland, University of Southampton

Sensing On Urban Noise: Distributed Sensing For Collaborative And Sustainable Cityscapes And Living Environments (SOUNDSCALE)

Led by Rafael Mestre, University of Southampton

Ecological knowledge games

Led by Alexander Duthie, University of Stirling

JED-AIs: Justice, Energy, Demand flexibility and AI for sustainability

Led by Vladimir Stankovic, University of Strathclyde

Microbes that listen: sono-bio technology for persistent organic pollutants

Led by Madeleine Bussemaker, University of Surrey

CONTAIN: CONtact Tracing, Infection and Transmission: An INterdisciplinary approach

Led by Robin Goodwin, University of Warwick

Top image:  Credit: xavierarnau, E+ via Getty Images

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