Tag: UKRI

UKRI backs Midlands Mindforge to deploy first spinout investments

Stuart Mitchell

Midlands Mindforge, the investment company dedicated to supporting university spinouts in the Midlands, has completed its first round of investments. Marking a major milestone in scaling high‑potential, research‑led businesses emerging from the Midlands, this will help unlock an initial £30 million of capital into the region. This active investment stage follows support from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (through Research England) along with the: Mayors of the East and West Midlands Rigby Group Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) via the Invest in UK University Research and Development (R&D)…

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UK’s largest independent gambling harms research centre launches

Stuart Mitchell

The centre, a UKRI investment funded through the government’s Gambling Levy, will direct world-leading research on how to tackle and prevent gambling harms.  Harmful gambling’s burden on the UK economy is conservatively estimated at around £1.4 billion per year. This impacts the healthcare and criminal justice systems as well as generating individual impacts such as depression and suicide. A lack of high‑quality independent evidence on gambling-related harms is a major barrier to effective policy, prevention, and treatment. Generating evidence-led research The Gambling Harms Research UK (GHR-UK) Evidence Centre will work with government, health bodies, charities, people with lived experience of gambling. As well as the wider…

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Families ‘left in dark’ on UPFs risks to children: UKRI dialogue

Stuart Mitchell

People across the UK worry processed foods may harm children’s health but say a lack of clear evidence leaves families in the dark, UKRI public dialogue found. UK families expressed widespread concern about how ultra-processed foods (UPFs) could be affecting: pregnancy child development mental health obesity long‑term health outcomes Many said that without clear evidence, they are unaware of the consequences of diets increasingly dominated by these foods. They would now like to see urgent research to understand the risks. A year-long public dialogue This is just one of many…

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£50m research and innovation programme launched to make Britain’s streets safer for everyone

Stuart Mitchell

New research and innovation programme set as part of the Safer Streets Mission. Funding to go to projects to help reduce violence against women and girls, and knife crime. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has launched five Safer Streets Challenges backed by £50 million of funding, as part of the government’s £500 million Research and Development Missions Accelerator Programme (R&D MAP). This will bring together researchers, innovators, communities, policing and frontline practitioners to tackle the crimes that affect people’s daily lives, using research and innovation to create solutions. The R&D…

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Plant scientists tackle major threat to UK wheat 

Stuart Mitchell

Ancient wheat collections might hold the secret to tackling a new pathogen strain that could devastate UK wheat crops. A fungus known as yellow rust can destroy wheat, reducing harvests and driving up prices, which in turn can affect the price of staple foods like bread and pasta. One mechanism keeping it under control is to use wheat varieties with natural genetic resistance to the pathogen. New strains of yellow rust in the UK But last year, new strains of yellow rust appeared in UK wheat fields that have overcome this critical genetic defence and are posing a threat to wheat crops.…

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