UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA STUDENT AWARDED ‘STROSS FELLOWSHIP’ BY DR HADWEN TRUST TO CONDUCT GROUND BREAKING NON-ANIMAL MEDICAL RESEARCH

Stuart Keppie, 21, has been awarded a prestigious ‘Stross Fellowship’ by the Dr Hadwen Trust (DHT), the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity. The DHT’s new Stross Fellowship Programme complements their existing Summer Studentship Programme.

Said Dr Brett Cochrane, Group Head of Science at the Dr Hadwen Trust, “Our summer studentships create the opportunity for early career scientists to experience, and actively participate in, the development of innovative research to help improve the ‘toolbox’ of non-animal technologies and advance biomedical research. In conjunction with our summer studentships, PhD studentships and post-doctoral research positions, the Alan and Kathie Stross Fellowships will allow us to further embed non-animal medical research as an option for the next generation of scientists.”

The fellowships have been named after Alan and Kathie Stross, who were committed supporters of the Dr Hadwen Trust and who, in an incredible act of generosity, left the DHT a substantial legacy to fund the fellowships.

The Alan and Kathie Stross Summer Fellowships have been awarded to graduates to commence this summer immediately after completing their degree, and prior to them continuing their biological sciences post-graduate education. Research activities focus on the direct replacement of various animal species with a preference for primates, cats or dogs in biomedical research.

In diabetes, skin wounds often heal very slowly which can cause a great deal of pain and can also lead to the wounds becoming infected. If it is not possible to stop the infection sometimes surgeons have to amputate toes or even legs below the knee. There is a need to find a way to test potential drugs on human skin outside the body.

This Fellowship will allow Stuart, under the supervision of Dr Jelena Gavrilovic at the University of East Anglia, to develop a new model of human skin wound healing in the laboratory which will compare what happens in healthy skin compared to skin in diabetes. The project, if successful, would provide an important all-human test bed for impaired wound healing in diabetes which could be used in preference to animal experiments.

Stuart, who is originally from Plymouth, was educated at Comberton Village College, Cambridgeshire, and Long Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge. He is in the final year of a Biological Sciences degree at the University of East Anglia.

Stuart said, “Since learning science in school I have been taught about the issues of animal testing, and over time I have formed the opinion that the reduction and replacement of animal testing is a necessity wherever possible. This Fellowship will allow me to engage in my passion for scientific research, while aligning myself to the approach I endeavour to follow.”

Said Dr Kay Miller, Group Head of Operations at the Dr Hadwen Trust, “We are delighted for Stuart and the other five scientists who have gained Fellowships this summer, along with the twelve summer studentships we are funding. Our ability to fund this innovative type of research is only made possible by the charitable donations we receive from our supporters, many of whom come from East Anglia. We are very grateful for that support.”

For further information about the Dr Hadwen Trust and details of how to donate please visit: www.drhadwentrust.org
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NOTES TO EDITOR

1. The Dr Hadwen Trust is a national charity, based in Hitchin, Herts, which funds and promotes non-animal medical research. Since 1971 grants have been awarded to over 180 research projects for some of the most advanced and successful human-related techniques in the most diverse areas of medical research including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, kidney, heart and liver disease and diabetes.
2. Over the last 5 years alone the Dr Hadwen Trust has funded almost £3.7 million worth of animal replacement research projects across the UK at student, PhD and post-doctoral level.
3. The DHT Summer Studentship scheme was introduced in 2012 and this year the Dr Hadwen Trust is funding 12 (twelve) Summer Studentships at a value of £1,940 per student.
4. The DHT Stross Fellowship Programme is being launched this summer and the DHT is funding 6 (six) Fellowships worth up to £3,400 per fellow.
5. For more information contact Dr Kay Miller at: [email protected] or call: 01462 436819.