Frontiers in discovery science

Cancer; immunology, infection and inflammation; neuroscience, experimental psychology, oral health and disease and optometry

At the Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research we have strong areas of discovery science in subjects that include cancer; immunology, infection and inflammation; neuroscience, experimental psychology, oral health and disease and optometry.

Our research ranges from the study of how tumours grow, how cells can become damaged in disease and how the immune system fights infection (e.g. we are fascinated by the health potential of a unique cohort of patients we have identified who seem to be immune to hepatitis C) to the development, by our dental molecular biologists, of tissue engineering for tooth replacement.

The work of PIHR Discovery takes place across the University, but has a focus in our Plymouth health campus that includes the Derriford Research Facility, our new Brain Research and Imaging Centre (BRIC), Plymouth Science Park, and Derriford Hospital which is the largest regional hospital and a tertiary referral facility including the Major Trauma Centre for the peninsula.

Key areas of discovery include:

Cancer
Seeking to understand the differences between normal and aberrant signalling which promote metaplasia and cancer; and how biological information and genetics can be used in translational and clinical research strategies to improve patient therapy globally

Infection, immunity and inflammation
Bringing together basic scientists and clinicians to link our laboratory-based studies with clinical applications to drive improved diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for infectious disease and other conditions, including cancer and neurodegeneration

Neuroscience
Our discovery research seeks to understand the pathological processes that give rise to neurodegenerative diseases (MS, Alzheimer's, Motor Neurone, Parkinson's) as well as disorders of myelinating cells, ischemia and brain tumours

Oral health and disease research
Increasing evidence of the strong links between oral health and disease and a range of medical conditions makes the prevention, detection and treatment of oral disease of high importance in clinical medicine and public health as well as in dentistry

Eye and vision research group
PIHR's Eye and Vision Research Group undertake fundamental discovery research into the human visual system. Vision is rated as the most important of the five senses; it is responsible for more than 80% of input to the brain

Brain Research and Imaging Centre (Brain and mind discovery research)
BRIC provides a hub for interdisciplinary brain research, combining human brain imaging with cutting-edge neuroscience to reveal the neural mechanisms of human learning, movement, navigation, language, decision-making, perception and imagination