Queen's University Belfast: against COVID-19 University
Entity: Queen's University Belfast
Category: University
Description: Queen's University Belfast (informally Queen's or QUB) is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university received its charter in 1845 as "Queen's College, Belfast" and opened four years later. Queen's University Belfast is ranked in the top 173 universities in the world (QS World Rankings 2020), with the second highest ranking on the island of Ireland. Queen's offers academic degrees at various levels and across a broad subject range, with more than 300 degree programmes available. The current president and vice-chancellor is Ian Greer. The annual income of the institution for 2017–18 was £369.2 million of which £91.7 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £338.4 million. Queen's University Belfast was admitted as a member of the self-appointed Russell Group of UK research-intensive universities in November 2006. It was ranked joint 42nd in the UK for the quality (GPA) of its research and 19th for its Research Power in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework.
Researchers at Queen’s are at the heart of supporting global efforts to understand the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Queen's are leading new research projects to address COVID-19, supporting local, national and international efforts to expand our knowledge of the pandemic and deploying this enhanced intelligence to develop solutions that will benefit society in Northern Ireland, and across the UK and globally.
1. Project: 'RECOVERY-RS Respiratory Support : Respiratory Strategies in COVID-19; CPAP, High-flow, and standard care'
Summary: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged at the end of 2019 as a new coronavirus, resulting in a current global pandemic of respiratory illness, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This illness can cause serious breathing difficulties and it is important to provide ventilatory (lung or respiratory system) methods to support the patient to breathe. Deciding which form of ventilatory support for patients with COVID-19 is the most effective is critical to ensure the best therapy is given to patients and to protect vital UK critical care resources and NHS organisations. The trial will also have the potential to provide information on the global ventilation practice for patients with COVID-19. This trial will look at three different approaches to providing ventilatory support to patients suspected or confirmed COVID-19, all of which are currently in use in clinical practice at present; High Flow Nasal Oxygen (HFNO), Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), and standard care involving regular oxygen therapy. The project will see which is more effective in relation to survival of patients and intubation (tube inserted in to patient's throat to help them breathe). There is currently little evidence to support the use of HFNO or CPAP compared to standard care in patients with COVID-19. This trial will also look at other important outcomes in patients whilst they are in hospital such as how long it takes to intubate a patient, time to death, survival in critical care and hospital stay and length of critical care and hospital stay up until 30 days or hospital discharge, whichever comes later.
The trial is a multi-centre randomised controlled trial taking place in 40 hospital sites in the UK with the aim to recruit 4,002 patients. The trial will take place over a period of 18 months.
This project is a collaborative study between Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Warwick and Wellcome-Wolfson Institute that is testing the efficacy of non-invasive interventions at an earlier stage in disease progression as an effective alternative to using ventilators for COVID-19 patients. (NIHR funded; Danny McAuley, Wellcome-Wolfson Institute For Experimental Medicine).
2. Project: Wellcome-Wolfson Institute
Summary: The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) Regional Virus Laboratory team are working in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast and BHSCT Regional Genetics Laboratory to sequence SARS-CoV-2 samples from patients in Northern Ireland as part of the COG-UK consortium. 'COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium' is a collaboration between the NHS, Public Health England and other UK public health agencies, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Cambridge and other academic institutions.
3. Project: PgCert
Summary: Queen’s has launched a free online part-time Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) in Software Development, to upskill and retrain individuals in programming, testing and computing foundations. The Department for the Economy will be funding 100 places on the course, offering meaningful upskilling for those who have either been furloughed or lost their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also increase the supply of skills in an area of strategic economic need. Those completing the course will be awarded a PgCert in Software Development or alternatively can progress directly into Year 2 of the part-time MSc in Software Development at the University, working towards completion of their Master’s in September 2021.
QUB is working to support those sectors of the economy that will be impacted, and helping invest in the local skills base. They have launched this free postgraduate certificate in software development for people whose career has been impacted by COVID19. Queen’s is a partner in the £850 million Belfast Region City Deal investment, where they will play a key leadership role in collaboratively driving projects that will foster innovation in key sectors including data science, creative industries, advanced manufacturing and health.
4. Project: Highly accurate diagnostic test for COVID-19
Summary: Queen’s University Belfast has received funding to conduct a trial with the aim of developing a rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19. The study is in partnership with HiberGene Diagnostics Ltd, Medcaptain in China, and Italian Hospital IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, who along with Queen’s, has been awarded €930,000 from EU H2020 to develop a highly accurate diagnostic test for COVID-19 that aims to show results within an hour. The test would enable clinicians to test for COVID-19 on site, eliminating the need to send tests to a centralised laboratory, saving time and resources.
5. Project: IMPaCCt Study - Investigating the impact of COVID-19 on Caregivers and patients.
Summary: Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Aberdeen, invite you to take part in an online research study investigating the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on caregivers and patients with cancer, pre-cancerous conditions and rare diseases. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a virus [severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2)], the virus responsible for COVID-19.
6. Project: Novel cell therapy approach to treat lung injury caused by COVID-19
Summary: A clinical trial testing a novel cell therapy approach whereby cells derived from human tissues are being used to treat lung injury in patients with ARDS caused by COVID-19. It is hoped that this approach will rectify the underlying causes of serious lung damage. (HSC funded; Danny McAuley & Cecilia O’Kane, Wellcome-Wolfson Institute For Experimental Medicine)
7. Project: Alliance with Fusion Antibodies
Summary: QUB is leading the search for new diagnostic tests for COVID-19 and new anti-viral drugs to treat COVID-19 infection. An alliance between Queen’s researchers and a leading local biotech company, Fusion Antibodies, is using the latest technologies to develop new antibody tools to both help detect and neutralise SARS-CoV-2. (INI funded; Chris Scott, The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research & Fuquan Liu, School of Biological Sciences)
8. Project: Search for new drugs,against COVID-19
In the search for new drugs, researchers at Queen’s initiated a new collaboration between a virologist and a haematologist who are working with their teams to screen over 500,000 drug combinations on lung tissue models infected with COVID-19 in the laboratory. (UKRI funded; Ultan Power, Wellcome-Wolfson Institute For Experimental Medicine & Ken Mills, The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research)
9. Project: Systematic reviews to inform healthcare decision makers
Summary: Researchers are undertaking systematic reviews to produce evidence that will inform healthcare decision makers by gathering robust data on the effects of interventions for COVID-19 and its impact, with the aim of alleviating its effects. (Mike Clarke, Centre for Public Health)
10. Project: Impact of COVID-19 on mental health.
Summary: In Psychology researchers are running surveys to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health, including the impacts of imposed quarantine with the aim of better managing the anxieties that quarantine can provoke. (Cherie Armour, School of Psychology).
11. Project: UK-wide Mental Health Impacts of Coronavirus
Summary: The world is currently in the grip of the new Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Whilst ‘flattening the curve’ and a race for a vaccine are the main foci, the population mental health impacts of the pandemic are going to last much longer than the physical health impacts. The Mental Health Foundation UK (P.I.) has teamed up with Dr Tine Van Bortel at the Cambridge Institute of Public Health (Co-P.I.) and three collaborating universities across the UK (Swansea, Belfast and Glasgow) to monitor the psychological wellbeing of the nation as the Coronavirus pandemic sweeps around the world. This longitudinal study conducts fortnightly surveys as well as qualitative research with people in the UK to ensure that emerging mental health problems are spotted early on and appropriate interventions are developed and implemented.
Collaborators: This research is a collaboration between the Mental Health Foundation UK (P.I.), the University of Cambridge (Academic Co-P.I.) and three additional collaborating universities (Co-Is) in Swansea, Belfast and Glasgow, ensuring presence of each devolved nation in the UK.
12. Project: Impact on patients with cancer
Summary: The study aims to assess the health, healthcare and psychosocial impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on patients with cancer, those with a pre-cancerous condition and patients with rare diseases and to evaluate its impact on caregivers during and after the coronavirus pandemic using an online survey. (Lesley Ann Anderson & colleagues, Centre for Public Health)
13. Project: Responses to global pandemics study
Summary: Researchers are working to develop a better understanding of how to prepare for, and respond to, global pandemics through the lens of a rights-based approach, offering a vital reference for policy-making at national and global levels that prioritises fair pandemic preparedness to cross border health threats. (EU funded; Patrycja Dąbrowska-Kłosińska & Thérèse Murphy, School of Law)
14. Project: Impact of the pandemic on the working practices.
Summary: The project will examine the impacts of the pandemic on the working practices of foundation trainees fast-tracked into practice, doctors redeployed to unfamiliar clinical services, and recently retired doctors recalled to practice. The work will identify pathways to positive impact and for workforce development more generally. (Tim Dornan, Centre for Medical Education)
15. Project: Queen’s community in response to COVID-19
Summary: Queen’s staff and students are working together to support individuals infected with SARS-CoV2 and to protect wider society from the consequences of the COVID-19 disease. "The incredible united effort by the Queen’s community in response to COVID-19 demonstrates our commitment to delivering positive impact on society. We are enormously proud of the collective strength and determination to make a difference to those who need it most", Professor Stuart Elborn, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences. They are supporting the Department of Health by increasing the capacity of COVID-19 diagnostic testing in Northern Ireland, and their final year students in medicine, nursing and social work are receiving specialist training to join the workforce early and their trained and registered healthcare academics are also moving into full-time NHS activity. They are working with the Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland to enable Medical, Nursing, Pharmacy and Dentistry students to volunteer on the frontline, bringing meals, comfort and prescriptions to isolated patients, and students across the university are volunteering to help in many ways from translation services to community support.
16. Project: Research projects.
Summary: Queen's University Belfast is focussing their research on the global fight against COVID-19: their scientists are working on therapies for SARS-CoV2; researchers are leading clinical trials; data and informatics teams are working on public health modelling to support a better understanding of the disease and ways in which we could limit spread, and they are working to help develop a new, rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19.
17. Project: COVIDENCE UK study
Summary: Queen's University Belfast, Queen Mary University of London, King’s College London, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Edinburgh and Swansea University are working on the COVIDENCE UK study, which will help identify who is most at risk of contracting COVID-19 and why some people become more ill than others with the disease.
18. Project: Repurposing FDA-approved drugs
Summary: Their trial work includes repurposing FDA-approved drugs for treatment of 2019-nCoV-induced disease.
Other projects:
Their engineers are 3D-printing PPE visors and designing and manufacturing valves for ventilators. QUB is hosting live free school lessons, and their academics in Psychology, Education, Law, Social Work, Economics, and Politics are developing insights and guidance on how we might respond as a wider society to the current situation and the consequences of the pandemic over the coming years. Across Queen’s teams in the Language Centre, Queen’s Film Theatre, Queen’s Sport, the Naughton Gallery and many more have been working to develop online activities to keep anyone informed, entertained and active at home.
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