Connecting Research

Help us beat heart attacks and stroke
2018-10-11 08:00 - 2019-01-12 17:00 (Europe/London)
University of Reading scientists are calling on members of the public to help make a breakthrough in the fight against the world’s leading cause of death. We are seeking volunteers to provide blood samples for a new heart disease study, examining how factors like blood cholesterol can affect a person’s risk of heart attacks or strokes.
Blood clots which form when they are not needed can cause heart attacks and strokes by blocking blood vessels. Although there are many clot-busting drugs on the market, heart attack and strokes are still one of the biggest causes of death in the UK. Research has found that there is a big variation in the activity of people’s platelets – the tiny cells in our blood which kick off the clotting process.
Researchers at the University of Reading are carrying out a British Heart Foundation-funded study called METPLAR (Understanding Metabolic Factors that Contribute to Platelet Reactivity) that is looking into what influences the speed and extent to which platelets can respond to blood vessel damage, and what factors are likely to cause formation of large clots. We will find out whether there is a relationship between a person’s platelet reactivity and a number of other parameters, including how sensitive we are to the hormone insulin, and levels of cholesterol in the blood.
With these measurements we hope to identify more accurate methods of testing platelets and determine which anti-platelet medications will work best with different individuals.
Can you help us?
We are currently looking for volunteers willing to take part in the study. The study consists of one short visit (about 45 minutes) to the Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition at the University of Reading, where your blood pressure, height, weight, waist and hip circumference and body fat composition will be measured and a blood sample will also be taken.
We are currently recruiting non-smoking men and women aged 30-65 years who are not diabetic or taking medications for cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure or inflammatory conditions.
You will be reimbursed travel expenses associated with the study.
If you meet our criteria and are interested in taking part please contact the METPLAR study by phoning 0118 378 7096 or e-mailing us at metplar@reading.ac.uk.
Further information
What is blood clotting?
Blood clotting is a very important process that is tightly regulated within our blood vessels. When we damage our blood vessels, blood clots form to form a ‘plug’ and prevent blood loss. But if clots form in the absence of damage, this can lead to blockage of our blood vessels.
The process of blood clotting is initiated by the smallest cells in our blood which are called platelets. These platelets circulate in the body in a resting state until they come into contact with a stimulator that signals to them that the blood vessels have been damaged. Platelets respond to these signals by clumping together and sticking to the site of damage forming a ‘plug’. This plug is then encased by a protein in the blood, called fibrin, which makes the clot more robust. After the clot has ‘plugged’ the site of injury, the wound is then healed over time by the body’s immune system and the clot is dissolved.
How can blood clotting lead to thrombosis?
When regulated properly, the blood clotting system works very well, however occasionally it can become dysregulated. Sometimes our platelets can become activated when they shouldn’t causing blood clots to form in places where they are not required. This unwanted clot formation can lead to a process called thrombosis. where blood clots form and grow uncontrollably large, restricting blood flow through a blood vessel and in some cases causing complete vessel blockage. These large blood clots can also break off from the vessel wall and become lodged in vessels elsewhere in the body. If thrombosis and blockage occurs in a blood vessel in the heart or in the brain this can cause a heart attack or a stroke which can have fatal consequences.
How can we help prevent thrombosis?
There are a number of successful drugs on the market that function by preventing the formation of blood clots to reduce the incidence of heart attacks and strokes, however, despite this success, heart attacks are still one of the biggest causes of death in the UK. Research has found that there is a large variation in how different people’s platelets within the normal healthy population react to stimulation and some react much more readily than others. Researchers at the University of Reading are performing a study that is looking into which factors influence the speed and extent at which platelets can respond to blood vessel damage, and what factors are likely to contribute to the formation of large clots. We will determine whether there is a relationship between an individual’s platelet reactivity and a number of metabolic parameters, including insulin sensitivity, and blood cholesterol. With these measurements we hope to identify more accurate methods of testing platelets and determine which anti-platelet medications will work best with different individuals. This human study will be performed in collaboration with the Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition at the University of Reading.
What is World Thrombosis Day?
Saturday the 13th of October marks the annual “World Thrombosis Day” campaign. The aim of this global campaign is to raise awareness of thrombosis which is a condition that is often misunderstood and overlooked and is caused by the development of unwanted blood clots. The aims of the World Thrombosis Day campaign is to increase global awareness of the causes, risk factors, symptoms, prevention and treatment of thrombosis in order to ultimately reduce death and disability caused by the condition. If you would like to know more about World Thrombosis Day or the fundraising that is being done to raise awareness of this campaign, visit the World Thrombosis day website http://www.worldthrombosisday.org/.

Typography Workshop
2018-11-06 11:00 - 13:00 | Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, TOB 2, Earley Gate, Whiteknights Campus, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 7BE, United Kingdom
Searching for printed images with computer vision
Abstract: Computer vision has made rapid progress in recent years: computers can now reliably match the same image; find differences in similar images; and classify content within multiple images. This hands-on session will demonstrate how to install and use state-of-the-art open source software from the University of Oxford’s Visual Geometry Group. Attendees will leave the session with knowledge of how to match, differentiate, classify and annotate content within many kinds of images, but with particular reference to print.
Requirements: a relatively recent laptop (not a tablet or phone), ideally one capable of running Docker (please install in advance, if possible). Online demos will be provided for those unable to install software. Demonstration data will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring along (1) pairs of images exhibiting small differences, such as variant printings, restruck coins or altered photographs and (2) collections of images containing identical features, such as multiple images of buildings, duplicate photographs or collections of woodcuts and other printed images, and their original printing surfaces.
Bio: Dr. Giles Bergel (www.printing-machine.org) is a digital humanist and book historian based in the Department of Engineering Sciences at the University of Oxford and the Department of Information Studies at University College London. He has been working on computer vision within the humanities since the creation of the Bodleian Library’s Broadside Ballads Online resource in 2012, which implements a computer vision tool that is among several that he now manages and supports. HIs other interests include bibliography, typography and book design; the history of copyright; book trade history; and text encoding
The workshop will take place in Typography Room T4. If you are interested in attending this workshop and have not already registered, please contact Dr Rob Banham directly – r.e.banham@reading.ac.uk

Collections Research Network Autumn Showcase
2018-11-08 12:00 - 14:00 | Edith Morley, Room 301, Whiteknights campus, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR
The Collections Research Network is an opportunity for staff to share good practice and discuss upcoming research projects using collections.
It is facilitated by the Heritage and Creativity Institute for Collections (HCIC), who are keen to support researchers to shape the format by piloting more informal and interactive sessions over the coming year.
If you have a project which you would like to showcase in a 15 minute presentation please get in touch with HCIC director Dr Rhi Smith r.smith@reading.ac.uk.
To book a place at the showcase please contact hcic@reading.ac.uk. A light working lunch will be provided.

Collections Research Network Autumn Showcase
2018-11-08 12:00 - 14:00 | Edith Morley, Room 301, Whiteknights campus, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR
The Collections Research Network is an opportunity for staff to share good practice and discuss upcoming research projects using collections.
It is facilitated by the Heritage and Creativity Institute for Collections (HCIC), whoa re keen to support researchers to shape the format by piloting more informal and interactive sessions over the coming year.
If you have a project which you would like to showcase in a 15 minute presentation, please get in touch with HCIC director Dr Rhi Smith r.smith@readin.ac.uk.
To book a place at the showcase please contact hcic@reading.ac.uk. A light working lunch will be provided.

Wheat Responses To Piriformospora Indica Inoculation
2018-11-13 00:00 | Room 1U02, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
School of Agriculture, Policy and Development – Autumn 2018
Postgraduate talk on Wheat Responses To Piriformospora Indica Inoculation.
This talk will be given by Samer
For further information contact Ferdousi Rahman via email; ferdousi.rahman@reading.ac.uk

Ayn Rand from the left: questioning Rand through literary theory, questioning literary theory through Rand
2018-11-13 10:00 - 15:00 | Chancellor’s Building, Room G15, Whiteknights Campus, University of Reading, Reading, Reading, RG6 6AH
A one-day conference at the University of Reading
Speakers:
Professor Ian Parker – Rand, Libertarianism and Psychoanalysis
Dr Jan de Vos – Rand and Psychologization
Dr Krissie West – Atlas Shrugged and American pastoral
Carl Packman – Randian Economics
Jerome Cox-Strong – The New Left: Rand and the cure
Dr Neil Cocks – Rand and art theory

Electron Microscopy Workshops
2018-11-13 11:00 - 12:00
Sherrie Foo, University of Reading
Electron Microscopy Workshops
If you think that electron microscopy may be useful in your research, or if you simply want to find out more about the technique, and the facilities available at Reading, come along to the free workshops at the Electron Microscopy Lab.
To register your interest for the following sessions, contact Sherrie Foo s.j.foo@reading.ac.uk ext 4616
Specimen preparation for SEM
X-ray microanalysis
Specimen preparation for TEM

Biological Sciences Seminars Series
2018-11-13 13:00 - 13:50 | Harborne Lecture Theatre, Harborne Building, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR
School of Biological Sciences
Research Seminars Series – Autumn Term, 2018
Tuesdays 1:00- 1:50pm
Venue – Harborne Lecture Theatre, Harborne Building
Dr Grishna Pirianov – Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
‘Modulation of macrophage polarization by novel monosaccharide-based Toll-like receptor 4 antagonists (FP7 derivatives): implications in treatment of CVD’
Hosted by Prof David Leake

Mathematical Modelling of Immunoglobulin Class Switching
2018-11-13 13:00 - 14:00 | M212, WhiteKnights, Reading, RG6 6AX, United Kingdom
Department of Mathematics and Statistics Seminar Series – Autumn 2018
Mathematical Biology Group Meeting
Osamah Alayafi – University of Reading
For further information, please email maths@reading.ac.uk or telephone 0118 378 8996

Political Voices: A View Across The Border - In Conversation With Danny Kinahan
2018-11-13 16:15 - 17:30 | Edith Morley, Room G25, Edith Morley Building, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
On November 13, the Politics and IR Research Seminar will be a little different. As part of marking UK Parliament Week, we have invited former Ulster Unionist MP and MLA member Danny Kinahan to share his views and insight on the thorny problems of Northern Ireland and Brexit.
In accepting the invitation, Danny said: “It makes obvious sense to discuss Northern Ireland and Brexit now. That means explaining our electoral system and how we got to where we are – and how we manage our way through this quagmire.”
Danny will present his thoughts and will be happy to take questions from staff and students alike. The event will start at 4.15 and conclude by 5.30pm. It is open to all students and staff.

Discussion and Debate: Faith In A Changing World
2018-11-13 18:00 - 20:00 | Henley Business School, Room G11, Henley Business School, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
Interfaith Week 2018
Politically and socially, the world has changed over the last few years in ways that few could predict. In this complex and fast-changing world, what is the place of religious faith? How have world religions contributed and reacted to social and political changes in recent times? How do believers of different kinds interpret these events and what suggestions do various faith paths have for finding a way forwards?
At this event, which is being held in Interfaith week 2018, representatives from different world religions, including Rabbi Jonathan Romain (Maidenhead Synagogue) and Rt Revd Andrew Proud (Bishop of Reading) provide their own perspectives and answer questions from the audience.
Admission free. Booking essential.
To book your place visit www.reading.ac.uk/events

Putting Things in the Right Place: How do bacteria get organised?
2018-11-14 13:00 - 13:50 | Harborne Lecture Theatre, Harborne Building, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR
Professor Judith Armitage, University of Oxford
Putting things in the right place; How do bacteria get organised?
Lowry Lecture 2018, School of Biological Sciences,
Hosted by Prof Kim Watson

Real Estate and Planning research seminar - Affordability, Viability and the National Planning Policy Framework
2018-11-14 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker: Professor Antonia Layard, University of Bristol

Engaging with Policymakers
2018-11-14 13:30 - 16:00
Researcher Development Programme- Communications Training Sessions
At some point in their career, many researchers will be asked to provide advice to policymakers in government, the public sector or the private sector. In this session, we will discuss some of the different ways that researchers can engage with Westminster and with Whitehall. We will look at how policymakers access information to help them make decisions and explore some of the different routes that researchers can use to engage in parliamentary processes. We will also discuss how to write an impartial summary of your research and situate your work in a wider policy context. We will work with practical examples with plenty of time for discussion.
To book a place on this session, please contact peopledevelopment@reading.ac.uk

Vocabulary Learning Through Listening: Comparing L2 Explanations, Teachers Codeswitching, Contrastive Focus-on-Form and Incidental Learning
2018-11-15 13:00 - 14:00 | London Road, Building LO24, Room G06, 4 Redlands Road, Reading, RG1 5AQ, United Kingdom
Institute of Education Seminar Series- Autumn Term 2018
Dr Anthony Zhang, ECR
Please feel free to bring your lunch along to this event.

Political Voices: Dr Philip Lee MP On Brexit
2018-11-15 19:00 - 21:00 | Edith Morley Building, Van Emden Lecture Theatre, Edith Morley Building, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
Join us in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Reading to meet our latest ‘Political Voice’. Our guest is both the MP for Bracknell and a practising GP and until June he was a Junior Justice Minister in Theresa May’s Government. Yet this conservative loyalist chose to resign from government over the direction Theresa May’s team has set – and in particular over the Chequers proposal.
Phillip will be talking about this and about his views on Brexit overall and its impact on the UK. A keen sportsman, he’s not known for pulling political punches so there’s no doubt his talk and our open Q&A session will be compelling and challenging – who knows, it might even cross a few ‘red lines’.

Chemical and Physical Methods For Making Nanoparticles and Their Application, Especially In Heterogeneous Catalysis
2018-11-19 15:30 - 16:30 | Lecture Theatre G, Chemistry, Whiteknights Campus, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
Chemistry Seminar Series – Autumn 2018
Dr Peter Ellis and Dr Alistair Kean
All are welcome
For further information on this seminar contact b.l.parr@reading.ac.uk

Workshop: Creating an inclusive learning environment for pupils with visible differences
2018-11-20 16:30 - 18:00 | Edith Morley, Room G44, Edith Morley Building, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
For more information contact Dr Marjorie Gehrhardt.

Is Facial Prejudice The Last Taboo?
2018-11-20 19:30
We are all exposed to a visual diet that tells us that our happiness and success depend on our facial looks. James Partridge, founder of the charity Changing Faces, was severely injured in a car fire at the age of 18. He has since worked tirelessly to support people with unusual-looking faces and to raise awareness of our unconscious prejudice against facial disfigurement. He will share his inspiring story of challenging society to stop taking people at ‘face value’.
Health Humanities Public Lecture. Admission free. Register to attend this event here.
For more information contact Marjorie Gehrhardt at: languages@reading.ac.uk

Research Data Management: An Introduction
2018-11-21 09:30 - 11:30
Researcher Development Programme – Communications Training Sessions
The aim of this course is to introduce general principles and practices of research data management that will be applicable to researchers at all stages of their careers working with research data in any discipline, whether in the sciences, social sciences or humanities. The course will cover public funders’ and the University’s research data policies and requirements; data management plans for funding applications; ethics and legal compliance; storage, organisation and documentation of data; ownership of rights in data; data preservation and sharing.
To book a place on this session, please email peopledevelopment@reading.ac.uk

The Accuracy of Consensus Real Estate Forecasts Revisited
2018-11-21 13:00 - 14:00 | Henley Business School, Room G14, United Kingdom
Real Estate and Planning Research Seminar
Speaker: Professor Pat McAllister, University of Reading

Stakeholder Mapping for Research Staff
2018-11-21 13:30 - 16:00
Researcher Development Programme- Communications Training Sessions
Understanding your key stakeholders and what they want from your research is a fundamental part of any successful communications or engagement plan. This session will introduce some simple tools to help identify and prioritise potential stakeholders and to decide how best to work with them. We will use case studies from research teams across the University and live examples from participants to show how understanding your audiences can help you to improve your research and its impact. Led by Research Communications and Engagement team. This is a new session that is currently being developed.
Please reserve the date and time if you think this may be of interest to you, as it is not yet available to book via Employee Self Service.

Human Rights, Global Wrongs: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70
2018-11-21 19:30 | Palmer Building, Room G10, Palmer Building, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
Professor Rosa Freedman, School of Law
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created in 1948, as a method to combat the horrors of Nazi Germany ever happening again. The Declaration sets out that there are fundamental rights that all people have by virtue of being born human. Seventy years later and we see violations of those rights across the world. Torture, enforced disappearances, gender-based violence, repression of political dissidents, and many more. Recent years have seen the rise of totalitarian regimes and of state-sponsored racism and xenophobia.

In this public lecture Professor Rosa Freedman will explain what human rights are, why they matter, and the challenges we face in ensuring that individuals have their fundamental rights protected.

Part of the University of Reading’s Public Lecture series
ADMISSION FREE – BOOKING ADVISABLE

Register to attend here.

LOB Research Seminar
2018-11-22 12:00 - 15:00 | Henley Business School, Room G10, Whiteknights, RG6 6AH
Leadership Organisations and Behaviour Research Seminar
Guest speaker Satish Nambisan

The Stenton Symposium
2018-11-22 13:00 - 17:00 | Palmer Building, Room 102, Palmer Building, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
English Royal Charters 1066-1215: Discoveries, Gaps and Opportunities
This symposium brings together half a dozen of the world’s leading experts on English twelfth-century history, to discuss the usefulness of charters as a historical source, and the possibilities for their future exploitation.
For further information contact execsupporthums@reading.ac.uk

Register to attend here

Coral Bleaching: A Global Perspective On Heat Stress Over Time
2018-11-22 14:00 | Meteorology Building, Room HP175, WhiteKnights Campus, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6BB, United Kingdom
Visiting Speaker – William Skirving, NOAA and University of Queensland, Australia

The Letters of England's Kings and Queens 1154-1215: A vast new resource?
2018-11-22 18:30
Professor Nicholas Vincent, University of East Anglia
University of Reading Stenton Lecture 2018
Oxford University Press is about to publish the largest corpus of charter materials (essentially the letters and title deeds) preserved for any twelfth-century king. The 4600 such instruments issued in the name of King Henry II not only outnumber those preserved for the kings of France and Germany combined but demonstrate the extent to which Henry II of England towered over his contemporaries and rivals. Ruler of the largest collection of lands assembled in the west since the fall of the empire of Charlemagne, Henry II was also a patron of literature and intellectuals. At the same time, he was notorious both as an unfaithful husband to his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and as the reputed author of the murder of Thomas Becket, his archbishop of Canterbury. What does our new collection of materials, many of them previously unknown or unpublished, tell us that we did not previously know? What do the charters reveal, both of the extent of Henry’s grip on power, in England, France and Ireland, and of his more personal relations, not only with Becket but with a wider circle of courtiers? The result of more than forty years of scholarly endeavour, the publication of this vast new resource is likely to alter for ever our image of one of medieval Europe’s most fascinating kings.
Professor Nicholas Vincent has published a dozen books and some hundred academic articles on various aspects of English and European history in the 12th and 13th centuries, having arrived at Norwich via Oxford, Cambridge, Paris and Canterbury. He is currently finishing an edition of the charters of the Plantagenet kings and queens from Henry II to King John, and leads a major project researching the background to Magna Carta. He is a Fellow of the British Academy. Professor Vincent teaches courses in medieval European History and the Crusades, and a 3rd year special subject on the Norman Conquest of England. He also supervises graduate students in most subjects relating to English and European history 1000-1300AD.
Register to attend this lecture here.
With an accompanying symposium ‘English Royal Charters 1066 -1215: Discoveries, Gaps and Opportunities’

The Long Take: Origins and Endings in Film Noir
2018-11-24 16:30 - 20:00 | Minghella Studios, Minghella Building, Whiteknights Campus, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
On Saturday 24 November, the University’s Heritage & Creativity Institute for Collections is teaming up with Reading Film Theatre for a reading by acclaimed writer Robin Robertson, screening of the classic Orson Welles film ‘Touch of Evil’, and pop-up exhibition.
The Long Take
We welcome Robin Robertson who will read from his vivid verse novel ‘The Long Take’, winner of the Roehampton Poetry Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize, and shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize.
Robin Robertson will be joined in conversation with John Gibbs, Professor of Film, and Steven Matthews, Professor of English Literature to reflect on his use of noir style.
Touch of Evil
This will be followed by a rare opportunity to see the celebrated 1958 film noir, written, directed and co-starring Orson Welles, widely regarded as one of Welles’ best motion pictures and one of the best classic-era films noir.
Doors open at 16:30
ADMISSION FREE – BOOKING ESSENTIAL
Register to attend here
This event is part of the Being Human Festival, a national forum for public engagement with humanities research. This year the festival will feature innovative events and provoke debate around the theme of ‘Origins and Endings’.

Inorganic Metal-Fluoride Complexes- Toward Next Generation PET Imaging Radiotracers
2018-11-26 15:30 - 16:30
Chemistry Seminar Series – Autumn 2018
Professor Gill Reid- University of Southampton
All are welcome
For further information contact b.l.parr@reading.ac.uk

Biological Sciences Seminars Series
2018-11-27 13:00 - 13:50 | Harborne Lecture Theatre, Harborne Building, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR
School of Biological Sciences
Research Seminars Series – Autumn Term, 2018
Tuesdays 1:00- 1:50pm
Venue – Harborne Lecture Theatre, Harborne Building
Dr Chris Faulkes – Queen Mary University London
‘The extraordinary biology of the naked mole-rat: applications to biomedical research’
Hosted by Prof Ketan Patel
