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Physiology and Pharmacology in Manchester

Following another reorganisation after the successful RAE 2001 result, there are now eight Divisions within the reorganisation after the successful RAE 2001 result, there are now eight Divisions within the School of Biological Sciences in Manchester. Many members of both the BPS and the Physiological Society, who are participating in the joint meeting in September, belong to the School and are located in the Divisions of Physiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology (PPT), Neuroscience and Integrative Biology. Others work in the Stopford Building but are members of the Faculty of Medicine, and some of those currently at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) will physically move to the Stopford site during 2004. It is difficult for insiders, let alone visitors, to keep track of all these changes but in this article, I highlight some of the exciting ongoing developments.

The Merger with UMIST - Project Unity
The University of Manchester is merging with UMIST, a move which will significantly consolidate and strengthen biological sciences education and research in Manchester. Formally the merger will be completed by September 2004, and in these days of branding and imaging, the united institution may have a completely new name. Rumour has it that consultants are being paid large sums to formulate this and to design a new logo for the emerging institution. All that is certain is that September 2003 will see the very last meeting of our two Societies in the present Victoria University of Manchester.

New Buildings
When the Physiological Society last met here in March 1999, the so-called Incubator Building (for start-up companies) had just been completed and the Wellcome Clinical Research Centre was being planned. These are now established features of the landscape and were the forerunners of a massive bioscience building programme now underway around the Stopford Building. Thus, work will soon start on 'Incubator 2', the new Bioscience (ICMCB) Building (£50M) will be occupied during 2004, work on the MIB Building (£20M) on the UMIST site will soon start and the planning of the new Centre for Neuroscience (£20M) is well underway.

Teaching
Undergraduate teaching of Physiology and Pharmacology takes place under the auspices of the Medical Biosciences Board. If one includes the degree of BSc in Neuroscience in the calculation, approaching 200 undergraduates are currently being trained in Physiology and Pharmacology and many of them will graduate with one or both these names in their degree title. The figure is even larger if the BSc in Biomedical Sciences is taken into account. Peter Brown and Mike Hollingsworth are currently the Programme Directors for the BSc programmes in Physiology and in Pharmacology, respectively and both are organising Symposia at the meeting.

The training of undergraduates in laboratory techniques has always been a Manchester strength and we have just spent nearly £500K on capital equipment for the multi-user teaching labs. Working closely with the Home Office and with the help of special funding from the British Pharmacological Society and from Industry, our students continue to receive an unparalleled grounding in in vivo techniques. With the Pharmaceutical Industry's increasing requirement for graduates with these skills recently highlighted (see Frantz, 2003: Nature Reviews, Drug Discovery, 2, 801), our considerable investment in this aspect of their education is a major success.

There is continuing expansion of our 4-year courses in Physiology and in Pharmacology with Industrial Experience. Formerly known as sandwich degrees, these provide an unrivalled 12 months' training in research and experimental design. From July 2003, 25 of the very best students in Physiology and Pharmacology (who have just completed their second year studies) will be studying outside Manchester in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and the USA. In our experience, it is from this group that the future leaders in Physiology and Pharmacology emerge.

A Selection of Personalities
Maynard Case is currently the Dean of Biological Sciences, a huge task made even more demanding by Project Unity. In spite of this, he and Martin Steward continue to explore the mechanisms of bicarbonate and water transport in the pancreatic duct and to use cultured epithelial cell lines as models for investigating the roles of acid-base transporters, aquaporin water channels and tight junction proteins.

An ongoing strategy is to consolidate research efforts in the diverse field of receptors, ion channels and transporters. Work in Peter Brown's lab is focused on cation-chloride cotransporters, while Craig Smith's group is clarifying the role of urea transporter proteins belonging to the UT-A sub-family. Five mouse UT-A isoforms have now been identified and structure-function studies are now under way.

Now well-established, Daniela Riccardi and Donald Ward employ a range of molecular and physiological techniques to investigate the role of the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor in cellular calcium homeostasis. Richard Prince, who was recruited from the Mayo Clinic to work on the pharmacology of nicotinic cholinoceptors, will shortly be joined by Liz Fitzgerald (from London) and Kath Hinchliffe (from Cambridge). These two new appointees will establish their own groups in the areas of calcium channels and lipid signalling, respectively.

Another recent appointment is that of Gillian Edwards. A research colleague of mine for many years, we continue to work on endothelium-derived hyper-polarizing factor and on the pharmacology of vascular potassium channels especially those with two-pore domain subunits.

Mark Dunne joined us on 1 March. He needs no introduction, being the Phys Soc's 2002/2003 GL Brown Lecturer, and having only recently stepped down as the Society's Meetings Secretary. Mark has retained academic links with Sheffield and his research now embraces the area of developmental competence in the human foetal pancreas and the generation of insulin-secreting cultures from human embryonic stem cells. Since 1 July, Mark has been the new Chairman of the PPT Division.

Caroline Dive's group focuses on the molecular mechanisms that couple the damage inflicted by anti-cancer drugs in tumour cells to the process of apoptosis. One of her specific interests is whether c-Src, an oncogenic kinase that is routinely elevated in colon cancer, can be modulated to promote drug-induced apoptosis. From September she will be based at the Paterson Institute, where she will direct the cancer pharmacology labs.

Within the Division of Neuroscience, new appointee Stuart Allan is part of Nancy Rothwell's group investigating the mechanisms of neuronal death and the role of cytokines, particularly interleukin-1 and other inflammatory molecules.

Following his move to Manchester from Kiev, Alex Verkhratsky's lab is fully operational and dedicated to investigating the role of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in neuronal calcium signalling. These studies will lead to a better understanding of neurodegenerative disorders such as diabetic peripheral neuropathies, and they complement those of David Tomlinson and Paul Fernyhough, both recent appointments from London. Their work on diabetic neuropathy should form the basis for the identification of novel drug targets and treatments for use in this widespread disease state.

Two further important developments are the recent appointments of Risto Kauppinen (from Kuopio) and Bagi Nadarajah (from London). Risto is creating a new group of in vivo NMR brain imaging, the primary focus of which is the investigation of neurodegenerative disorders. Bagi is working mechanisms underlying the development of the cerebral cortex with respect to neuronal migration and the early development of cortical neurones.

Shortly moving to the Stopford site will be Graham Barnes and his sensorimotor group from UMIST. Perhaps their most important achievement in recent years has been to demonstrate that the rapid predictive response observed in oculomotor control is accomplished through the combined action of short-term storage and timing estimation. They are currently investigating the limitations of sequence learning in hand and eye coordination and the role of cognitive factors in eye movement control.

Cardiovascular studies are well represented in Manchester, and the work of Richard Balment and Nick Ashton (both in the Division of Integrative Biology) ranges from fish to mammals. Some of their current interests include altered Ca2+ transport in diabetes and the offspring of diabetic pregnancy, non-genomic actions of aldosterone and the cardiovascular and renal actions of urotensin II.

Recent imports from Liverpool in the varying forms of David Eisner, Stephen O'Neill (convenor of the Phys Soc's Heart and Cardiac Muscle Special Interest Group), Andy Trafford and Mary Díaz are located in the School of Medicine. Their research interests range from the cellular mechanisms involved in the cardioprotective effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids to the phenomenon of alternans. Complementing their cardiac studies are the vascular investigations of Clare Austin, who is researching the link between calcium and vasomotion.

Also involved in these vascular studies is Mike Taggart who is a member of the Maternal-Fetal Health Research Centre, along with Colin Sibley (convenor of the Phys Soc's Placental and Perinatal special interest group), Sue Greenwood, Paul Speake and Mark Wareing. Their work focuses on various aspects of pregnancy, including placental function, myometrial contractility and control of vascular reactivity in mother and placenta.

Closing Thoughts
In the above paragraphs, I have given a personal view of how Physiology and Pharmacology stand in Manchester. The old departments of Physiology and of Pharmacology may be long gone but the two subjects have never been in better shape. Applications for undergraduate places are buoyant, there are new faculty appointments, the research is '5-star' and we are building and innovating. There is a buzz and dynamism about the place which impresses all our visitors. A warm welcome awaits you. Come and see.

Arthur Weston is Leech Professor of Pharmacology. He is a Trustee of the British Pharmacological Society and its Honorary Treasurer.


		pA₂
		Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Manchester
		Paul Lechat (1920-2003)

	Physiology and Pharmacology in Manchester Following another reorganisation after the successful RAE 2001 result, there are now eight Divisions within the reorganisation after the successful RAE 2001 result, there are now eight Divisions within the School of Biological Sciences in Manchester. Many members of both the BPS and the Physiological Society, who are participating in the joint meeting in September, belong to the School and are located in the Divisions of Physiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology (PPT), Neuroscience and Integrative Biology. Others work in the Stopford Building but are members of the Faculty of Medicine, and some of those currently at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) will physically move to the Stopford site during 2004. It is difficult for insiders, let alone visitors, to keep track of all these changes but in this article, I highlight some of the exciting ongoing developments. The Merger with UMIST - Project Unity The University of Manchester is merging with UMIST, a move which will significantly consolidate and strengthen biological sciences education and research in Manchester. Formally the merger will be completed by September 2004, and in these days of branding and imaging, the united institution may have a completely new name. Rumour has it that consultants are being paid large sums to formulate this and to design a new logo for the emerging institution. All that is certain is that September 2003 will see the very last meeting of our two Societies in the present Victoria University of Manchester. New Buildings When the Physiological Society last met here in March 1999, the so-called Incubator Building (for start-up companies) had just been completed and the Wellcome Clinical Research Centre was being planned. These are now established features of the landscape and were the forerunners of a massive bioscience building programme now underway around the Stopford Building. Thus, work will soon start on 'Incubator 2', the new Bioscience (ICMCB) Building (£50M) will be occupied during 2004, work on the MIB Building (£20M) on the UMIST site will soon start and the planning of the new Centre for Neuroscience (£20M) is well underway. Teaching Undergraduate teaching of Physiology and Pharmacology takes place under the auspices of the Medical Biosciences Board. If one includes the degree of BSc in Neuroscience in the calculation, approaching 200 undergraduates are currently being trained in Physiology and Pharmacology and many of them will graduate with one or both these names in their degree title. The figure is even larger if the BSc in Biomedical Sciences is taken into account. Peter Brown and Mike Hollingsworth are currently the Programme Directors for the BSc programmes in Physiology and in Pharmacology, respectively and both are organising Symposia at the meeting. The training of undergraduates in laboratory techniques has always been a Manchester strength and we have just spent nearly £500K on capital equipment for the multi-user teaching labs. Working closely with the Home Office and with the help of special funding from the British Pharmacological Society and from Industry, our students continue to receive an unparalleled grounding in in vivo techniques. With the Pharmaceutical Industry's increasing requirement for graduates with these skills recently highlighted (see Frantz, 2003: Nature Reviews, Drug Discovery, 2, 801), our considerable investment in this aspect of their education is a major success. There is continuing expansion of our 4-year courses in Physiology and in Pharmacology with Industrial Experience. Formerly known as sandwich degrees, these provide an unrivalled 12 months' training in research and experimental design. From July 2003, 25 of the very best students in Physiology and Pharmacology (who have just completed their second year studies) will be studying outside Manchester in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and the USA. In our experience, it is from this group that the future leaders in Physiology and Pharmacology emerge. A Selection of Personalities Maynard Case is currently the Dean of Biological Sciences, a huge task made even more demanding by Project Unity. In spite of this, he and Martin Steward continue to explore the mechanisms of bicarbonate and water transport in the pancreatic duct and to use cultured epithelial cell lines as models for investigating the roles of acid-base transporters, aquaporin water channels and tight junction proteins. An ongoing strategy is to consolidate research efforts in the diverse field of receptors, ion channels and transporters. Work in Peter Brown's lab is focused on cation-chloride cotransporters, while Craig Smith's group is clarifying the role of urea transporter proteins belonging to the UT-A sub-family. Five mouse UT-A isoforms have now been identified and structure-function studies are now under way. Now well-established, Daniela Riccardi and Donald Ward employ a range of molecular and physiological techniques to investigate the role of the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor in cellular calcium homeostasis. Richard Prince, who was recruited from the Mayo Clinic to work on the pharmacology of nicotinic cholinoceptors, will shortly be joined by Liz Fitzgerald (from London) and Kath Hinchliffe (from Cambridge). These two new appointees will establish their own groups in the areas of calcium channels and lipid signalling, respectively. Another recent appointment is that of Gillian Edwards. A research colleague of mine for many years, we continue to work on endothelium-derived hyper-polarizing factor and on the pharmacology of vascular potassium channels especially those with two-pore domain subunits. Mark Dunne joined us on 1 March. He needs no introduction, being the Phys Soc's 2002/2003 GL Brown Lecturer, and having only recently stepped down as the Society's Meetings Secretary. Mark has retained academic links with Sheffield and his research now embraces the area of developmental competence in the human foetal pancreas and the generation of insulin-secreting cultures from human embryonic stem cells. Since 1 July, Mark has been the new Chairman of the PPT Division. Caroline Dive's group focuses on the molecular mechanisms that couple the damage inflicted by anti-cancer drugs in tumour cells to the process of apoptosis. One of her specific interests is whether c-Src, an oncogenic kinase that is routinely elevated in colon cancer, can be modulated to promote drug-induced apoptosis. From September she will be based at the Paterson Institute, where she will direct the cancer pharmacology labs. Within the Division of Neuroscience, new appointee Stuart Allan is part of Nancy Rothwell's group investigating the mechanisms of neuronal death and the role of cytokines, particularly interleukin-1 and other inflammatory molecules. Following his move to Manchester from Kiev, Alex Verkhratsky's lab is fully operational and dedicated to investigating the role of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in neuronal calcium signalling. These studies will lead to a better understanding of neurodegenerative disorders such as diabetic peripheral neuropathies, and they complement those of David Tomlinson and Paul Fernyhough, both recent appointments from London. Their work on diabetic neuropathy should form the basis for the identification of novel drug targets and treatments for use in this widespread disease state. Two further important developments are the recent appointments of Risto Kauppinen (from Kuopio) and Bagi Nadarajah (from London). Risto is creating a new group of in vivo NMR brain imaging, the primary focus of which is the investigation of neurodegenerative disorders. Bagi is working mechanisms underlying the development of the cerebral cortex with respect to neuronal migration and the early development of cortical neurones. Shortly moving to the Stopford site will be Graham Barnes and his sensorimotor group from UMIST. Perhaps their most important achievement in recent years has been to demonstrate that the rapid predictive response observed in oculomotor control is accomplished through the combined action of short-term storage and timing estimation. They are currently investigating the limitations of sequence learning in hand and eye coordination and the role of cognitive factors in eye movement control. Cardiovascular studies are well represented in Manchester, and the work of Richard Balment and Nick Ashton (both in the Division of Integrative Biology) ranges from fish to mammals. Some of their current interests include altered Ca2+ transport in diabetes and the offspring of diabetic pregnancy, non-genomic actions of aldosterone and the cardiovascular and renal actions of urotensin II. Recent imports from Liverpool in the varying forms of David Eisner, Stephen O'Neill (convenor of the Phys Soc's Heart and Cardiac Muscle Special Interest Group), Andy Trafford and Mary Díaz are located in the School of Medicine. Their research interests range from the cellular mechanisms involved in the cardioprotective effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids to the phenomenon of alternans. Complementing their cardiac studies are the vascular investigations of Clare Austin, who is researching the link between calcium and vasomotion. Also involved in these vascular studies is Mike Taggart who is a member of the Maternal-Fetal Health Research Centre, along with Colin Sibley (convenor of the Phys Soc's Placental and Perinatal special interest group), Sue Greenwood, Paul Speake and Mark Wareing. Their work focuses on various aspects of pregnancy, including placental function, myometrial contractility and control of vascular reactivity in mother and placenta. Closing Thoughts In the above paragraphs, I have given a personal view of how Physiology and Pharmacology stand in Manchester. The old departments of Physiology and of Pharmacology may be long gone but the two subjects have never been in better shape. Applications for undergraduate places are buoyant, there are new faculty appointments, the research is '5-star' and we are building and innovating. There is a buzz and dynamism about the place which impresses all our visitors. A warm welcome awaits you. Come and see. Arthur Weston is Leech Professor of Pharmacology. He is a Trustee of the British Pharmacological Society and its Honorary Treasurer.