Reading secures £3.9m in research awards in December

Researchers at the University of Reading secured more than £3.9 million in research awards in December.

A total of 21 research projects were given the go-ahead in the last month of 2016, with funders from a variety of sources including government, research councils, charities and business.

Steve Mithen, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for research, said: “Congratulations to everyone whose research grants were confirmed during December. I am particularly pleased that Reading has continued to collaborate with a wide range of funders, including the European Horizon 2020 programme.

“I have no doubt that these awards represent an excellent investment in knowledge and will reap great rewards for society in the near future.”

Among those winning funding in December were…

  • Professor Mike Fulford, from Archaeology, secured £250,000 from the Calleva Foundation to continue Reading’s long-running archaeological investigation of Silchester, the Roman and Iron Age town in Hampshire, and its environs.
  • Professor Lynne Murray, from Psychology, secured £319,389 from the Nuffield Foundation for a project exploring the impact of a book-sharing training programme on the social, emotional and brain development of children in the UK.
  • Professor Chuks Okereke, from Geography, was awarded £145,922 from ESRC to establish a network exploring how countries in Africa can benefit from green growth and investment in sustainable technologies.
  • Dr Tristan Quaife, in Meteorology, won £157,910 from NERC for a project involving colleagues in the Walker Institute and in Typography & Communication Design, aiming to enhance resilience to agricultural drought in Ghana by communicating seasonal forecasts more effectively.
  • Dr Dyan Sellayah, in Biological Sciences, was awarded £416,667 from the MRC for a project investigating links between developmental programming of babies in the womb and obesity later in life.

Full details of all awards are available here (requires UoR log-in)