More than £2 million of new funding was confirmed for University of Reading research during April.

A total of 19 research projects received awards ranging in size from less than £1,000 up to nearly £500,000. The total value is £2,033,172.

Professor Steve Mithen, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, said: “Congratulations to all those who have been awarded research funds.

“I am pleased that we are attracting funding for both applied and pure research. It is vital that we continue both to research topics that show immediate benefits to society, as well as projects aiming more generally to advance our understanding.”

Funders during the month include UK research councils and trusts, charities, and international government agencies in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Among those winning grants are:

• John Brazier, in Pharmacy, has been awarded £472,333 from BBSRC to investigate how weak links in our DNA could be targeted to potentially open up new gene therapies
• Conor Carville (English Literature) has won a £9,240 award from the British Academy for a project exploring the role of poetry and arts policy during the early years of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
• Jonathan Gregory, recently elected Fellow of the Royal Society in Meteorology, has secured a £336,334 NERC award to investigate how sea levels are influenced by changes in ocean currents and temperatures.
• Anupam Nanda, in Real Estate & Planning (Henley Business School), who will carry out a significant project for the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority to assess the economic impact of the Dubai Metro.
• Chris Venditti, from Biological Sciences, will study the dynamics of how species die out over time, thanks to a £184,456 Leverhulme Trust grant.

Others receiving grants in April were Richard Tiffin and Peter Dorward (Agriculture), Angela Clerk (Biological Sciences), Michell Vaughan (Business Informatics), Jacopo Torriti (Construction Management), Vimal Karani (Food), Richard Blakemore (History), Christopher Merchant, Sue Gray, Bryan Lawrence and Anthony Illingworth (Meteorology), Bernd Vogel (Organisations and Behaviour), and Simonetta Longhi (Politics, Economics & International Relations).

A full list of recent awards is available on the Research & Enterprise Services website (requires UoR log-in details).