Since April 2024, the CONNECT FTMA initiative has run three calls across Babraham Institute and Newcastle University, seeking knowledge exchange proposals from staff.
Over the first year a total of 14 project have now been funded whose awards that have ranged in value from £1,600 – £7,200. Project terms have varied from 1 week to 1 year, according to the activities being planned. Summaries of some of these projects are provided below.
Return to the main CONNECT Fund webpage.
1. Operational expertise sharing between Babraham Institute and Newcastle University
A project focused on improving core facility management and supporting Research Technical Professionals.
FTMA-funded activities include staff exchanges and knowledge sharing with staff at CRUK Cambridge Institute, the Natural History Museum, Warwick University and University of Cambridge, strengthening the UK Research Facility Coordinator’s Network, with a focus on enhancing research capabilities in health and aging studies.
2. Collaborative Proteomics Research Placement
A research collaboration between Babraham Institute and Newcastle University to develop advanced proteomics and mass spectrometry applications, aiming to improve techniques used to study the role of ubiquitin in cellular stress, aging, and inflammation.
The FTMA-funded activities involve knowledge sharing and method optimization through a week-long placement by a Babraham Institute Proteomics specialist with the Newcastle University Proteomics team (Trost Lab and NU Proteome and Protein analysis (NUPPA) core).
3. Research Integrity Collaboration: Sharing and Learning on how To Be A Good Scientist
A collaboration between the Babraham Institute, Newcastle University, and the University of Cambridge to share knowledge and best practices in Research Integrity training.
The FTMA-supported project involves reciprocal visits between institutions to discuss and evaluate training approaches, aiming to improve research culture and integrity across organizations. The initiative focuses on fostering long-term collaboration and enhancing research integrity training for scientists at all career stages.
4. Bioscience Training Support
FTMA-supplied support for training at MRC Harwell to enable Babraham Institute post-doctoral researchers to acquire advanced techniques in microinjection and electroporation, key methods for epigenetics research in early mammalian development that have implications for aging and disease. The project seeks to enhance the research capabilities available at the Babraham Institute, with the expertise gained shared across research and facility teams at both Babraham and Newcastle University.
5. Establishing a collaborative network focused on redox signalling research
This project aims to establish a collaborative network focused on redox signalling in health and aging, involving UK-based researchers with complementary expertise, to facilitate skill exchange, promote collaborative research publications, and develop joint funding applications for larger projects.
The FTMA-funded activities include a week-long visit by members of the Newcastle Veal lab to the Sharpe lab at the Babraham Institute for training and initiating experiments, followed by a 2-day workshop where early career researchers will be invited from Newcastle University, Babraham Institute, University of Liverpool and King’s College London to share research and identify collaborative opportunities.
6. DNA Methylation Analysis Methodologies: A Cross-Institutional Technical Comparison
A collaborative project between Newcastle University's Genomics Core Facility and Babraham Institute's Genomics Facility is being supported to evaluate different sequencing approaches for DNA methylation detection.
The FTMA CONNECT-funded activities include reciprocal staff exchanges to conduct comparative analysis of three different methylation detection platforms and will include hands-on training between facilities and collaborative data analysis by both institutions' bioinformatics teams.
This technical knowledge exchange project aims to determine the most robust, reproducible, and cost-effective methods for methylation analysis, enhancing both facilities' service offerings and expertise in epigenetics research. The project will support technical staff skills development while generating comparative performance metrics that will enable both institutions to better advise researchers on the optimal methodologies for their specific methylation research questions.
7. Early-career Professional Technology Transfer Placement
A placement enabling a Babraham Institute Knowledge Exchange & Commercialisation Officer to gain specialized expertise in academic technology transfer operations through a placement with Newcastle University's Technology Transfer Office. The FTMA-funded activities included a 3 week structured placement where the participant developed advanced skills in licensing agreements, negotiation strategies, and corporate partnership development.
This project has supported early career professional development in research commercialisation and has created innovation opportunities through improved technology transfer knowledge sharing between the partner institutions.
8. Collaborative Grant-Writing Support Initiative: Building Cross-Institutional Expertise
The FTMA-funded activities include reciprocal staff visits between Babraham Institute and Newcastle University, with the Babraham Institute Grants Officer attending Newcastle University's grant training sessions and a Newcastle University Research Funding Development Manager participating in Babraham's training programmes. The six-month project focuses on creating comprehensive guidance documents for grant and fellowship applications that relate to Narrative CVs and which integrate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion principles—a key UKRI assessment criterion.
This professional development initiative aims to strengthen both institutions' capabilities to support researchers, particularly early career scientists, in securing competitive funding for bioscience and ageing-related research. Outcomes will include practical written guidance, targeted training programmes, and institutional frameworks that improve grant application success rates, creating lasting benefits for the research communities at both organizations through enhanced proposal development expertise.
The collaboration will establish a foundation for future joint initiatives between the organisations’ teams, particularly in trusted research innovation, fostering continuous engagement and knowledge-sharing between BI and NU.