Improving research culture within your lab

The companion piece to our article on nurturing a positive research culture at the organisation level, our new article should hit closer to home for most researchers - how to nurture a positive research culture at your individual lab level!

Running a research team is not simply about producing important research findings. It is important for the team leader to also focus on creating an environment that is a positive experience for the team members and a place for them to build further careers from. Focus on the culture of the team feeds back into the quality of the research, aiding impactful, reproducible and ethical research. Part of building a positive research environment comes from your role as a leader, and interacting with you team with kindness and integrity. However you can aid this process by engineering the structure of your team and through thoughtful consideration of your language and actions. In this article we discuss several tactics to research team leadership that may help team leaders create a positive environment for their team members.

Read at Wellcome Open Research

Liston-Dooley lab on The Naked Scientists

I was interviewed about our latest Immunity paper on tissue-resident Tregs by Chris Smith from The Naked Scientists. If you are interested, the segment airs in the UK on BBC 5 Live Sunday morning 6am and in Australia on ABC Radio National Friday night at 10pm. Otherwise, download the podcast and hear what we are up to!

New finding about regulatory T cells could help treat diseases such as multiple sclerosis

In EuroNews

Researchers at the University of Cambridge say their discovery of “new rules of the immune system” could improve the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

Scientists have discovered that regulatory T cells, a type of white blood cell, constantly move throughout the body looking for and repairing damaged tissue.

It was believed that regulatory T cells exist as multiple populations restricted to specific parts of the body.

Now, researchers have found that they roam around the body as a single large population of cells and target areas of inflammation, which destroys nerves and leads to a loss of movement.

Congratulations to Alvaro Hernandez!

Congratulations to Alvaro Hernandez for winning the 12th Golden Pipette for his work on fate-mapping microglia clonality during health and disease! The first time that the Golden Pipette has been won by an under-graduate research - an amazing accomplishment!

Discovery of ‘new rules of the immune system’ could improve treatment of inflammatory diseases, say scientists.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that a type of white blood cell - called a regulatory T cell - exists as a single large population of cells that constantly move throughout the body looking for, and repairing, damaged tissue.

This overturns the traditional thinking that regulatory T cells exist as multiple specialist populations that are restricted to specific parts of the body. The finding has implications for the treatment of many different diseases – because almost all diseases and injuries trigger the body’s immune system.

Current anti-inflammatory drugs treat the whole body, rather than just the part needing treatment. The researchers say their findings mean it could be possible to shut down the body’s immune response and repair damage in any specific part of the body, without affecting the rest of it. This means that higher, more targeted doses of drugs could be used to treat disease – potentially with rapid results.

It's difficult to think of a disease, injury or infection that doesn’t involve some kind of immune response, and our finding really changes the way we could control this response.

Adrian Liston

“We’ve uncovered new rules of the immune system. This ‘unified healer army’ can do everything - repair injured muscle, make your fat cells respond better to insulin, regrow hair follicles.  To think that we could use it in such an enormous range of diseases is fantastic: it’s got the potential to be used for almost everything,” said Professor Adrian Liston in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Pathology, senior author of the paper.

To reach this discovery, the researchers analysed the regulatory T cells present in 48 different tissues in the bodies of mice. This revealed that the cells are not specialised or static, but move through the body to where they’re needed. The results are published today in the journal Immunity.

“It's difficult to think of a disease, injury or infection that doesn’t involve some kind of immune response, and our finding really changes the way we could control this response,” said Liston.

He added: “Now that we know these regulatory T cells are present everywhere in the body, in principle we can start to make immune suppression and tissue regeneration treatments that are targeted against a single organ – a vast improvement on current treatments that are like hitting the body with a sledgehammer.”

Using a drug they have already designed, the researchers have shown - in mice - that it’s possible to attract regulatory T cells to a specific part of the body, increase their number, and activate them to turn off the immune response and promote healing in just one organ or tissue.

“By boosting the number of regulatory T cells in targeted areas of the body, we can help the body do a better job of repairing itself, or managing immune responses,” said Liston.

He added: “There are so many different diseases where we’d like to shut down an immune response and start a repair response, for example autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, and even many infectious diseases.”

Most symptoms of infections such as COVID are not from the virus itself, but from the body’s immune system attacking the virus. Once the virus is past its peak, regulatory T cells should switch off the body’s immune response, but in some people the process isn’t very efficient and can result in ongoing problems. The new finding means it could be possible to use a drug to shut down the immune response in the patient’s lungs, while letting the immune system in the rest of the body continue to function normally.

In another example, people who receive organ transplants must take immuno-suppressant drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent organ rejection, because the body mounts a severe immune response against the transplanted organ. But this makes them highly vulnerable to infections. The new finding helps the design of new drugs to shut down the body’s immune response against only the transplanted organ but keep the rest of the body working normally, enabling the patient to lead a normal life.

Most white blood cells attack infections in the body by triggering an immune response. In contrast, regulatory T cells act like a ‘unified healer army’ whose purpose is to shut down this immune response once it has done its job - and repair the tissue damage caused by it.

The researchers are now fundraising to set up a spin-out company, with the aim of running clinical trials to test their findings in humans within the next few years.

The research was funded by the European Research Council (ERC), Wellcome, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Reference: Liston, A. ‘The tissue-resident regulatory T cell pool is shaped by transient multi-tissue migration and a conserved residency program.’ Immunity, June 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2024.05.023

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In brief

• A single large population of healer cells, called regulatory T cells, is whizzing around our body - not multiple specialist populations restricted to specific parts of the body as previously thought.
• These cells shut down inflammation and repair the collateral damage to cells caused after our immune system has responded to injury or illness.
• Tests, in mice, of a drug developed by the researchers showed that regulatory T cells can be attracted to specific body parts, boosted in number, and activated to suppress immune response and rebuild tissue.
• Current anti-inflammatory drugs used for this purpose suppress the body’s whole immune system, making patients more vulnerable to infection.
• The discovery could lead to more targeted treatments, with fewer side-effects, for issues from lengthy COVID infections to autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. Clinical trials in humans are now planned.

Breaking down barriers with ‘Sensory Science’

Breaking down barriers with ‘Sensory Science’

Stavroula Piliou, PhD student at the University of Cambridge 

18 Jun 24

Through our BSI Communication and Engagement Grant scheme, we recently supported a collaborative art project to make science more accessible to people who are blind or have low vision. Here, Stavroula Piliou, a PhD student involved in the project, explains how the resulting exhibit brought the complexities of the immune system to life in a range of tactile art pieces. 

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In a society increasingly shaped by scientific progress, it is crucial that everyone – regardless of their background or ability – can take part in discussions about scientific inquiry. But science communication is so often limited to the written word and visual diagrams, in articles which can often be dense and inaccessible to a broad public audience. With our Sensory Science initiative, we aimed to break down some of these barriers.  

Under the leadership of Dr Erica Tandori, an artist with low vision from Monash University in Australia, and Professor Adrian Liston from the University of Cambridge, our team of PhD students collaborated with artists from Anglia Ruskin University to produce a suite of models designed to communicate the intricate and varied role of our immune system. We especially wanted to engage people who are blind or have low vision.

Collaboration enhances creativity 

By translating these complex scientific concepts into tactile multisensory art, we were able to bring to life the role of our immune system in four primary areas: neuroscience, autoimmunity, infection and cancer. The models, which appeal to a range of sensory experiences including touch, smell and hearing, were exhibited in March as part of the Cambridge Festival.

Resin brains crafted using cake moulds were used to illustrate the differences between a healthy brain, one affected by traumatic brain injury, and one impacted by multiple sclerosis, with the latter using a pet warming blanket to demonstrate inflammation in the central nervous system. 

Another model detailed the progression of cervical cancer and its metastasis, by depicting bacterial invasion into cells using sponges of different sizes, shapes and textures. Elsewhere, tactile posters explained the biology behind coeliac disease, and visitors to the exhibit even had the opportunity to hear their own brain activity, as Dr Stuart Favilla mapped brain waves into sound using innovative audio techniques.

A transformative experience 

The impact of the project on the immunologists involved was profound. The collaboration not only allowed us to articulate our research through multiple senses but also encouraged us to think creatively and outside the box. The experience sparked a deeper appreciation for inclusivity and community involvement in science, and demonstrated the importance of diverse perspectives that can enrich our understanding. 

The exhibit was very popular and gained significant public attention, including from BBC Look East, who reported on the initiative for their news programme. Most importantly, the general public gained a deeper understanding of the complexities of the immune system, and of its role in health and disease. 

What next for Sensory Science?

Following the success of the exhibit, we have received numerous requests to present our work at more science communication events, and some of the artworks have been incorporated into the medical student laboratories at the University of Cambridge. We are now planning to extend the impact of the exhibit by documenting and sharing our experiences in one or more scientific journals. The Sensory Science event was truly a reminder that the most effective innovation comes from the collective efforts of a diverse and inclusive community. 

Stavroula Piliou, PhD student at the University of Cambridge 

With thanks to Professor Adrian Liston, Dr Erica Tandori, Dr Stuart Favilla, Dr Julia Johnson, PhD students from the University of Cambridge, artists from Anglia Ruskin University and everyone else involved. 

Nurturing a positive research culture

Write-up on our recent article on positive research culture:

Nurturing a positive research culture

A Fellow of St Catharine’s is sharing practical advice on how to nurture a positive research culture within a laboratory and across an organisation. Professor Adrian Liston (2023), Professor of Pathology at the University of Cambridge, has co-authored two articles in response to a new emphasis on the importance of research culture in the UK’s funding landscape. The first article has just been published in the journal Immunology & Cell Biology.

He said, “The choices made by the leadership of a lab or an organisation – intentionally or more often than not unintentionally – can determine their research culture. There are cultures where researchers operate in competition (what I would call a toxic culture) or, with a bit of luck, you may encounter more positive research cultures, which tend to grow organically from the kindness and integrity of team members. Over successive generations, researchers have perpetuated cultures that were linked to past achievements. Unfortunately this hasn’t weeded out negative tendencies, because some researchers can succeed in a toxic environment in spite of – rather than due to – that research culture. We need to take a more deliberate approach to establishing positive research cultures within our organisations.”

Prof. Adrian Liston in his laboratory

The new emphasis on research culture was clear in June 2023 when the four higher education funding bodies in the UK announced that the Research Excellence Framework 2029 will have an expanded definition of research excellence to encompass people, culture and environment. This is on top of the £30 million already announced by UKRI’s Research England in 2022 to enable higher education providers to develop and initiate activities that will enhance research culture across the sector. 

Professor Liston explained, “There has been a recent sea change in attitudes at the highest levels of government and funding bodies, who now accept that research excellence is not only fuelled by the quantity and quality of outputs, but also by people, culture and environment. Personally, this change is very welcome and I am excited that we now have a fresh opportunity to rethink the research cultures that we are perpetuating, break bad habits and nurture positive ones.

“If we want to replicate the advances seen in other areas of scientific practice in progressing research culture, it is vital that we share best practice, examples and mechanisms that benefit our field. I know from my own experience that an individual early career researcher might only have worked in two or three different research cultures before deciding how they want their own lab to operate. I hope these two articles offer a toolkit for others to draw upon and inspire further discussion about different aspects of research culture so we can harness the collective experience of labs and organisations across the world.”

Team members in Prof. Liston's research group

The first article in the pair identifies the actionable areas where organisations can create and reinforce a positive research culture:

• Aligning staff recognition to the organisation’s missions;
• Designing the organisation structure around the mission and the people;
• Building a respectful environment;
• Openness and transparency; and
• Equality, diversity and inclusivity.

Each area is accompanied by frameworks, examples and/or other resources for readers to review and adapt according to their organisation’s needs. While Professor Liston and his co-author Professor Denise Fitzgerald work on similar research themes and have chosen to publish with Immunology & Cell Biology, their arguments are relevant for other academic disciplines. For example, their argument for organisations investing their energies at all levels of the ‘respect pyramid’ rather than relying entirely on punitive actions against toxic behaviours like bullying and harassment:

“The most visible interventions for nurturing a respectful environment (punitive actions against toxic behaviour) should also be the rarest, in the same way that the hospital is the last resort in creating a healthy environment. Underpinning this “emergency care” should be strategic positive interventions, rolled out when environments are suboptimal but before they reach a critical stage (analogous to treatment by a family doctor). More pervasive still should be the underlying fabric of the organisation, supporting a culture of respect, with individuals, in particular those in leadership positions, taking personal responsibility for their interactions.”

The respect pyramid provides the basis for building a respectful environment

Reference 

Adrian Liston and Denise C. Fitzgerald. Nurturing a positive research culture within your organisation. Immunology & Cell Biology. 2024; 1–10. doi: 10.1111/imcb.12795

Congratulations Stevi Piliou!

Congratulations to Stevi for winning the Lucy Cavendish College student writing prize for her research essay "Autoimmunity and neurological diseases – Creating a hope for the future"!

James Dooley: Transforming clinical treatment of neuroinflammatory conditions

Listen to Dr James Dooley get interviewed on The Big Experiment, about life, science and business:

Imagine being able to internalise the pharmaceutical factory into the human.

You could avoid the contamination risks and need for purification in biologic production.

In this episode I am joined by Dr James Dooley who is doing just this with his work at Aila Biotech. James and his team developed technology to drive the production of immune-regulating biologics at the exact site of disease. Through precise spatial and temporal control over biologic expression, Aila Biotech can prevent neuroinflammatory damage in brain injury.

James discusses his journey into science and how this work began. As well as the challenges that come with having to focus on the business, not just the science. He also reflects on what he might do differently if he were to start again.

“We really think we can have a dramatic effect on people's quality of life long term” – James Dooley

You’ll hear about:

01:50 – James’ journey into science

06:52 – James on drug delivery by adeno associated viruses

13:26 - What's the specificity of infection?

19:38 - Is there an invisible downside?

23:32 – James on the challenges of focusing on the business

28:47 – Will James be taking the therapy into the clinic?

36:25 – Would James do anything differently next time?

Harnessing our lived experience for science communication

Thanks to Nature Reviews Immunology for the chance to write about incorporating our lived experiences into effective science communication! A few tips on making your science communication effective and accessible to everyone:

First, find your passion! Reach out to the communities that you have connections to, and use a medium that you enjoy. You don't need to be an extravert to do public engagement! If you prefer to interact online, do so - there are audiences that want it. Content creation without any face-to-face interaction such as VirusFighter sci-comms too!

Second, harness your lived experience! Being slotted into a generic event that doesn't resonate with your life is a major turn-off. Using your identity in your comms builds the authenticity that audiences respond to, e.g. my efforts writing kids books, like Maya's Marvellous Medicine, are rooted in my life experience as a daddy.

Third, find collaborators with complementary skills. If you have a vision for an innovative outreach project, the talent is around you to make it happen! Those kids books needed artistic talent, via Sonia Agüera Gonzalez, our computer game needed coding expertise, via Simon Andrews, and our next project started after a chat in the pub revealed the talents of Yulia Lapko!

Finally, look to extend your reach! Taking a pro-active approach to inclusivity dramatically extends your impact. Look to reach the communities that are usually overlooked, such as Erica Tandori and her drive to make sciart accessible to the blind and low vision community through Sensory Science!