THE KNOW Summer 2017 | Page 8

08 THE KNOW RESEARCH ROUND-UP 09 Research round-up Keele joins forces with Oxford and Southampton Universities to tackle pain Keele has joined forces with Oxford University and Southampton University to conduct the ‘North Staffordshire Health Study’ which is funded by Arthritis Research UK, as part of the charity’s investment programme in breakthrough treatments to help support people affected by arthritis. The charity has awarded funding of £300,000 to investigate how musculoskeletal pain can affect people’s health and overall quality of life. Read the full article at keele.ac.uk/tackle-pain Heart failure more fatal than common cancers A study led by Keele University, in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen and the University of Manchester, shows that men and women suffering from heart failure have a higher risk of death than people with most common types of cancer. The primary care database study is the first of its kind to compare survival rates, separated by gender. Heart failure is a leading cause of death globally, and the result of this study will be vital in working towards improving the outcomes of heart failure patients. Read the full article at keele.ac.uk/ heart-failure-research Researchers develop guidelines to reduce the risk of minor earthquakes during hydraulic fracturing Major grant awarded to support work on Malaria control Keele University researchers are advising on new safety guidelines for hydraulic fracturing to help prevent minor earthquakes. Professor Tripet will lead the four-year programme, in collaboration with Professor Austin Burt, Imperial College London, and Dr Fred Aboagye-Antwi at the University of Ghana in Accra. Researcher Developer Dr Rachel Westwood, Research Fellow Mr Sam Toon, and Emeritus Professor Peter Styles from Keele’s School of Geography, Geology and Environment – together with Professor Nigel Cassidy who is now at Birmingham University – have published their study advising on hydraulic fracturing safety guidelines for legislative bodies, including governments, environmental agencies, health and safety executives and local planning authorities. Read the full article at keele.ac.uk/ malaria-control-grant Read the full article at keele.ac.uk/ hydraulic-fracking A major grant of £13.6 million ($17,500,000) from the Open Philanthropy Project has been awarded to the Target Malaria consortium, which will support the work of Frederic Tripet, Professor in Medical and Molecular Entomology.