Institute for Regeneration and Repair

This year marks 30 years since Dolly the Sheep was born! 🐑 The science that led to Dolly also led to the founding of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine! Tune in to Dolly: The World’s Most Famous Sheep tonight on UrduMaza Network 4 at 10pm for a documentary about her legacy, featuring IRR researcher Abdenour Soufi!
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New method can diagnose lung cancer tissue quicker

Researchers (Akram lab) have developed a new imaging technique combined with AI that can accurately identify major types of non-small cell lung cancer, potentially helping patients receive the right treatment sooner than current methods.

Left: Traditional pathology stain🔬
Right: AI-generated virtual stain 🤖

Both reveal the same lung cancer marker (TTF-1 in brown), but the image on the right was created without conventional staining. Clinicians judged the AI-generated image to be reliable for diagnosis and treatment decisions, showing this method could help make pathology faster and more efficient in the future. 🫁✨

Summary 🔎: https://edin.ac/4ezSZSV
Full paper 🗞️: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-026-02557-x?utm_source=rct_congratemailt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oa_20260610&utm_content=10.1038/s41746-026-02557-x

Celebrating IRR research, innovation and impact. Our annual symposium showcased our fantastic research talent. Thanks to all who took part and congratulations to the Flash Talk Prize winner Ellen McGregor, poster prize winner Jenny Riches and poster prize runners-up, AJ Boyland, Kellie Horan and Skye Jolly. 🎉 🔬 🏆 https://edin.ac/4fBVzsP

IRR group leader to co-lead clinical trial for heavy menstrual bleeding 🩸 💊

Researchers from the Centre for Reproductive Health and the University of Aberdeen have been awarded just under £2 million to lead a major clinical trial investigating a promising new treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding.

https://regeneration-repair.ed.ac.uk/hilary-critchley-to-co-lead-clinical-trial-for-heavy-menstrual-bleeding

Demonstrating the high impact of Single Molecule Localization Microscopy - IRR Imaging hosted live demos on our Zeiss Elyra and the Bruker Vutara VXL as part of the ESRIC school on superresolution. We also had presentations from Zeiss on SMLM, IRR's Mathew Horrocks on various DNA PAINT techniques, and SVI Huygens on image processing.🔬
Find out more about our cutting edge Imaging Facilities. https://regeneration-repair.ed.ac.uk/core-facilities/imaging
Scientific Volume Imaging - SVI | Bruker

Workshop to celebrate ageing through interdisciplinary dialogue

Drs Sofia Ferreira (IRR Group Leader) and Katie McQuaid (University of Leeds) led a workshop that brought together a group of researchers, artists, and older adults to explore what it means to age today, and identify solutions that promote inclusive, equitable and healthy ageing.

These conversations and outputs will contribute to the co-creation of a graphic novel exploring the realities of ageing and the research happening in this space. The researchers are also inviting the public to act as curators for the graphic novel that will combine multiple art forms including illustration, painting and creative writing.

Read more or submit your contributions: https://edin.ac/43DykqM

Prof Marc Vendrell, IRR Group Leader, receives the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry Award for Research Excellence. These distinctions are among the most prestigious in Chemistry at the national level.

We sincerely congratulate Professor Vendrell on this well-deserved achievement.

https://edin.ac/4e4Ap59

Real Sociedad Española De Química RSEQ

IRR experts join study of Andes hantavirus, following outbreak of disease on the cruise ship MV Hondius.

The study uses a research framework, known as the Clinical Characterisation Protocol (CCP), designed to enable rapid, standardised data and sample collection during emerging infectious disease outbreaks.

Prof Kenneth Baillie, IRR Group Leader who has led development of the CCP globally since 2011, said:

"The UK’s readiness to study patients with any new disease remains the envy of the world. Once again, we have universities across the country working seamlessly with each other, the NHS and public health agencies to respond to a potentially dangerous outbreak."

Read more: https://edin.ac/4vclGLu

Cell therapy for liver disease shows long-term benefits 💉
The 4 year follow up of the groundbreaking MATCH clinical trial, led by Professor Stuart Forbes, shows long-term benefits of macrophage cell therapy in patients

Cell therapy for liver disease shows long-term benefits | Institute for Regeneration and Repair | Institute for Regeneration and Repair The 4 year follow up of the MATCH clinical trial shows long-term benefits of macrophage cell therapy in patients

Dan Edwards was selected as winner of the IRR Innovator Competition 2026, with his project on extracellular vesicle biomarkers for early Parkinson's diagnosis.
Congratulations Dan!

IRR Innovator Competition 2026 winner | Institute for Regeneration and Repair | Institute for Regeneration and Repair Finalists pitched their projects to our expert panel on Tuesday 19th of May and a winner was selected!