In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Glasgow City region has capitalised on opportunities arising from its strengths in research, innovation and entrepreneurship to help tackle new societal challenges, and provide a platform to recover and re-build.
Here we provide a summary of Glasgow City Region’s activity in August.
Research
Scientists from the University of Glasgow will be part of a newly-launched UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC), which aims to answer key questions on how the immune system interacts with SARS-CoV-2 to help us fight COVID-19 and develop better diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. The insights provided will be critical for improving patient management, developing new therapies, assessing immunity within the population and developing diagnostics and vaccines.
The role of GPs and primary care in the prevention of drug deaths in the wake of COVID-19 will be explored by a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) academic. With people from the most deprived areas being at higher risk of COVID-19 as well as drug related deaths, this project will provide an opportunity to explore opportunities for improvement in primary care support for patients and wider communities.
In addition, a newly-published research paper by Glasgow Caledonian University suggests governments need to be honest with the public about the trade-offs being made to reopen large sectors of the economy post-lockdown, urging the government to take a more structured approach to spending and move away from high-profile announcements based on headline-grabbing numbers.
Innovation
An MSc student in the School of Simulation and Visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art, has developed an App with a series of interactive simulations that demonstrate the ease of germ transfer. The project will awareness about unconscious behaviours that can potentially trigger contaminations between individuals and their environment, which is especially important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SoulRiders has unveiled Scotland’s first ever integrated e-cargo bike delivery and food waste service thanks to an award of £140,615 from SP Energy Networks’ Green Economy Fund. The new e-bikes will provide a solution to many traffic and pollution issues in Glasgow by reducing the number of delivery vehicles on the streets and helping the city on its journey to become the UK’s first net zero city.
Recovery
Glasgow University is among the institutions joining a government-backed initiative to help resolve the UK’s weak productivity record. Economic and business experts from the University’s Adam Smith Business School will contribute to the Productivity Institute to be based at the University of Manchester. It is the largest ever social and economic research investment in the UK, and forms part of the government’s planned economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
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