REF 2021

UoA 3 (first submission) – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy    

Our overall Unit strategy is to deliver research with impact, combining academic excellence with stakeholder collaboration. Our research centres around three interacting research groups:

Biology of Health and Disease

We focus on reproductive health and cancer systems biology. Drawing on our expertise in electrophysiology, we focus on IVF failure in particular. We have elucidated one of the causes of IVF failure, which has resulted in a spin-out company (Fertility Genomics) developing routine standardised screening tests that can inform clinical decisions, fast track patients to alternative treatments and reduce IVF treatment failure. Our cancer systems biology combines experimental data streams and theoretical modelling to characterise cell signalling network responses to therapeutic interventions and oxidative stress, and we have developed a statistical model of patient survival based on the spatial distribution of cells in patient tissue. We collaborate with our UoA 6 colleagues focussed on molecular and comparative physiology and nutritional health, and on antibiotic resistance gene spread in wild animal populations, including links to environmental and public health.

Mental Health

Our research in mental health focuses on the development and delivery of effective interventions and support for people experiencing challenges, and the interplay between physical and mental health. Our research is community- and practice-based, undertaken via our on-site Tayside Centre for Counselling (TCC) that provides a venue for large-scale data collection as it provides counselling to the local community and accepts referrals from NHS services and clinics. The TCC hosts projects examining the role of emotional and psychological support for long-term health conditions, and the evaluation of Pluralistic Counselling. The clinic is part of a UK-wide BACP-supported Research and Training Consortium. This work involves strong alliances with external partners, including NHS Health Boards, further enabling development of research into interventions used in mental health support.

Practice Engagement

Our unifying focus is to inform the development and refinement of practice engagement through the allied health research we conduct. As well as the health and disease focus described above, we explore the engagement with, and experiences of, healthcare practice. We recognise the value of person-centred care, where we have shown that contextualising care in a person’s situation is of particular importance, and interpersonal and complex trauma, relational and person-centred approaches are key. Our approach is typically based on detailed assessment of individual experiences. In population-based research on healthcare communication, we have assessed patient communication with practitioners in relation to symptoms indicative of cancer as a pathway to improve healthcare messaging and devised a taxonomy of explanations to aid healthcare practitioners in their care of patients with persistent physical symptoms. We have also explored broader perspectives in practice engagement, including the profiling of patient demand on the healthcare system and ethical aspects of healthcare. We have extended our collaborative approach (with UoA4), combining our expertise in communication-based interventions and behavioural analyses, to examine the role of quantitative methods to characterise behaviour and enhance the quality of practitioner interventions.

UoA 4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Our overall Unit strategy is to deliver research with impact, combining academic excellence with stakeholder collaboration. Our research centres around three interacting research groups:

Policing, security and forensic science

Security has formed its own research group, with a more focused remit facilitating collaboration between forensic psychology and forensic science colleagues. An example of our forensic psychology and missing persons research includes interdisciplinary research on missing people which is aimed at understanding the varied circumstances and outcomes involved. This is to enable different agencies e.g. law-enforcement practitioners, health care services, voluntary sector organisations and other academics throughout the UK and internationally, to prevent, protect and support those affected by missing and to strengthen global academic understanding of missing.

Cognition and vision science

Vision Science has merged with Cognition and Language to form a research group that takes advantage of common methodologies and theoretical approaches. Work on visual perception examines how different types of colouration in nature can help to optimise camouflage and warning colouration in real-world contexts, while simultaneously improving understanding of visual systems. Other work tackles the problems that occur in computer interfaces by using animation techniques to effectively guide user attention in complex visual arrays. This research has developed novel interactive experiences to support special user groups such as older or disabled users. Our neuroscience research examines the neural basis of a variety of abilities such as aesthetic experience of dance, body structure representation, mathematical cognition and visuospatial attention. Other research evaluates cognitive change in dementia and Parkinsons.

Development, learning, and evolution

Evolutionary psychology has combined with cultural evolution and developmental psychology within this research group which integrates ontogenetic and phylogenetic approaches. Research on self processing considers that humans are biased not to miss important information about the self because it captures attention, evokes certain physiological responses and is linked to rich memories. It examines how these biases develop in children, how they are affected by developmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and how they can be harnessed to improve learning in academic settings. Research on language learning and processing investigates how children and adults represent linguistic structure, how they learn and use different linguistic variants, such as dialects or speech registers, and how this may impact lexical representation and literacy acquisition. Some of our research on this work has featured on the BBC Timeline series. Research on the evolution of social and cognitive abilities compares specific abilities like object use, problem solving, social learning strategies, and prosocial, cooperative behaviours in non-human primates (such as gibbons, chimpanzees and bonobos) with human children and adults. Research on evolutionary origins of individual differences examines influences on romantic and social attraction and the origins and consequences of laterality differences by exploring factors such as masculinity, femininity, dominance, competition and rivalry as well as the relationship between laterality, emotion, behavioural inhibition and task performance.

UoA 6 (first submission) - Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Sciences

Our overall Unit strategy is to deliver research with impact, combining academic excellence with stakeholder collaboration. Our research centres around five interacting research groups and and our commercial arm:

Food chemistry and process optimisation

We investigate the formation of contaminates during food processing and develop strategies to mitigate its occurrence in food. Our product development and reformulation studies focus on improving the nutritional value of food and developing novel mild processing technologies for food preservation and quality. We evaluate novel yeast strains for industrial fermentations, investigate grain alternatives in brewing and distilling, and assess the role of wood compounds in the sensory acceptability of whisky. We collaborate closely with industry and organisations such as the James Hutton Institute (JHI) and the Scotch Whisky Research Institute (SWRI), together with partners in brewing and distilling.

Applied food technologies

We focus on developing novel, environmentally friendly extraction and processing methods of food by-products and food industry waste, and by-product valorisation, aiming to contribute to a more sustainable, circular economy. We actively collaborate with external academic and industrial partners and seek to develop applications with meaningful industrial benefits for food producers.

Consumer science and diet

We explore links between eating habits and health, and the promotion of health of consumers through diet and life-style intervention. We examine in depth the factors that affect consumer perception and acceptability of food and drink products. Our trained sensory panels are in demand by the food industry to gauge consumer acceptability of potential products prior to market release.

Comparative physiology and nutritional health

We investigate the underlying molecular biology and physiology of fat deposition in common and grey seals, which can also serve as a model for human obesity and diabetes, as well as the impacts of environmental stressors, such as pollution on wild animals which can inform likely impacts on human metabolic health through dietary exposure and change. We are also interested in antioxidants and understanding the mechanisms through which food components interact and affect metabolic and cardiovascular health.

Applied and environmental microbiology

We use soil and plant-associated communities and model bacterial species to investigate the evolutionary ecology of biofilm-formation in experimental microcosms to better understand adaptation to natural and managed environments. We are also interested in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in wild seal populations and the links this has with environmental and public health. Our zymology focusses on yeast physiology and biotechnology and evaluates yeast strain biodiversity for their potential in brewing and other bio-conversion processes.

Food Innovation @ Abertay (FIA)

Our commercial arm provides a practical innovation support service to food and drink businesses and allows our staff to work collaboratively with industrial partners. We offer creative solutions to business challenges using specialist staff, equipment, and facilities. These are tailored to specifically meet business needs and are delivered on schedule and in a cost-effective manner.

UoA 12 – Engineering

Our overall Unit strategy is to deliver research with impact, combining academic excellence with stakeholder collaboration. Our research centres around four interacting research groups:

Engineering

Our research is focussed on sustainable technologies, sustainable urban drainage systems and decision making for sustainable systems. Our research explores technology use at the water-waste-energy nexus, particularly treatment and resource recovery technologies for water, wastes and wastewaters and green infrastructure (including Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, SUDS). Research includes development of innovative technical solutions that improve sustainable management of natural resources and bioenergy production including development of new bioenergy technologies. Our Sustainable Assessment and Enhancement research develops and applies methods for the assessment, visualisation and enhancement of sustainability policies and technologies, and to address institutional and societal barriers to their uptake. Our approach to decision making for sustainable systems recognises that engineered environmental systems are complex and management requires trade-offs among multiple competing factors. We use multi-criteria decision analysis tools, co-designed with stakeholders, and computational models linked to games technologies for interactive visualisation of sustainability criteria. Research focuses on understanding the decision-making process, knowledge requirements and development of indicators to enhance governance, decision support and public participation in decision making.  Projects support sustainable service provision for water service providers, national and local government, health services, the agricultural sector, city development and companies across the built and natural environment.

Our geo-environmental, geotechnical and structural engineering research is focused on modelling the performance and environmental impacts of structural and geotechnical engineering systems. This includes research into the analysis of the behaviour of thin-walled structures, analysis of structures under extreme loads (blast and impact), pedogenic carbon sequestration process and engineering soils (e.g. the use of recycled construction material) to improve soil properties and to maximise the sequestration of atmospheric carbon, and investigating critical on/near-shore soft sediments, as well as the study of offshore oil and gas asset decommissioning and dynamic event behaviours such as earthquakes.

Forensics

Our research involves collaboration with industry, government agencies and supra-institutional organisations to develop underpinning scientific evidence to improve forensic science and its practice. We align to UK/Scottish Governments’ strategic priorities in evidence-based policing and quality assured forensic science (including ISO17025). In addition to detecting fingermarks on complex surfaces, we develop methods for the extraction of intelligence from crime scenes. This includes holistic interpretation of examination of evidence (e.g., effects of human factors on micro dynamics of fingermarks; chemometrics and Bayesian network analysis).

Cybersecurity

We have developed strong links with government, Police and industry to deploy socio-technical solutions to enhance cybersecurity through collaboration on a range of research projects including improving the security of SMEs, training in cybercrime response using games technologies, and cybersecurity into the Software Development Lifecycle. Our research is structured into four overlapping areas: responding to prevailing challenges of system security; vulnerability detection and the threats introduced by Internet-connected devices; the usability of security prevention measures; and using visualisation techniques to improve security.

Our business engagement and innovation activity is focussed through the new Abertay cyberQuarter, an £18.2M (£11.7M Tay Cities Deal, £6.5M Abertay investment) on-campus Centre which brings together academia and industry to: create new products, markets and services; catalyse the growth of a Cybersecurity cluster that will retain and attract talent and investment, and make businesses and citizens more cyber-resilient. Central to our research will be usable security, i.e., security measures that are technically robust and realistic in their expectations of users.

Modelling & Simulation

Systems Modelling explores complex phenomena over multiple scales and interactive visualisation in computer games, environmental science, physics, and health. Our overarching agenda is the construction of interactive, real-time and playable simulations in both entertainment and non-entertainment contexts that bring to life systems models through simulation, i.e., digital twins. This playability allows domain experts to investigate complex systems in an intuitive way and supports discovery of new insights. We combine game engines and physics research, focusing on high-precision simulation of multi-scale dynamical systems: for example, we exploit games engine efficiencies for molecular dynamics simulations for plasma processing, have procedurally generated clouds and lightning in games, and our lightning model is being used in planetary Global Circulation Models. We have used our expertise in complex systems modelling and interactive visualisation and simulation to help stakeholders determine the impact of different sustainability initiatives and policies across water, energy and food, that might interact to deliver solutions that will work for the system as a whole.

For health, we have worked with psychologists to develop an app (Tapology, on the App Store) to introduce tablets and smartphones to individuals who find touch screens intimidating in a playful way to help people build confidence and share good practice in internet use. Our collaborative and cross-disciplinary approach with life scientists and health practitioners has enabled us to characterise tumour tissue and cell signalling dynamics in response to therapeutic interventions and oncological mutations. Our games technologies enable life scientists to conduct virtual experiments exploring the impact of anti-cancer drugs on cell behaviour, and cancer-causing mutations can be added, allowing for exploration of the dynamics of cell signalling pathways in a way that has not been possible before.

A growing area of research is the combination of systems modelling, data analytics and artificial intelligence. For example, in a partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support and the Digital Health and Social Care Innovation Centre we are using a combination of artificial intelligence and interactive visualisation to improve cancer support provision across the UK. We are using generative adversarial networks to automatically generate user interfaces and how models of game play and data analytics can improve the player experience, including game balancing. Finally, we are working with AgriEpi Innovation Centre and Pocket Sized Hands to develop an AI-powered Augmented Reality tool underpinned by machine learning to improve animal health and productivity.

Our research involving emerging technologies (machine learning, high-performance simulation, dynamical systems models, etc.) linked to interactive experiences (games, games engine technologies and both entertainment and applied games contexts (e.g., manufacturing) is focussed within our Emergent Technology Centre which with a 5G network core, part of a £4M 5G R&D Testbed partnership with Dundee City Council and Scottish Futures Trust. The 5G network will be a testbed located on the city’s £1B waterfront development adjacent to the V&A Museum for Design in Dundee. Modelling & simulation are also working with Cybersecurity and UoA 32 to undertake research in machine learning for network management, dynamical systems modelling, the Internet of Things and 5G-backed interactive experiences.

UoA 18 – Law

Our overall Unit strategy is to deliver research with impact, combining academic excellence with stakeholder collaboration. Our research centres around two interacting research groups:

Transnational/International Criminal law

Focus is on transnational law enforcement generally, and trafficking in human beings in particular. Post-Brexit, the focus has shifted to the changing legal relationship of the UK/Scotland with the EU in the policy area, and the responses of the UK/Scotland to this changing situation. A particular focus is on trafficking in human beings from a transnational, EU and UK perspective. These are concerns shared not just in the UK but elsewhere in the developed world, and international agreements and co-operation is required to minimise the potential for criminality in this area. Research has resulted in publications, external engagement, knowledge exchange and consultancy. Research outputs include for example, ‘Constructivism, constitutionalism and the EU's area of freedom security and justice post-Lisbon’

Law and Society

Focus is on in intellectual property (IP) law and its impact on access rights for people with disabilities, medical law, bioethics and reproductive rights, which has led to nascent synergies in the area of ethical reproductive rights and employment law research.

UoA 21 – Sociology

Our overall Unit strategy is to deliver research with impact, combining academic excellence with stakeholder collaboration. Our research profile takes a broadly social relational and social constructionist approach, placing specific emphasis on advancing theoretical developments. Research centres around three interacting research groups:

Applied Social Theory

Our research contributes to advancing the theorical base of sociology. We explore: the history of sociological theory; relational sociological theory; the sociology of literature; social movements; nationalism; Critical Theory; radical social and political theory in political and historical contexts; social interactional theory; global citizenship; political rhetoric and European (dis)integration; green politics; the construction of Immigration in the press; and moral panic theory. Our research into culture and identity includes studies of: Scottish exceptionalism; sectarianism; women’s rights in Bolivia; smoking; consumer credit; sexual consent; policy-evaluation of young people’s attitudes to smoking; sex education; peer-led recovery from addiction; the experience of lesbian and gay male couples in the adoption process; social reproduction in modernity: the emergence of the creative class; and male prisoners experience of healthcare.

Crime and Society

Research includes: how to gather reliable evidence from victims of and witnesses to crimes; investigating crime and antisocial behaviour; policing and violence reduction; the policing of domestic violence; community experiences of serious organised crime in Scotland; the criminalisation of Scottish football supporters; the Named Person scheme; transgression and Breaking Bad; and surveillance, cheating and punishment in digital worlds.

Sociology of Information and Communication Technologies

Our research in the digital and media area explores: social network dynamics; e-participatory platforms (including the provision of social welfare, young people engaging in environmental decision-making, and researching corporate impacts); the sociology of technology; qualitative research paradigms in virtual networks; social media bots; gaming as an educational tool; political culture and the media; myth and propaganda in the online press.

UoA 24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism

Our overall Unit strategy is to deliver research with impact, combining academic excellence with stakeholder collaboration. This research explores: Women’s sport equity; sedentary lifestyle risk factors; exercise and health training interventions; high-intensity exercise; elite sports performance; and healthy ageing. Much of our research has a special emphasis on populations with protected characteristics (e.g. age, gender, and disability) in order to contribute to the duty of care in sport agenda, which has growing salience as an issue in contemporary society. Our research centres around two interacting research groups:

Biomechanics and Physiology

Our work in this area explores the physiology and biomechanics of sports and exercise, particularly in relation to performance and injury.  Research includes: the use of Omega-3 supplementation to improve joint stability and promote recovery from exercise; performance analysis of speed, flexibility and endurance capacity in elite footballers; the effect of high intensity interval training on physical health and mood in women; the effect of rapid weight loss on physical performance measures; the development of high intensity training exercise protocols to determine the minimum frequency of exercise required to promote meaningful adaptations in the body for health and performance; the use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in a home-based setting for elderly populations; the impact of fatigue on lower limb kinetics; quantifying how different biomechanical factors influence sports performance; and exploring neurophysiology including motor control and disorders of movement.

Social Science of Sport

Our work in this area focuses on exploring the significance of sport to society and examines the psychology and sociology of sport.  Research includes: the duty of care in sport agenda; improving health and physical functioning and promoting engagement in physical activity among older adults; body image and social physique anxiety on adolescents’ psychosocial health; exercise adherence and mental health; cognitive and emotional processes in sport; how individual differences influence behaviour in sport, health, mental health and wellbeing; inequity, inequality and discrimination in sport and exercise subcultures; gender equity for sports coaches; interpersonal perceptions and factors that influence sports coaching and coach education;  youth sport; exploring how athletes narratively construct their identities.

UoA 32 (first submission) - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory  

Our overall Unit strategy is to deliver research with impact, combining academic excellence with stakeholder collaboration. We are recognised nationally and internationally for innovative, distinctive, impactful and collaborative interdisciplinary research that follows both theoretical and practice-led inquiry in Art and Design. Our research centres around three interacting thematic areas:

Applied Games

Our research integrates user experience and interaction design with development tools and techniques to design interactive works that raise awareness, facilitate learning, and foster behavioural change. We draw on academic and industrial expertise to engage a range of research methodologies – from play as interrogation and ideation in serious game jams to data driven design in full development projects – to explore the role and value of games in education, in training, and in science communication. Researchers seek to develop new game design frameworks following practice-based approaches, for instance by applying media archaeology to game design. Applied Games brings together expertise in computing, mathematics, design, and psychology to develop and evaluate both hardware and software. For example, recent work in agri-tech has brought Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) together with animal husbandry to increase efficiency and animal health.

Performance and Play

Our research approaches video games as cultural objects investigating their socio-cultural functions in relation to both society and the economy. We explore communities of play and experimental practice-research utilising digital and traditional media, the incorporation of game development, screen technologies and extended reality (XR) applications into site-specific performance and art, and studies of performance audiences. Working closely with industrial partners (e.g., Microsoft, Sony) to explore the potentials of emerging technologies for immersive storytelling and new forms of creativity and play. Current international collaborations integrate storytelling and game development, with a focus on energy use, climate change and conflict. This includes a strong focus on immersive technologies, with research focused on novel applications of virtual, augmented and mixed reality. Recent work includes developing an app for street level play outside the V&A Dundee during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Game studies

Our research spans both areas to encompass game production studies, interactive narrative, immersive storytelling, and critical analysis of games culture. In games studies, Unit members have produced high impact research outputs and practice-based collaborations.

Our research environment includes (i) InGAME  (Innovation for Games and Media Enterprise) the UK Creative Cluster for Computer Games, which provides a R&D environment for new and experimental creative content, products, services and experiences; (ii) the Emergent Technology Centre which houses a 5G network core (part of a £4M 5G R&D Testbed partnership with Dundee City Council and Scottish Futures Trust) - the first Scottish innovation hub to support R&D on enabling technologies for applications where mobile plays a key role (e.g., service delivery, Internet of Things); and (iii) Abertay cyberQuarter (£18.2M Tay Cities Deal) which brings together academia and industry to: create new products, markets and services; catalyse the growth of a Cybersecurity cluster that will retain and attract talent and investment; and make businesses and citizens more cyber-resilient.