Join leading transplant surgeons, clinicians, and scientists for a special evening event at this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival (14 April). Discover Edinburgh’s pioneering role in transplantation – and how research here is contributing to the future of transplant care. Book️: edin.ac/4dicFL7

The days are getting longer and it is the perfect time to visit the 300 Faces of Edinburgh Medical School exhibition 🌞 You will see some familiar faces from across IRR represented in this exhibition, so make sure you catch it while it is on display! Learn more about the exhibition: edin.ac/3PF7v1Y

Marcin Maniak, IRR PhD student, is delivering a hands-on workshop at this year's Edinburgh Science Festival. Put on your lab coat and experiment with immune cells as they stick, squeeze, and slurp their way to defeat infections! Suitable for Ages 7+. Book: edin.ac/3PIhZNZ

How is a Trojan horse tackling cancer? 🐎 Watch the latest episode of 'The Rest is Science' Podcast to discover how IRR spinout company Trogenix is revolutionising targeted cancer therapies. ▶️ Watch now (Trogenix section from 47:30): www.youtube.com/watch

Enjoyed listening to Dr Güneş Taylor on Professor Brian Cox’s A Question of Science podcast last year? She’s answering more audience questions on reproductive health and fertility in a special episode released today. 🎧Listen now: www.lnk.to/MQoSFertilit...

“We are racing against time…There are hundreds of kids like Leni out there who don’t have any therapy, and these treatments have the potential to be transformative.” IRR's Prof Brian Bigger specialises in childhood dementia and featured in an ITV news story today. 📰: www.itv.com/news/2026-03...

The Healthcare Technology Accelerator Facility (HTAF GMP Facility) at IRR now has MHRA approval to import & manufacture drugs for use in human clinical trials. Available to academic & commercial partners, a strength of HTAF is small batch manufacturing. regeneration-repair.ed.ac.uk/healthcare-t...

Join IRR researchers at the Edinburgh Science Festival this April! 🔬 Hear about the latest advancements in organ transplants, jump into an interactive scientific storytelling session and uncover the amazing mechanics behind your body’s defences. 🎟️ Book your tickets: www.edinburghscience.co.uk/

Immune cells called neutrophils can trap and kill bacteria by releasing webs called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). A new study (Rossi lab) develops a new method that can more reliably measure NETs quickly and objectively over current methods. edin.ac/3NuWNKy

To celebrate International Women's Day this weekend Nicole Dron, Clinical Skills Facilitator at the Edinburgh Medical School, shared with us her insights on women's health and the value of lived experience in policy engagement. Read Nicole's blog on IRR Stories: edin.ac/4b2CaP6

📣Job opportunity: Prestigious three‑year Rosetrees Clinical Lectureship in academic reproductive medicine, combining high‑quality Specialist Training in NHS Lothian with protected time and resource to accelerate your research trajectory. Deadline: Friday 13 March 2026 Apply today: edin.ac/3OrDQbS

New study finds that using the anti-histamine drug clemastine activates immune cells called macrophages to kill bacteria. This identifies a possible new treatment approach for certain infections, as an alternative to antibiotics. edin.ac/3ZGQXIH

New study (Vázquez-Boland group) reports that an antibiotic-multiresistant strain of Rhodococcus equi bacteria that emerged in the United States and was later found in Ireland, has spread to Japan and China, highlighting its potential for global establishment. edin.ac/461M802 @uoe-eid.bsky.social

IRR's Professor Brian Bigger has been named in TIME’s 2026 Most Influential People in Health list for his work developing brain targeted stem cell gene therapies for childhood dementias regeneration-repair.ed.ac.uk/irr-research...

IRR People: Laura María Quesada Ojeda In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science #February11, we spoke to ENDO1000 Research Technician Laura María Quesada Ojeda about her work in women’s health and the current research she is supporting. Read our interview: edin.ac/4qtGGKC

We are excited to announce we are recruiting patients for our ENDO1000 project! 🎉 Head over to the ENDO1000 website for more information and to sign up for the study: edin.ac/49UMqad Your data could make all the difference to improving the lives of people living with endometriosis.

IRR Director Professor Stuart Forbes has been honoured with a Chancellor’s Award for research excellence in recognition of his outstanding reputation as a clinician scientist in the area of biomedicine, specifically liver regeneration. Read our story on the event: edin.ac/3LX9EVa

Two new papers from the McCulloch lab reveal how the body changes after experiencing a stroke. 1. Stroke and “fight-or-flight” response weakens the immune system > edin.ac/4a166dD 2. Long term changes to the intestinal microbiome seen after stroke > edin.ac/4jR2LBl

New study identifies a specific enzyme as a useful indicator of gut inflammation and have developed an optical reporter that can show this enzyme’s activity. This quick, non-invasive & IBD-specific reporting tool could be used to enhance the diagnosis & monitoring of IBD patients. edin.ac/49ym79H

In vivo screen reveals specific roles of Hippo pathway components in development and regeneration @gram-lab.bsky.social @edinuni-irr.bsky.social @fengfishlab.bsky.social @michaelanosfairley.bsky.social www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/3/...

New study ( @gram-lab.bsky.social and @fengfishlab.bsky.social ) finds that tissue regeneration is controlled by a well-orchestrated network of signals. This network is influenced by injury severity, timing, and the immune system. 🔎 edin.ac/4styRa0 📰 edin.ac/4jnQsfq @lsajournal.org

That’s a wrap for IRR’s #12DaysOfResearch – Have a fantastic festive break and we’ll see you in 2026!

Twelfth Day of Research - Early medical abortion at home found to be safe and effective up to 12 weeks 💊 A 5 year study led by IRR researchers concludes it’s time to extend the current legal early medical abortion limit of 10 weeks to 12 weeks in the UK and Europe. Discover more: edin.ac/3IKrrx5

Eleventh Day of Research – 11 exhibitions contributed to our 2025 Doors Open Day event 🔍 This September IRR once again opened its doors to the public to showcase the biomedical research happening within our building. See what we got up to: edin.ac/46IYFF7 Check out our #12DaysOfResearch campaign!

Tenth Day of Research - The ENDO1000 study recruited its first 10 participants🩸 ENDO1000 is a UK-wide research project from IRR that will collect data and biological samples from 1000 individuals with endometriosis. Discover more about the project: www.endo1000.com/ #12DaysOfResearch

Ninth Day of Research - 9 scientists presented at our very first Research in a Flash event⚡ This year, we launched our Research in a Flash series, bringing people together from across IRR and our local community to engage in a fast-paced, fun, and inspiring hour of science. 📰: edin.ac/44BYk6l

IRR Group Leader Prof Ahsan Akram, appeared on STV last night to call for the rollout of lung cancer screening in Scotland. Early diagnosis saves lives - Scotland has no national lung cancer screening programme, in contrast to England, which has already screened 1M+ people. edin.ac/4qebkIr

New study (Walmsley lab) has for the first time, found the set of proteins neutrophils express within a tumour at high detail. This tech has opened the door to understanding neutrophil roles in brain tumours such as glioblastoma but also more generally in health and disease states. edin.ac/48JhnPq

Congratulations to everyone involved in the project between Liberton High School and the axolotl aquarium, led by Dom Cairns-Gibson and showcasing the research of Aida Rodrigo Albors. This work was given a Highly Commended Award from the Concordat on Openness on Animals in Research in the UK.

Eighth Day of Research - £800,000 funding awarded to investigate snake venom-induced chronic wounds🐍 This 3-year international project, co-lead by Jenna Cash, combines advanced mapping of venom-induced wounds in pre-clinical models and snakebite patients to inform new treatments. #12DaysOfResearch

📣Job Opportunity: Prof Pollard's lab explores molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate neural stem cells and how these become deregulated in brain cancers. We have a position available to explore the transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms underpinning glioblastoma. Info: edin.ac/4rT8slX

Seventh Day of Research - Trogenix secures £70m investment to tackle aggressive cancers🔬 IRR spinout Trogenix, which is developing innovative cancer therapies, completed Series A financing of £70 million this year. 🔗: edin.ac/3LQSRma Catch more IRR stories in our #12DaysOfResearch campaign!

Sixth Day of Research - We welcomed 6 Career Ready interns and 4 BioQuarter interns this summer🧑‍🔬 We hosted local high school students as part of both the BioQuarter’s Summer Interns and University’s Career Ready programmes. 🔗: edin.ac/4oPP33G We’re halfway through our 2025 #12DaysOfResearch!

📣Job Opportunity: We are seeking a dedicated individual to join our tissue culture facility team providing day-to-day technical support for IRR’s research. Responsibilities include cleaning and maintenance of essential tissue culture facility equipment. More Info: edin.ac/4iT2Nbp

Fifth Day of Research - Local S5 students jumped into our Science Insights work experience programme where they had the chance to experience working on current research in our labs, alongside our staff and students. Read about our 2025 programme: edin.ac/3GObsgP #12DaysOfResearch

Following her inaugural lecture as a new professor, we caught 5 minutes out of Professor Katrin Ottersbach’s busy schedule to chat about her career so far and her goals for the future. regeneration-repair.ed.ac.uk/news/irr-sto...

4th Day of Research - Forth Therapeutics, a new spinout from IRR, launched this March 🦠 The biotech company builds on pioneering research into halting and potentially reversing the progression of fibrotic disease. 📰: edin.ac/4iyNgvX Discover more IRR success stories: #12DaysOfResearch

Third Day of Research – Scientists compared 3 key methods for detecting mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd) in endometrial cancer 🧬 Read our story: edin.ac/4c8iY1c #12DaysOfResearch is just getting started. Stay tuned for more excellent IRR science!

Second Day of Research - MATCH Phase 2 study, a therapy could offer hope to people suffering from liver cirrhosis, completed with positive results⚕️ Learn more: edin.ac/4pgJs5X Keep an eye out for our #12DaysOfResearch campaign throughout December, highlighting a year of IRR research.

📣Job opportunity: To analyse neuroimaging, cognitive, and biological data from the UKRI MRC-funded PREterm Neurodevelopment and COGnition study (PRENCOG), the Theirworld Edinburgh Birth Cohort (TEBC), and other early life image datasets available to the research community More info: edin.ac/4pz9kux

📣Job opportunity: We are looking for a clinical research nurse to participate in an exciting research project aimed at understanding the molecular origins of abnormalities in human oocytes and embryos. More info: edin.ac/48efslA

📣Job opportunity: To analyse neuroimaging, cognitive, and biological data from the UKRI MRC-funded PREterm Neurodevelopment and COGnition study (PRENCOG), the Theirworld Edinburgh Birth Cohort (TEBC), and other early life image datasets available to the research community. More info: edin.ac/4pz9kux

Our new facility, the UK's only dedicated axolotl research colony, is an exciting next step into regenerative medicine. "What we learn from axolotls could one day help us unlock new treatments for everything from spinal cord injuries to degenerative diseases." - @aidarodrigo.bsky.social

In his previous role at @manchester.ac.uk, CRM Group Leader Brian Bigger led research on gene therapy for Hunter syndrome, which has just resulted in its first patient! edin.ac/49Av3wV Read about his current work here: edin.ac/4q352LN

#12DaysOfResearch is back again this December, sharing IRR research highlights from across 2025! ✨ For our first day of research, IRR Spinout Prothea enrolled its first patient to the the Precision Lung clinical trial Read our full story: edin.ac/42wu648 [Image credit: Prothea Technologies]

Congratulations to all our postgraduate students who graduated this week. It was a real treat to help show some of their family and friends around the Institute and into the labs where they worked. Including MScR Reproductive Sciences and MScR Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Repair.

New study (Lu lab) shows reduced & unstable immune cells (regulatory T cells) damage bile duct and worsen chronic liver disease. Blocking Ox40L molecule whilst boosting regulatory T cell numbers improved bile duct repair and reduced scarring. Summary 🔎: edin.ac/4incMW2 Full paper 📰: edin.ac/4ipDMnK

It’s World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week. We caught up with Prof @bachmanntill.bsky.social to tell us about his research and how he’s tackling antimicrobial resistance. Find out more about antimicrobial resistance and how diagnostics research can help: edin.ac/48wzjfG #WAAW @who.int

Congratulations to Prof @bachmanntill.bsky.social and the DOSA team on securing PACE funding to advance their UTI strip test. The award will help refine its properties and add an antibiotic susceptibility test - bringing it significantly closer to real-world use. The project: edin.ac/3Mb7D7q

Dr Edwards-Hicks is featured in The Guardian today, discussing why the @ukbiobank.bsky.social ’s new release of metabolic profiles is a major step forward for disease prevention. Read the article: edin.ac/3LHM6Dr