Seeing inside Alzheimer’s disease brain

Scientists investigating Alzheimer’s disease have determined the structure of molecules within a human brain for the very first time.

Left, fluorescence image of amyloid in cryo-preserved post-mortem human brain. Middle, 3-dimensional molecular architecture of β-amyloid plaque. Right, in-tissue structure of tau filaments within post-mortem brain.

Supporting Black plant scientists

Building a research culture where researchers and innovators from diverse backgrounds can thrive.

Watch the video

Professor Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso looks at plants in a lab

Watch the video

Clues to conserving our marine mammals are hidden in buckets of seawater

Tiny traces of DNA from seawater can provide crucial information about the relationship between marine mammals and key prey species to support their conservation.

A minke whale swims off the Southern Moray Firth coastline

Unlocking the power of nanopores

Scientists at University of Leeds are part of an international collaboration that has described a new approach to designing proteins from scratch.

Structures of the transmembrane β-barrel proteins designed in this study. In each, different numbers of strands wrap around each other to create barrels with different pore sizes, that can be exploited to create new biosensors.

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
RESEARCH CULTURE
CONSERVATION RESEARCH
DESIGNING PROTEINS

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Research and innovation

The Faculty of Biological Sciences is a vibrant, interdisciplinary, and collaborative research community, spanning all areas of biological sciences from molecules to landscapes. Our research and innovation pages highlight the strength and diversity of our research teams. Do contact us if you have an interest in working together.

Prof Andrew MacDonald | Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation

At least88%

'world leading' or 'internationally excellent'

Submitted research in our two main UoAs – REF 2021

£90m

research laboratories redesign

to enhance collaboration

£17m

Astbury BioStructure Laboratory

For world-leading biological research

Our research

Our faculty has over 130 academic staff, 14 independently funded research fellows and 200+ PhD students working at all levels of biological sciences, from molecules to landscapes. The links below allow you to explore our current research areas across our three schools.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a broad discipline in which biological processes, organisms, cells or cellular components are exploited to develop new technologies.

Moreon Biotechnology

Cancer

Cancer research studies the molecular and cellular basis of cancer and the development of target-specific therapeutics.

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Cardiovascular

Our Cardiovascular research is delivered under 6 themes and focuses on the function of the heart in health and disease, with additional activity in the area of skeletal muscle.

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Cell and Organismal Biology

Our Cell and Organismal Biology research aims at determining the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying both normal cell functions and how they become dysfunctional in diseased cells and organisms.

Moreon Cell and Organismal Biology

Ecology and Evolution

Our Ecological and Evolutionary research ranges from fundamental theory through to directly applied work, at scales ranging from molecular to global and across all the Earth’s biomes.

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Heredity, Development and Disease

Our Heredity, Development and Disease research studies a variety of organisms to investigate fundamental processes in animal and human development and disease.

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Integrative Membrane Biology

Within Integrative Membrane Biology research, our multidisciplinary and highly collaborative environment facilitates the study of membrane protein systems from the atomic to the cellular and organismal levels.

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Microbiology

Our Microbiology research delivers ground-breaking insights into the fundamental biology of bacteria, viruses and fungi, and has a particular emphasis on understanding in molecular detail the mechanisms by which these agents cause disease and evade treatment.

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Neuroscience

Our Neuroscience research seeks to understand how the nervous system, the most complex and highly organised part of the body, is able to generate perception, thoughts and behaviour.

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Plant Sciences

Plant Science research address fundamental biological mechanisms as related to plants and also addresses the global challenge of maintaining food supplies in the context of sustainable agriculture.

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Sport and Exercise Sciences

Sport and Exercise Science research has a world-class focus for research excellence in exercise science, building on its distinctive identity in understanding the basic mechanisms, and translational applications of physical activity in health and disease.

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Structural Biology

Our Structural Biology research aims to understand the structures of biomolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids, and the complexes they form.

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Tissue Engineering

Our Tissue Engineering research focuses on the development of scaffolds and medical devices to regenerate damaged and diseased parts of the body.

Moreon Tissue Engineering

The Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds

More on A new home for teaching and research

A new home for teaching and research

The Faculty of Biological Sciences is undergoing a major refurbishment to develop its teaching and research capabilities. Creating highly-flexible state of the art laboratories, offices and study space, the investment will provide an exciting new environment for an outstanding student experience and for large multidisciplinary research teams from across multiple faculties to work together.

Moreon A new home for teaching and research

Research Centres

Below are some of the cross-faculty research centres within the University that draw together expertise, maximising potential for application of novel approaches to solve scientific problems.

Leeds Omics

Our mission is to engage and unify the critical mass of ‘omics’ researchers at the University of Leeds into one central virtual institute. We have a significant number of active researchers that fit under this “Omics” umbrella.

Moreon Leeds Omics

The Astbury Centre

Bringing together researchers from across the University - largely from physics, the biological sciences and chemistry - to allow interdisciplinary approaches to be harnessed to understand the molecular basis of life.

Moreon The Astbury Centre

Centre for Plant Sciences

A centre for excellence in plant cell and molecular biology. The Centre has involvement in many European consortia and an extensive range of international collaborations including with the USA, India, Japan and China.

Moreon Centre for Plant Sciences

Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering

Focusing on longer lasting joint replacements, tissue sparing interventions and biological scaffolds for tissue regeneration supported by computational and experimental simulation systems for design and pre-clinical testing.

Moreon Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering

Research Facilities

Our 10 facilities cover the broad research themes of biophysical characterisation, structural elucidation and cellular visualisation. They provide a full pipeline for preparation and complete characterisation of systems from single molecules, to macro-molecular complexes, to cells.

Moreon Research Facilities

Research Impact

Our research delivers significant benefits to society and the economy. Read through case studies from some of our leading academics that showcase how we have already delivered a high level of impact across the globe as well as exploring our early future impact news stories.