UCLan Gains 4 QS Stars

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is a rising star according to a revealing new analysis undertaken by Quacquarelli Symonds, the compilers of the prestigious QS World University Rankings.

UCLan became the first modern university to enter the QS rankings in 2010. Now the company has launched the ‘QS Stars Development Road Map’ in order to showcase the broader quality of institutions, enabling them to stand out in their particular areas of excellence.

Overall the University has been awarded four out of the maximum of five stars.

According to the QS Top Universities website: a typical four stars university is: ‘highly international, demonstrating excellence in both research and teaching. The institution provides an excellent environment for students and faculty’.

And within the sub-areas which make up the overall grading, UCLan has been awarded the maximum of five stars for teaching, infrastructure, internationalisation and engagement.

World-leading Professor in Pharmaceutics Appointed To Prestigious UCLan Role

Professor Kevin Taylor, a leading authority in research areas such as drug delivery, clinical pharmaceutics and pharmacy education, has been appointed as an Honorary Professor within UCLan’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Bioengineering.

Having gained his PhD from the Welsh School of Pharmacy in 1986, Professor Taylor held a variety of teaching and research posts within the School’s Department of Pharmaceutics before being appointed as Professor in Clinical Pharmaceutics at University College London Hospitals and Camden and Islington Hospital Pharmaceutical Services. He became Head of the Department of Pharmaceutics in the School of Pharmacy, University of London in September 2006.

As well as serving on the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) Professor Taylor is a member of the Chemistry, Pharmacy and Standards Expert Advisory Group of the CHM, and the Education Expert Advisory Panel of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Professor Taylor is actively involved in researching liposomal systems for drug delivery while much of his research sits at the interface between pharmaceutical science and clinical practice. His research projects also include the study of dose uniformity and stability of extemporaneously prepared formulations, the mixing of food with medicines administered to children, and the use of inhalation devices by patients.

Prize Winning Intern

Afton Turner, a 3rd year Biomedical Science student, completed an undergraduate internship and won the prize for the best poster; Afton presented her work at the Undergraduate Research Conference in Warwick.

A record amount of undergraduate research projects have been created by students at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). Fifty research projects were undertaken by student interns on UCLan’s highly popular Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme. The students, who were drawn from 14 Schools across the University, spent up to 10 weeks working on a wide variety of academic projects which covered the arts, sciences, health and business. At the recent academic exhibition, where all the researchers enthused about their experiences, Afton Turner was named the winner of the best poster.

The 21-year-old final year Biomedical Sciences student, from Worcestershire, was chosen for her research into using yeast as an in vitro screening tool to identify compounds which have potential applications in cancer therapy. The project leaders were Carole Rolph, Tim Snape and Clare Lawrence from the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences.