The School of Biological Sciences is a School within the Faculty Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester. Biology at University of Manchester and its precursor institutions (Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST) has gone through a number of reorganizations (see History below), the latest of which was the change from a Faculty of Life Sciences to the current School.
Academics
Research The School, though unitary for teaching, is divided into a number of broadly defined sections for research purposes, these sections consist of: Cellular Systems, Disease Systems, Molecular Systems, Neuro Systems and Tissue Systems. Research in the School is structured into multiple research groups including the following themes:
Cell-Matrix Research (part of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research) Cell Organisation and Dynamics Computational and Evolutionary Biology Developmental Biology Environmental Research Eye and Vision Sciences Gene Regulation and Cellular Biotechnology History of Science, Technology and Medicine Immunology and Molecular Microbiology Molecular Cancer Studies Neurosciences (part of the University of Manchester Neurosciences Research Institute) Physiological Systems & Disease Structural and Functional Systems The School hosts a number of research centres, including: the Manchester Centre for Biophysics and Catalysis, the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, the Centre of Excellence in Biopharmaceuticals, the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, the Centre for Integrative Mammalian Biology, and the Healing Foundation Centre for Tissue Regeneration. The Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research is a joint endeavour with the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences of Manchester University and industrial partners.
Research Assessment Exercise (2008) The faculty entered research into the units of assessment (UOA) for Biological Sciences and Pre-clinical and Human Biological Sciences. In Biological Sciences 20% of outputs were rated 4* (World Class) and 40% 3* (Internationally Excellent), for 107 category A staff. In the Pre-clinical unit, 20% were rated 4* and 45% 3*, for 72 category A staff. Quality assessment by Grade Point Average (GPA) ranks the faculty 3rd and 2nd in the UK for these units respectively.
History of biological sciences at the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST
Department of Zoology (Victoria University of Manchester, 1879–1986) Zoology was taught at Manchester since the foundation of Owens College in 1851 when William Crawford Williamson was appointed professor of natural history with responsibilities to teach botany, physiology, geology and zoology. His teaching load was reduced by the creation of independent chairs in geology (1874), and zoology (1879).
Williamson embodied a traditional view of natural history, with its strong bias to taxonomic classification. From the 1860s onwards this approach began to change under the influence of German university biologists. The appointment of Arthur Milnes Marshall as professor of zoology at Owens in 1879 led to the adoption of this 'new biology' approach at Manchester. Marshall had been trained by these methods at the University of Cambridge. Marshall modernised the zoology curriculum, introduced courses in elementary biology and embryology, and lobbied for the establishment of dedicated research laboratories. In 1887, the Beyer laboratories were opened, funded by a local industrialist, C. F. Beyer; they were conveniently placed next to the Manchester Museum. Marshall's career ended when he was killed in a climbing accident. Marshall was succeeded by Sydney Hickson in 1894 who held the chair until 1926. He was a marine zoologist and an expert in the study of corals. Under Hickson the department saw steady growth in staff and students, with the emergence of distinct research specialisms. On his retirement in 1926, he was succeeded by J. S. Dunkerly, a protozoologist and an authority on Flagellates from the University of Glasgow who died in 1931. Herbert Graham Cannon, previously professor of zoology at Sheffield, was elected to the Beyer chair in his place. In 1948 R. Dennell was appointed professor of experimental zoology. The current holder of the Beyer Chair is Professor Andrew Loudon, who studies biological clocks in animals. During the 1960s and 1980s the work of the department included J. Gordon Blower's research on the population genetics of millipedes, RR Askew's work on parasitic and other insects, Derek Yalden's studies on the distribution of fauna in the Peak District National Park and the mammals of Ethiopia, Gabbutt's on the biology of the pseudoscorpions, R. D. Butler's on the contractile systems in protozoa, and Roger Wood's on the genetics of mosquitoes. By the 1980s, it was recognised that some of the distinctions between the traditional biological disciplines were no longer as relevant as in the past and the university instituted a major review of the biological sciences at the university. A working party was established under Professor John Willmott that recommended greater integration in teaching and research between traditional biological disciplines, and a closer relationship between biological and medical departments. This led to the creation of a School of Biological Sciences in 1986, based on four divisions: biochemistry and molecular biology, cell and structural biology, environmental biology and physiological sciences. Nine departments of the faculties of science and medicine were abolished, including Botany and Zoology. Professor A. P. J. (Tony) Trinci (a microbiologist) was the first chairman of the School of Biological Sciences. Fourteen members of the Department of Botany joined the new division of cell and structural biology, and six became part of environmental biology. Professors of zoology at the Victoria University of Manchester included
Arthur Milnes Marshall, 1879–1893 Sydney John Hickson, 1894–1926 John S. Dunkerly, 1926–1931 Herbert Graham Cannon, 1931–1963 Ralph Dennell, 1963–1974 (professor of experimental zoology from 1948) Arthur Cain, 1964–1968 Edwin Trueman, 1969–1982 D. M. Guthrie, 1982–(?)
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