Research news review
Sussex geneticist elected Fellow of the Royal Society
Alan Lehmann, Sussex's newest Fellow of the Royal Society
Alan Lehmann has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), the country's top scientific honour. Alan has been at Sussex since 1971, first as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Biochemistry Department, and then from 1973-2001 as a senior scientist and professor of molecular genetics at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cell Mutation Unit.
In 2001, he co-founded the Genome Damage and Stability Centre at the University, one of the UK's foremost centres for cancer research. Throughout his career, he has investigated the ways in which our cells are able to repair damage inflicted on the DNA molecules that make up our genes.
£1.1-million grant to investigate British living standards
Andrew Newell (left) and Ian Gazeley
Research by two Sussex academics will use a unique record of British domestic life to chart how ordinary Britons moved from poverty to prosperity during the 20th century.
Since January 2010, historian Dr Ian Gazeley and economist Andrew Newell have been analysing data from government surveys of household accounts for the project - The Living Standards of Working Households in Britain, 1904-1960. It is hoped that the work, funded by a £1.1-million grant from the Economic and Social Research Council will help developing countries to tackle poverty issues as their own economies grow, as well as providing a web-based 'one-stop shop' for research into British living standards research.
Key findings published in major study of migration
Sussex researchers in Burkina Faso, studying the effects of migration.
Barriers to migration should be reduced to enable migrants to play a positive role in both industrialised and developing countries, according to a new report from the Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty at Sussex.
The economic value of migration to poor countries is already well established, with migrant workers sending over $300 billion to developing countries, around four times global aid flows. Yet according to the findings report, policy on migration in developing countries remains fragmentary, and there is still a lack of consensus on what pro-poor migration policies should look like in poor countries.
Key findings include:
- Poor people are more likely to travel and work within or between poor countries, yet they are often ignored in international debates about migration.
- Migration, particularly among the young, often stimulates investment in education, either in the country of origin or destination.
- Where poor people have a greater choice in terms of migration destinations, the net effect on inequality is more likely to be positive.
- Skilled migration is largely a symptom, not a cause of underdevelopment.
- Policies that support migrant communities can contribute to the development of their countries of origin. Migrants do not need to return to be effective and sustainable.
