27 March 2016

Welcome

To our fortnightly round up of medical research news and events.
 

AMRC NEWS

AMRC welcomes new head of policy & public affairs

Nisha joins the team as Head of Policy and Public Affairs. She will be leading policy and public affairs team’s wide-ranging work to ensure the sector has the best possible environment for health and medical research charities.

Nisha has over a decades experience in healthcare public affairs and policy. During her career she has worked in the policy team at the Labour Party; in Parliament; public affairs consultancy and most recently in government affairs for Novartis Pharmaceuticals. She has MSc in Public Policy and Management from Birkbeck and a BSc in Economic and Politics from Warwick University.

 

We’re looking for a communications officer

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced communications officer to join our team.

We're looking for someone who can use their copy-writing and event organiser skills to connect our research, membership and policy activities, and help us to deliver high-quality communications and engagement with health and medical research charities.

You will be involved in writing content, delivering an e-newsletter and planning, managing and marketing events such as webinars, workshops and conferences.

More information about the role is on our website and if you have any questions you can get in touch with Sara, our head of communications and member engagement. The closing date is 16 June.

We’re also on the look-out for someone on an interim basis while we recruit to the permanent role. This could be a secondment opportunity, someone looking for work experience over the summer months, or someone with transferable skills looking to gain experience in the health research/charity sector. For more information and to apply.

 

Want to know more about the changes happening in clinical research?

There's still time to sign up to our masterclass on the changes occurring across the clinical research landscape on 28 June.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the NIHR – the Department of Health-funded body that co-ordinates and funds research for the NHS in England. Since its introduction, the landscape for clinical research, not just in England, but throughout the UK, has changed considerably.

We’ve see the introduction of the HRA approval process, simplifying the system for setting up clinical studies, and the roll-out of the UK Clinical Trials Gateway. In Europe, the clinical trials directive has been replaced by a new regulation. How can health and medical research charities leverage these changes to support the best research that makes a difference for patients?

This one-day masterclass features a great line-up of speakers, including:

• Simon Denegri, NIHR National Director for Patients and the Public, NIHR
• Dr Laura Bousfield, Study Start-Up Manager, CRN National Coordinating Centre, NIHR
• Dr Hollie Chandler, Policy manager, Cancer Research UK
• Isabelle Abbey-Vital, Research Involvement Officer, Parkinson's UK
• Professor Faisal Ahmed, Glasgow Children’s Hospital
• Tracy Elliott, Senior Research Programme Manager for Strategic Development, Arthritis Research UK
• Professor Paula Williamson, Chair of the COMET Initiative Management Group

As well as hearing from an expert panel there will be plenty of opportunity for Q&A, discussion and networking with colleagues.

Why not join us on the 28 June to find out about recent changes to the UK clinical research landscape; understand what these changes mean and how they will affect research charities' processes; consider how your organisation can fund research to maximise patient benefit and discover potential partners and collaborators in the new landscape?

   

RESEARCH

Autism community call for mental health to be made a research priority

The autism community is calling for mental health to be made a research priority after mental health topped the list of the most pressing unanswered questions about autism in a national consultation with autistic adults, families and professionals. The consultation was a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership initiated by Autistica last year.

Over 70% of autistic people have at least one mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, behavioural problems, obsessive compulsive disorders and self-harm. Research suggests a genetic link between autism and mental health problems, but these may also be brought on or exacerbated by environmental factors.

The consultation brought together patients, carers and clinicians together to identify and prioritise the Top 10 uncertainties, or 'unanswered questions', for a given health condition. Funding partners for the initiative included the National Autistic Society, Autism Research Trust and Autism Alliance
 

Research ideas with commercial potential to get funding progress

Arthritis Research UK and the Medical Technologies Innovation and Knowledge Centre have joined forces to offer funding to progress research ideas that have commercial potential.

The pair will provide Proof of Concept Awards for up to two years, with funding of up to £100,000 to push forward innovations that support the lives of people with musculoskeletal conditions. Proposals will be accepted from scientists, clinicians and allied health care professionals at eligible UK institutions; collaborations with industry are encouraged and applications will be judged on the clinical need, potential market opportunity and industry confidence to progress and support the technology to market.

To find out more, please contact Dr Sarah Odoi (Research Translation Manager, Arthritis Research UK) or Dr Graeme Howling (Technology Innovation Manager, Medical Technologies IKC).

 

The view from Philpots' hilltop

To mark International Clinical Trials Day, our head of research and impact, Dr Liz Philpots has blogged about her personal involvement in clinical research over the last 20 years and reflects on the changes in that time.

RCUK seeks members for its new Open Access Practitioners Group

Research Councils UK (RCUK) is seeking members for its new Open Access Practitioners Group to share best practice, discuss issues and provide sector insight to improve the implementation of the RCUK Policy on Open Access.

The group is being established in response to a recommendation in Professor Sir Bob Burgess’ independent review of the implementation of the RCUK Policy on Open Access, published in March 2015 after the first year of the policy’s introduction.

RCUK would welcome expressions of interest from representatives of the higher education sector from a diverse range of backgrounds who are already familiar with open access policy, including those who are closely involved in the practicalities of implementing the policy within their organisations The closing date for nominations is Friday 17 June. 

 

 

Get to know Altmetric

 

Altmetric, a company which helps organisations understand their online activity and organise of their scholarly content, has created a video to help explain its work, what "altmetrics"  are and how they can help you discover and understand the diverse impacts of research and complement citation-based research impact data.

Altmetrics are metrics and qualitative data that are complementary to traditional, citation-based metrics. They can include (but are not limited to) peer reviews on Faculty of 1000, citations on Wikipedia and in public policy documents, discussions on research blogs, mainstream media coverage, bookmarks on reference managers like Mendeley, and mentions on social networks such as Twitter.

   

PEOPLE AND PATIENTS

Highlighting the underfunding in brain tumour research

In this blog, Brain Tumour Research discusses the government's recent announcement that more needs to be done for brain tumour patients and the years of campaigning and the e-petition that led to this.

Call for abstracts on research in palliative and end of life care

Marie Curie is inviting abstracts for short presentations and/or posters on research in palliative and end of life care, to form part of the annual research conference it is hosting on 19 October with the palliative care section of the Royal Society of medicine.

Abstracts relevant to out of hours care are more likely to be chosen for oral presentation, but the charity welcomes submissions on any subject in palliative and end of life care. Abstracts should be no more than 250 words (excluding title, authors and affiliations) and in the following format: Introduction, Aim(s) and Method(s), Results, Conclusion(s).The deadline for submitting abstracts is Friday 17 June.

The conference 'Round the clock: Making 24/7 palliative care a reality' will look at supporting the translation of research findings into practice

 

POLICY

Higher education white paper and higher education and research bill

On 16 May BIS released its Higher education white paper: Success as a knowledge economy, stating that seven research councils, as well as Innovate UK and the research functions of Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will be brought under a single strategic umbrella to form UK Research and Innovation. You can read AMRC’s initial response to the white paper here.
 
The Queen also announced a Higher education and research bill at the State Opening of Parliament on 18 May, which had its first reading on the 19 May. 
 
Key points from the bill include:

• Single research and innovation funding body to be created to house the seven research disciplines, Innovate UK and research functions of HEFCE, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
• New council named Research England to replace functions of HEFCE in managing the REF (Research Excellence Framework) and delivering QR (Quality-related research) as part of UKRI
• Research Councils to retain their own names, brand and hypothecated budgets
• John Kingman appointed Interim Chair of UKRI. John is currently Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, and has widely been seen as the driving force in the Treasury behind the emphasis on science and innovation.

 AMRC will be monitoring the bill’s second reading, and the ensuing parliamentary debate.

 

Inquiry into Innovate UK launched by Science and Technology Committee

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee is to launch a short inquiry into the future of Innovate UK. The committee will examine the implications of the plans to incorporate Innovate UK into UK Research and Innovation alongside the research councils and Research England. No written evidence will be called for, but oral evidence sessions will take place in June, with the committee to report to Government shortly afterwards.
 

Lords appoint charities committee

The House of Lords has approved a motion to create a select committee to consider issues related to the charity sector. The creation of this ad hoc Select Committee was first proposed in the Lords by Lord Shinkwin earlier this year.

 

NHS provider deficit and long-term sustainability committee

Analysis of NHS providers' operational and financial performance was published on 20 May, providing further insight into the financial health of the NHS and potential subsequent risks to research.  

Key figures are as follows:

• Overall the NHS provider sector reported a deficit of £2.45bn for year ending 31 March 2016, £461 million worse than planned and 3 times higher than reported in 2015
• 157 (65%) out of 240 providers reported a deficit: the majority of these were acute trusts
• The full year NHS provider deficit could be as high as £2.8bn

The House of Lords agreed to appoint a Select Committee on the Long-Term Sustainability of the NHS on 23 May 2016. The members of the committee have yet to be appointed but it is expected to put forward its findings by 31 March 2017.
  

TALKS, COURSES, CONFERENCES

AMRC workshop: Changes in the clinical research landscape

28 June 2016, 10am-4pm, Charles Darwin House, London
A one-day workshop on the recent changes to the UK clinical research landscape and how this might affect research funding and activity.
For more information and to book

  

AMRC workshop: Essential research management

12 July 2016 & 24 January 2017,10am-4pm, Charles Darwin House, London

A one-day training workshop on the fundamentals of research management for new research administrators and research managers working at AMRC member charities and for research staff at charities new to AMRC.
For more information and to book

 

AMRC workshop: Advanced research management

13 July 2016, 10am-4pm, Charles Darwin House, London

An advanced research management masterclass, taking an in-depth look at the principles of peer review, the outcomes and findings of the AMRC peer review audit, and what this means for current practice.
For more information and to book

  

AMRC workshop: Evaluation and impact masterclass

14 March 2017, 10am-4pm, Charles Darwin House, London
A one-day masterclass on evaluating research outcomes and measuring impact for health and medical research charities
For more information and to book

 

NCRI Cancer Conference

6-9 November 2016, BT Convention Centre, Liverpool

The NCRI Cancer Conference showcases the latest basic, translational and clinical cancer research. It brings researchers together to share ideas and develop collaborations.
For more information and to book