Yearly Archives / 2012

Research within the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU)

BU research, Funding opportunities, Research news

In previous blogs we have described how BUCRU can help in developing grant applications. In this blog we describe some of the funded projects we are involved in.

BUCRU led research

Fatigue management in multiple sclerosis (MS):  We have just completed a multi-centre randomised trial of a cognitive behavioural approach to fatigue management in people with multiple sclerosis1. This project was funded by the MS Society (http://www.mssociety.org.uk).

Improving activity and wellbeing in people with MS: We are just starting a MS Society funded pilot study to look at the Nintendo Wii home gaming system as a method of helping people with MS increase their activity levels and wellbeing.

Systematic review of psychological interventions for people with MS: A small grant to update our existing Cochrane review2

BUCRU collaborative projects

IDvIP: A National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) (http://www.ccf.nihr.ac.uk/RfPB/Pages/home.aspx) funded project. This is a multi-centre trial comparing 2 methods of pain relief for women in labour; diamorphine and pethidine3. The Chief Investigator is a Consultant in one of the local hospitals and a member of the Bournemouth University Visiting Faculty. BUCRU staff were involved in the design of the study, applying for the grant, data management, statistical analysis and interpretation, and advice on project management.*

WEIGHTED: A small grant from the College of Emergency Medicine held by a local Consultant/ member of the Visiting Faculty. This study is about to start and aims to develop a robust method of estimating the weight of patients attending a hospital emergency department. Many patients require a weight dependent dose of potentially life saving medication, but are too ill to be actually weighed.  BUCRU were involved in designing the study and securing funding, and will be involved in ongoing advice on project and data management, statistical analysis and interpretation.

PEARLS: A large multi-centre trial of training maternity staff in assessing and repairing tears to the perineum acquired during labour and delievery4. This project is funded by the Health Foundation (http://www.health.org.uk) and run under the auspices of the Royal College of Midwives. BUCRU has been involved in data management, statistical analysis and interpretation.

PREVIEW: A pilot randomised trial comparing two methods of looking after tears to the perineum. The Chief Investigator is based in Birmingham, and the study is funded by the NIHR RfPB funding scheme. This study has recently started, and BUCRU was involved in the design of the study and the funding application. Further involvement will be in advising on project management, data management and statistical analysis.

Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship: (http://www.nihrtcc.nhs.uk). Award held by BU and won by a radiographer based at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic. The project involves tracking and measuring spinal motion. The research may have important implications in diagnosing people with chronic lower back pain. BUCRU were involved in the study design and funding application, and 2 members of staff are supervisors for her PhD.

Contact us:

In the first instance please contact

Louise Ward (administrator):

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit

R505 Royal London House

Christchurch Road

Bournemouth BH1 3LT

BUCRU@bournemouth.ac.uk

Tel: 01202 961939

 http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/

1 Thomas, P.W., Thomas, S., Kersten, P., Jones, R., Nock, A., Slingsby, V., et al., 2010. Multi-centre parallel arm randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group-based cognitive behavioural appoach to managing fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis. BMC Neurology, 10:43

2 Thomas, P.W., Thomas, S., Hillier, C., Galvin, K., and Baker, R. (2006). Psychological interventions for multiple sclerosis. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Vol. Issue 1, pp. Issue 1. Art. No.: CD004431. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004431.pub2): John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

3 Wee, M.Y.K., Tuckey, J.P., Thomas, P., Burnard, S. 2011. The IDvIP Trial: A two-centre randomized double-blind controlled trial comparing intramuscular diamorphine and intramuscular pethidine for labour analgesia. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 11: 51

4 Bick, D.E., Kettle, C., MacDonald, S., Thomas, P.W., Hill, R.K., Ismail, K.. 2010. PErineal Assessment and Repair Longitudinal Study (PEARLS): protocol for a matched pair cluster trial. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 10:10.

New round of the Research Development Fund – large grants scheme – now open!

Funding opportunities, Research news

This week BU is proud to launch a new round of the BU Research Development Fund (large collaborative grants scheme)!

The deadline for applications to have been received by the RDU is: Friday 17 February 2012

The Fund is open to BU academics and will provide selective support to research initiatives considered to be of strategic importance to BU. This call is for the Large Collaborative Grants Scheme (up to £25k per annum, must include two or more Schools). The Small Grants Scheme is also currently open with a closing date of 28 February – further details are available here:

The RDF – Large Collaborative Grants Scheme aims to provide funding for the development of large-scale, complex, inter/multi-disciplinary collaborative research activities leading to external funding. Applications must involve academic staff from at least two BU Schools. Priority will be given to applications that meet the following criteria:

  • In line with BU’s emerging Research Themes
  • Include external organizations (particularly SMEs and/or international organizations)
  • In line with the strategic priorities of major funding bodies (such as the UK research councils, European Commission, etc)
  • Clearly beneficial to BU’s submission to REF2014

Examples of research activities covered by the RDF include:

  • Pilot projects
  • Pump-priming
  • Meeting expenses
  • Travel to proposed collaborators
  • Attendance at external networking events with the aim of expanding the network
  • Preparation of specialist material or data
  • Short-term Research Assistant support or replacement teaching
  • Consumables and equipment (providing it is clear these would not normally be purchased by the School)
  • Fees for external proposal support and review

Awards will only cover direct costs (i.e. overheads and established staff costs will not be reimbursed). Applications need to include a precise breakdown of costs calculated using full economic costing (fEC) methodology – this will be calculated for you by the RKE Operations team.

For further information please read the Research Development Fund policy – Large Grant Round 2.

To apply for a Large Collaborative Research Grant, please complete the RDF Large Grant application form.

TSB Planning to increase number of KTPs

BU research

KTP diagramEstablished in 1975, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is one of the world’s leading knowledge transfer mechanisms, which provides academics with the unique opportunity to apply their knowledge and expertise to important problems facing businesses. The programme provides Government grants to fund joint projects with business or third sector organisations lasting from 6 months to 3 years.

Following the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, the budget for new KTPs was reduced to £25m per annum. While this is sufficient to fund between 600 and 800  KTPs per annum, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is seeking other ways of funding additional KTPs. At a meeting between a number of universities, including Bournemouth University, and the TSB held on the 17th January, Debbie Buckley-Golder, the TSB’s Head of Knowledge Exchange said this additional funding is being sought from major charities and industry. While the £25m core funding will continue to be available on an any time, any topic basis, the new funding is likely to be targeted at particular subject areas with set response timescales.   Subject areas will driven by business needs and are likely to be published in March 2012.

The current success rates for KTP applications is above 80%, however, the grant rate for multiple KTPs from the same company is likely to be reduced. Due to the significantly larger impact, most KTPs (75%) will be granted for projects with Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). However, to facilitate the continued involvement of large organisations, the TSB are investigating a reduced grant rate KTP where the organisation will fund most of the project but continue to receive support from the TSB, for example KTP Advisers and associate training.

Bournemouth University has been very successful in assisting businesses through the KTP programme, see article on this link.

If you require any further information on this meeting or KTPs in general please contact Peter Delgado, Commercialisation and KTP Officer, e-mail Peter Delgado.

EU Academic Development Scheme deadline at 5pm!

EU

The deadline for the BU EU Academic Development Scheme (EUADS) is today at 5pm – any submissions after this time will not be accepted so please don’t ask!
This  fabulous and unique scheme developed to kick start your career in EU research is open to all BU academic staff interested in, but new to, EU funding who intend to prepare and submit a bid to an EU funder. The EUADS will help you build up to gaining funding by providing excellent group training and bespoke individual mentorship delivered to you by our brilliant experienced internal experts and fantastic external facilitators over a 12 month programme. Included in this scheme is one-to-one contact as frequently as you wish with a dedicated EU expert proposal writer who will help you at every stage of your journey.

As if this training wasn’t fantastic in itself, and the supportive culture of being a cohort undertaking the journey of EU funding extremely appealing, the EUADS also includes an individual fund. Each successful participant will be provided with grants as requested totalling up to a whopping £3k each by to spend on activities supporting bid development. Check out more info on this from my previous blogpost.

Marie Curie calls are coming – register now to get expert help!

EU

It is anticipated that the FP7 Marie Curie Programme will announce its latest calls soon and I want to encourage BU staff to apply. A Marie Curie grant is a great way to begin your EU career as it focuses on researcher mobility and training at all stages and allows you to work with only a single other academic or institute. It also   boasts a high success rate – 40%. You can apply for funding on any topic and for a whole range of activities; basic research, PhDs, Postdoctoral researchers or staff exchanges and you can either apply to work in a European university on your own research project, or apply to have a researcher brought in from abroad to allow you to gain mentoring experience. Fellowships under this scheme usually last for 3 years and support in the region of €33k per year is given to academics going abroad, and to receive a researcher from Europe, BU can receive up to €25k per year.The recent schemes are all listed at the end of this blogpost.

I am proud to say BU staff have successfully gained Marie Curie funding already;  Rudy Gozlan (ApSci) and Bogdan Gabrys (DEC) have shared their experiences on our blog already.

In order to help you get prepared, I’ve organised for an expert Marie Curie bid writer (who has an almost 50% success rate for these proposals) coming in for a one day workshop on February 16th. As well as going through exactly how to write a perfect Marie Curie proposal, he will also review the final draft of your submission for the scheme if you attend the workshop. To find out more, read my recent blogpost and sign up.

Marie Curie Fellowships
Initial Training Networks
  • Aim to improve career perspectives of early-stage researchers through a networking mechanism
  • Direct or indirect involvement of organisations from different sectors is essential
Intra European Fellowships
  • Support career development of experienced researchers at different stages
  • Seeks to enhance their individual competence and diversification in terms of skill acquisition at multi- or interdisciplinary level and/or by undertaking intersectoral experiences
Industry Academia Partnership & Pathways
  • Aim to open and foster dynamic pathways between public research organisations and private commercial enterprises
International Outgoing Fellowships

 
  • Reinforce the international dimension of European researchers by giving opportunity to be trained and acquire new knowledge in a high- level organisation active in research, established in a other third country specific country

 
International Research Staff Exchange Scheme

 
  • Aimed at strengthening research partnerships through staff exchanges and networking activities between European research organisations and organisations from countries with which the EC has an agreement.
  • Also provide support to research organisations to establish or reinforce long- term research cooperation through a coordinated joint programme of exchange of researchers for short periods

 
International Incoming Fellowships

 
  • Reinforce scientific excellence through knowledge sharing with incoming top-class researchers to work on research projects in Europe, with the view to developing mutually-beneficial research co-operation
COFUND

 
  • Aim at broadening or deepening  individual competence, in particular in terms of acquisition of multi- or interdisciplinary skills or having intersectoral experiences, encouraging mobility between public sector organisations and private companies
European Reintegration Grants
  • Individual grants aimed at researchers who have participated in a Marie Curie action for at least two years.
International Reintegration Grants
  • Individual grants which are aimed at researchers who have carried out research outside Europe for at least 5 years and who wish to return to Europe.

 

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) Events and Services

BU research, Funding opportunities, Research news

BUCRU incorporates the Dorset Office of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service – South West (RDS-SW). This means that in addition to the support outlined in previous blogs, we can also provide access to the following:

RDS Grant application workshop.

This workshop is going to be held at Bournemouth University on the 29th February 2012 (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/grant_workshop.htm). Although the official deadline for applying has recently passed, it is worth contacting us to see if there are any remaining places. The workshop will also be held in other locations in the South-West region in the near future.

This is a one-day workshop for researchers who are developing proposals with the intention of applying for a grant. The workshop does not provide detailed training in research methodology; rather it more generally covers the full range of issues inherent in developing a successful grant application. It will be of relevance to researchers applying to any of the major health research funders, but particularly the NIHR funding schemes.

Researchers will need to send in advance the latest draft of their research proposal. As a minimum they should have a plan for a project but, ideally, a worked up proposal, perhaps even one that has been previously rejected. All proposals will receive detailed written feedback from the RDS team.

Topics include

  • The application as a marketing document, selling the topic, selling the method, and selling the team;
  • The balanced team;
  • Clarity of description and explanation;
  • Feasibility issues;
  • Identifying and avoiding potential pitfalls

 

RDS Residential Research Retreat

The Residential Research Retreat (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/rrr_home.htm) provides an opportunity for research teams to develop high quality health related research proposals suitable for submission to national peer-reviewed funding schemes. The aim of the Retreat is to provide the environment and support to promote rapid progress in developing proposals over a relatively short time period.

This Research Retreat is open to health professionals and academics working within the South West. Applications to attend the Retreat should be submitted by a team of three people with varied skills. Applications are reviewed competitively and places awarded to the most promising team proposals. The deadline for the next Research Retreat has passed, but it is anticipated that applications will be invited again later in the year.  

At the retreat participants are supported by a range of experts while developing their research proposal. They work intensively on their proposal, while learning how to maximise its chances for successfully securing a grant.

In addition, the Residential Research Retreat helps participants develop the key skills needed to conduct research in a clinical setting as well as nurturing presentation skills and giving them the confidence to tackle research problems. 

 

RDS Scientific Committee

The RDS Scientific Committee (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/scientific_committee.htm) provides an excellent opportunity for researchers in the south-west to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before it is sent to a funding body. The Committee brings the benefit of seeing the proposal with “fresh eyes”, replicating as far as possible the way the real funding committee will consider the application. Committee members include senior research consultants who have considerable experience of obtaining research funding, resulting in comprehensive comments and advice fed back.

Committee meetings take place approximately 9 times per year. To submit a study for review at the meeting, study paperwork must be provided to the Committee via BUCRU two weeks prior to the meeting date, and preferably a couple of months before the intended funding deadline.

 

Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education (CoPMRE) Annual Symposium

In addition to events aimed at supporting the development of grant applications we also host an event geared towards dissemination. The CoPMRE Annual Symposium will be held on the 11th September 2012 at the Bournemouth University Talbot Campus. These successful annual conferences have been running for the past nine years and have featured themes such as ‘Professionalism and Collaboration’, ’Research Innovation’ and ‘Interprofessional Learning’. This year’s theme will be on using ‘Social media techniques in healthcare research and education’.  The conference is open to all healthcare professionals and academics.  More information will be posted on our website in due course and you will be able to register online nearer the time.  For further information on the symposium please contact Audrey Dixon, Conference Manager (adixon@bournemouth.ac.uk ).

Contact us: For further information about, and access to, the Grant applications workshop, the Residential Research Retreat and the Scientific Committee please contact:

Louise Ward (administrator):

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit

R505 Royal London House

Christchurch Road

Bournemouth BH1 3LT

BUCRU@bournemouth.ac.uk

Tel: 01202 961939

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/

Psychology Research Seminars

BU research

Thursday 19 January

Dr Martin Corley (University of Edinburgh) speaking on “To ‘er’ is human”

 Thursday 16 February

Dr Erik Reichle (University of Southampton) speaking on “E-Z Reader: A model of eye-movement control during reading”

 Thursday 15 March

Dr Falko Sniehotta (Newcastle University) speaking about behaviour change and health (title to be announced).

 All the seminars are held in room K101, Kimmeridge House, Talbot Campus, and start at 4pm (lasting about an hour including discussion). They are free to attend and no pre-booking is required – just turn up on the day. Full details and abstracts can be found at: http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/prc/seminars.html

‘I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by’

Funding opportunities, Research news, Uncategorized

That wasn’t me, it was Douglas Adams.  Unlike Mr Adams, I’m not a big fan of the whooshing sound.   I prefer my deadlines neatly pinned down. 

The Research Councils, British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust issue calls for proposals which have deadlines at around the same time each year. 

In the interest of deadline-pinning, I have  pulled these annual deadlines together into a 2012 Deadline Guide.  Hopefully, knowing about these deadlines will help you to plan your submissions, and maximise the support available to you.   

 

What the guide includes:

  • links to specific calls
  • brief descriptions
  • expected deadlines

Why is this guide useful?

  • being aware of deadlines can help you plan
  • good planning gives you time to consider your idea and adapt it to the specific call
  • and gives you time for peer review and general bid writing support

What the guide does not include:

  • information about specific calls that appear on an ad hoc basis

How can you find out about these, and other deadlines ? 

  • Use your Research Professional account to set up personalised funding opportunity searches across all funders, big and small.   RP will also alert you about other calls from the Research Councils etc.  

Support

If you have identified a future deadline and would like some support with your proposal please let me know.  Don’t forget – the earlier I am contacted,  the more effectively I can support you by:

  • helping you through our internal peer review service
  • organising grant writing training
  • giving you examples and guidelines to follow
  • offering general bid-writing advice and answering queries

 

To find out more about RPRS, the 2012 Deadline Guide , or Research Professional please contact Caroline O’Kane.

Get tweeting: using Twitter for research projects

Research news

Back in August, Susan added a post to the Blog on using Twitter (Get tweeing: how to make an impact with Twitter) which listed a number of excellent tips for using Twitter to make an impact in academia. Following on from this, the LSE’s Impact of Social Sciences Blog has listed a number of things you can do when using Twitter to promote your research.

1. Tweet about each new publication, website update or new blog that the project completes. To gauge feedback, you could send a tweet that links to your research blog and ask your followers for their feedback and comments.

2. For tweeting to work well, always make sure that an open-web full version or summary of every publication, conference presentation or talk at an event is available online. Summarize every article published in closed-web journal on a blog, or lodge a  full-text version or an extended summary on BURO, our institutional repository. In addition, sites like www.scribd.com are useful for depositing open web versions.

3. Tweet about new developments of interest from the project’s point of view, for instance, relevant government policy changes, think tank reports, or journal articles.

4. Use hashtags (#) to make your materials more visible – e.g. #phdchat. Don’t be afraid to start your own.

5. Use your tweets to cover developments at other related research sites, retweeting interesting new material that they produce. This may appear to some as ‘helping the competition’, but in most research areas the key problem is to get more attention for the area as a whole. Building up a Twitter network of reciprocating research projects can help everyone to keep up to date more easily, improve the standard and pace of debate, and so attract more attention (and funding) into the research area.

6. Twitter provides many opportunities for ‘crowd sourcing’ research activities across the sciences, social sciences, history and literature – by getting people to help with gathering information, making observations, undertaking data analysis, transcribing and editing documents – all done just for the love of it. Some researchers have also used Twitter to help ‘crowdsource’ research funding from interested public bodies.

7. Reaching out to external audiences is something that Twitter is exceptionally good for. Making links with practitioners in business, government, and public policy can happen easily. Twitter’s brevity, accessibility and immediacy are all very appealing to non-academics. At the end of each month, Twitter can be used as a painless metric to assess how your tweeting is working for you and your project.

8. Showing the growth in your followers and the number of people who read your research blog can also be helpful for funding applications. You could make short notes on the following:

• The number of followers you have

• The names of those who could be useful for future collaboration

• Invitations to write blog posts or speak at events, which have come via Twitter

• Number of hits to your own blog posts via Twitter

For more tips on academic tweeting, download this short guide to using Twitter in university research, teaching, and impact activities – Top Twitter Tips for Academics

My success with the BU EU Networking Fund: Network Building at Conferences

EU

I have always championed conferences as a means for both becoming known within the academic community as well as the opportunities they provide to meeting people with similar research interests and building networks of contacts. It was with these goals in mind I put together a bid to the EU Network Fund to attend the 2012 IPSA (International Political Studies Association) Conference in Madrid on Re-ordering Power: Shifting Boundaries. Happily I was successful and so the planning now starts, and it is important to go to a conference with a plan.

I am already highly involved in the Conference. I am Co-convenor and chair of ‘Political participation in the Web 2.0 era’ panel and Co-convenor and Discussant of ‘Political Marketing: empowering voters or electoral organisation’ panel. I am also presenting a paper on online political marketing and the 2011 Polish election within the panel entitled ‘Civic Participation and Public Sphere’, co-authored with Karolina Koc-Michalska.

IPSA is, as the name suggests, a global organisation connecting scholars of political science from every nation. It is thus a fantastic opportunity to meet and present work to a range of peers. Being involved in convening panels presents even further opportunities for networking.  The themes of my panels relate to a number of key questions regarding strategic political communication and voter engagement, in particular how campaigning (during elections or as part of the permanent campaign) and communication by representatives is evolving due to its adaptation for digital media and with what impact. These themes link with work I want to develop for a COST initiative. COST funding streams are designed for building partnerships. The initial stage is to propose an idea under an open call for a network, to be completed by March 30th. If this is successful the idea must then developed and fully costed for the second round, the shortlisted candidates then must present their ideas prior to final acceptance.

The idea for the network is how interactive communication technologies can contribute to democracy. The proposed project is to focus on patterns of influence online, basically how representatives (parliamentarians, lobby group members and media elites) and independent actors and citizens meet online (within social networks, on forums or through use of weblog tools), how they interact and whether influence is unidirectional from elite outwards or multi-directional. The aim is to develop a model of best practice for the use of Web 2.0 tools and platforms for those active in politics who seek to engage with citizens. This initiative is central to new styles of communication emerging in theUSAunder the Obama administration but is also being encouraged by the European Parliament in order to legitimise that legislature as well as by numerous political think tanks. Therefore, there are indications that many official bodies, from legislatures to NGOs, are pushing for greater use of the online environment to reconnect citizens to electoral politics. To be successful this project requires input from a range of scholars from various disciplines including political science, communication studies and ICT development.

The conference will allow, following submission of the initial proposal, to develop ideas, from both theoretical and methodological perspectives, gain firm commitments to collaborate within a network, either one funded through the COSTinitiative or by other means, and apportion tasks required for successful completion of a large bid. Furthermore, the event offers opportunities to meet and set out clear plans for development of the research agenda, identify further potential participants either at the conference or though contacts made there, and co-ordinate future communication. Central to this, particularly while awaiting the outcome of funding bids, will be the creation of an online space to share ideas, literature, calls for papers and general discussion points to maintain communication and so the cohesion and enthusiasm of partners – possibly a Google group of similar space for closed discussion and sharing. That is the plan. I am all set for some network building.

Doctoral funding call opened by the HEA

Funding opportunities

The HEA Doctoral Programme forms part of the Academy’s strategy to undertake research to develop pedagogical knowledge and evidence-based practice in HE. Seven Doctoral studentships are available in the academic year 2012 – 2013.

The Academy invites supervisors in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to bid to host one or more of these doctoral studentships under the following conditions:

1. The proposed topic should be discipline specific learning and teaching research or interdisciplinary/generic pedagogical research and should have a clear benefit to either practice or to policy on practice. The research should be aligned with HEA themes which cover the broad areas of

  • Employability
  • Assessment and Feedback
  • Flexible Learning
  • Internationalisation
  • Retention and Success, including widening access, gender, and transition issues
  • Reward and Recognition
  • Education for Sustainable development

2. A supportive environment for the student and completion and delivery of research outcomes are a high priority for the Academy. It would be advantageous for the students to be hosted in an established group.

3. Dissemination of research outcomes are fundamental to both the Academy and the wider community and to the success of this scheme and, must, therefore be identified clearly in any application.

For further details including the guidelines, how to apply and the application form, visit the call page on the HEA’s website: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/doctoral-programme

The ocean colour scene: How plant pigmentation changes in response to nutrient levels

BU research

A diatom

Recent research has suggested ocean nutrient levels are affected by human activities. But what does mean for tiny single-celled marine plants at the base of the food chain?  Can they adapt when faced with decreased nutrient levels, or do they simply die? And what impact will this have on the rest of the food chain?

These are some of the big questions currently being asked by environmental scientists at Bournemouth University.

A new researcher in the department, Dr Daniel Franklin, has just published A coccolithophorea study on cell productivity under nutrient-restricted conditions, examining two important single-celled marine plants (a coccolithophore and a diatom).

The study is in response to growing concerns that the rise in ocean temperatures will restrict nutrient supplies to the marine plants at the base of the food chain.

Dr Daniel Franklin commented: “As the surface ocean warms, we know there will be an increase in stratification, whereby a warm skin of water lies over a colder, denser layer, which might restrict nutrient supply from the deeper water to shallow water and result in decreased productivity.”

The study just published in Limnology and Oceanography examined growth of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi, often found in the subtropical open ocean, and the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana which is often found in coastal seas.

“We showed that E. huxleyi cells adapt to declining nutrients in order to wait for more nutrients, and don’t die” said Dr. Franklin. “T. pseudonana, however, which is known to grow quickly in response to increased nutrients, did not adapt, and quickly died. These two types of response reflect the ecology of the two organisms in their natural habitat.”

But in addition to understanding how sensitive cells are to nutrient changes, these findings could inform how we measure ocean productivity in the future.

“Measuring the amount of photosynthetic pigments, mainly chlorophyll, is how we assess phytoplankton productivity on the macro-scale. We measure pigments from satellites. As part of this work we have been looking at how pigments alter during cell decline so that we can refine our understanding of how productivity can be measured at the macro-scale,” said Dr. Franklin.

Satellite data

The full paper, entitled ‘Identification of senescence and death in Emiliania huxleyi and Thalassiosira pseudonana: Cell staining, chlorophyll alterations, and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) metabolism’ can be viewed through the Limnology and Oceanography website.

BUCRU – Supporting the development of grant applications

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Funding opportunities, Post-award, Publishing, Research assessment, Research news

In today’s post we give a case study of how Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) recently supported the development of a grant application.

Case study

We recently supported a Programme Development Grant (www.ccf.nihr.ac.uk/PGfAR/PDG/Pages/default.aspx) application to the National Health Service (NHS) National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The Unit receives funding from the NIHR to be the Dorset Office of the NIHR Research Design Service (RDS), and thus can support local researchers in the University and the NHS to develop their funding applications. The topic of this grant application was early warning systems for use in an obstetric setting. Early warning systems are used by clinical staff in hospital to identify clinical problems before they get too serious, for example by regularly monitoring vital signs such as blood pressure. The purpose of Programme Development Grants is to fund preliminary work ahead of a larger Programme Grant for Applied Research (PGAR; www.ccf.nihr.ac.uk/PGfAR/Pages/Home.aspx). 

This support involved:

  • Providing methodological input in systematic reviews, surveys, qualitative designs, quantitative designs notably a sample size calculation, and trial design.
  • Patient and public involvement (PPI) – the team has a designated person supporting PPI.
  • Team development – a strong team needed to be developed with the appropriate skill mix to deliver the programme of research.  Four members of BUCRU became co-applicants on the proposal bringing methodological expertise in systematic reviews, qualitative research, quantitative research, and PPI support.  Via our link with the RDS we also have access to health economist support.   Collaborations were initiated with the Wessex Health Innovation and Education Cluster (HIEC; www.wessexhiecpartnership.org.uk/) to gain support in the educational/ training aspects of the research.  
  • Liaison – we liaised with a number of different organisations, such as Research and Knowledge Exchange Operations for costing the Bournemouth University (BU) costs, the NHS host organisation that will be responsible for the research, and the Market Research Group (MRG; https://mrg.bournemouth.ac.uk/) who were involved to support the administration and data entry for the survey component of the project.
  • Identification of appropriate funding schemes.
  • Obtained peer review from RDS colleagues across the region to provide feedback on the suitability of the funding scheme and the ‘readiness’ for submission. This service is usually provided through regular Scientific Committee meetings that act as ‘mock’ funding committees (www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/scientific_committee.htm).

Quote from lead applicant: “Without the expertise and assistance of BUCRU staff it would not have been possible to even contemplate applying for a large and competitive grant such as the NIHR Programme Development Grant” .

Please contact us for support with health research:

Louise Ward (administrator):

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit

R505 Royal London House

Christchurch Road

Bournemouth BH1 3LT

BUCRU@bournemouth.ac.uk

Tel: 01202 961939

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/

Southern Universities REF event at BU – 22 February 2012 – book your place NOW!

Research assessment

REF logo
BU is hosting a 1/2 day REF event on Wednesday 22 February 2012. All staff are invited to attend.
 
The final panel working methods and criteria documents are due to be published in January 2012. This event will provide an update on the current developments with the REF and the confirmed REF panel documentation, focusing specifically on the assessment of impact within each of the four Main Panels.
 
Each of the REF Main Panels will be represented. If you have any questions about the REF, how research will be assessed and graded, or how impact will be assessed then you should attend this event! 😀
 
The event is open to BU staff and external delegates. There are already 130 delegates registered to attend, representing 32 different universities.

The event is free to attend but booking is essential.

For further information (including the programme) and to register, visit HERE.