Category / Research news

Leverhulme session – slides available

Funding opportunities, Research news

Jean Cater, assistant director at the the Leverhulme Trust was at BU yesterday. 

At a well-attended event,  Jean talked about the range of funding opportunities available for academics, and outlined the Trust’s ethos and criteria.  She also fielded an hour’s worth of  questions.

Jean’s slides are now available – just click here to access them.

Please contact Caroline O’Kane if would like to find out more about the Leverhulme and their schemes, and to find out how we can support the development of your funding proposal.

Second showing of the PHD Movie on 15 February!

PG research, Research news

Love PHD Comics? Then come to the screening of The PHD Movie, hosted at BU on Wednesday 15 February!

BU first screened the movie in December but due to popular demand a second screening has now been arranged!

The PHD Movie is being shown at universities around the world and premiered at UCLA in Los Angeles in September. It has also been shown at Harvard University, Yale University, University of Sydney, CERN, and multiple screenings at the Max Planck Institute.

In the UK the movie is only scheduled to be screened at UCL, Oxford, Glasgow, Cranfield, Bristol, Imperial College, York, Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Brunel and Bournemouth!

The PHD Movie is a live-action adaptation of the popular online comic strip by Jorge Cham (PHD Comics). It was filmed on location at and was produced in partnership with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

The film introduces audiences to the unique and funny culture of Academia and follows four graduate students (Cecilia, Mike, Tajel and the “Nameless Grad Student”) as they struggle to find balance between research, teaching and their personal lives with humor and heart.

The Movie was produced and directed by and stars real PhD students and researchers.

The second Bournemouth screening will be held on Wednesday 15 February between 12:30-2pm in the Allesbrook Lecture Theatre on the Talbot Campus.

It is free to attend and lunch will be provided! 😀

Places at the screening are limited so complete the booking form below if you’d like to come along.

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Find out about Mixtape – the Media School’s excellent flexible CPD portfolio

    Research news

    BU is committed to developing its Continuing Professional Development portoflio. One School that has already done some excellent work in this area is the Media School. They launched their provision two years ago and now have over 250 students on a variety of CPD pathways – some delivered by BU and some delivered in partnership with employers such as the BBC and Pearson. All of the courses are accredited by Skillset, the sector skills council for creative and media. To find out more about the short course offer in the Media School and to hear from current students and employers, watch this amazing short video: http://mixtape.bournemouth.ac.uk/overview.html

    Visit the Mixtape website here: http://mixtape.bournemouth.ac.uk/

    Assessing societal impact of social work research

    BU research, REF Subjects, Research news, Research themes

    Edwin Van TeijingenREF logoJonathan Parker
    The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the new assessment method for publically funded research in universities. Its controversial new ‘impact’ element rates work based on evidence of social, economic or cultural benefits generated from it. But how easily can such things be quantified, particularly in applied academic subjects like social work?

    Professors Jonathan Parker and Edwin van Teijlingen from Bournemouth University have addressed these questions in their paper ‘The Research Excellence Framework (REF): Assessing the Impact of Social Work Research on Society’, published in Practice: Social Work in Action.

    They argue that ‘the framework raises doubts about whether it is possible to capture fully the impact of social work research at all, and social work itself for that matter’, and stress that some pathways need to be identified to do this.

    In suggesting ways to evidence impact, such as primary evaluative research, Parker and Van Teijlingen also outline the stumbling blocks. There are data protection laws and the expense and time of tying up research evaluation with another research project.

    The solution, they say, is for social work research to be built and undertaken in partnership with social care agencies; that impact is everybody’s concern and practitioners and those who use social work services and their carers have a role to play in its creation and identification.

    Parker and Van Teijlingen acknowledge that the REF will promote critical-thinking, engage practitioners and address the challenges of public spending restraint, but express a deep-seated concern that this new method of assessment will mark a loss of ‘conceptual, theoretical and critical’ research.

    Although assessing research through improved social, economic, health, and environmental aspects of life is unlikely to be questioned, Parker and Van Teijlingen strongly argue that it should not be the only set of research outcomes recognised.  They argue that if the REF approach becomes common currency, ‘society is likely to lose the deeper understandings and meanings that have permeated thinking and, no doubt practice and behaviour.’

    Both firmly believe BU’s research programme designed to enhance social work practice through continuing professional education has changed practice and influenced policy, as well as numerous other benefits to culture, public services, health, environment and quality of life.

    Read Parker and Van Teijlingen’s full paper.

    Leverhulme Trust visit – 1st February – venue change

    Funding opportunities, Research news

    This is a reminder that Jean Cater from the Leverhulme Trust  is coming to BU on 1st February.

    ** Venue change!!  The event will now take place in the Allesbrook Lecture Theatre **

     

    There are limited places available – if you would like book a place please click here.

    What’s happening?

    Jean Cater from the LT is coming to BU, and its a great opportunity to find out more about how the Leverhulme works,  what they are looking for in a proposal and what they fund.    

    The Leverhulme Trust offers a range of funding opportunities – across all disciplines.   This includes research grants, international networks, early career fellowships, research fellowships and more. 

    The session will cover:  

    • where the Leverhulme sits in the funding spectrum
    • schemes and application procedures
    • things to bear in mind if applying
    • plenty of time to ask questions too.  

    This session is for you if:

    • you have a research idea and wonder if the Leverhulme Trust might be an appropriate funder
    • you are developing a funding proposal for the Leverhulme Trust
    • you don’t know much about the Leverhulme Trust and would like to find out more

    Details:

    • Date:Wednesday, 1st February 2012
    • Time: 2-4pm
    • Place:  Allesbrook Lecture Theatre
    • Refreshments will be available.

    ** To book your place please click here. ** 

    If you have any questions please contact Caroline O’Kane

    new from NERC – demand management sanctions

    Research news

    The news is out today:  NERC is considering the introduction of sanctions in a bid to boost low success rates for responsive-mode grants.

    NERC will continue to strongly encourage self-regulation for universities. But, current measures for reducing demand, such as limiting re-submissions, is not raising success rates as hoped.  Success rates are currently running at 16 per cent for recent standard grant proposals.

    New measures may include:

    • NERC identifitying  institutions with a high number or proportion of unsuccessful submissions, meeting with them and setting targets
    • Sanctions to research organisations if they fail to reduce the number of uncompetitive proposals to agreed targets and timescales
    • Organisations to nominate a ‘designated first point of contact’ for demand management.

    NERC says: The overall aim of introducing these measures is to increase success rates in NERC responsive mode schemes year on year for several years. This is likely to be a gradual process, but initial progress is expected to be achieved within two years

    How to make sure your application stands the best chance of being funded:

    If you are submitting a bid to NERC (or any other funder for that matter) you are strongly encouraged to work with Caroline O’Kane through BU’s internal peer review scheme (Research Proposal Review Service – RPRS). 

    You can also check the Blog on a regular basis to see what proposal writing sessions are running at BU.  They are always excellent and well received.   The more people we know about who are planning on submitting a proposal to a funder the better – then we can develop some tailored support to enhance your chances of success.

    Click here  to read more about NERC and Demand Management

    Click here to learn more our series of blog posts on Demand Management

     

    Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) Consultancy Service

    BU research, Research news

    What is the Consultancy Service?

    BUCRU has developed a consultancy service aimed at organisations that have an interest in health and wellbeing. Members of the team have many years experience of providing consultation services to the NHS, public bodies, charities and businesses. In addition to research projects we can also advise on audit projects, clinical evaluations, service evaluations and other areas where the collection and analysis of good quality data is important.

    How can it help?

    The service is flexible and tailored to the client’s requirements. Typically an initial meeting will involve finding out about the client’s needs and discussing the ways in which we can help. Our involvement could range from a single meeting to discuss a particular issue, through to conducting a project on behalf of the client.

    Some examples are:

    ¨                  Advising on or conducting clinical trials, surveys, epidemiological studies, pilot and feasibility studies

    ¨                  Study design

    ¨                  Advice on sample size

    ¨                  Questionnaire design and validation

    ¨                  Outcome measures

    ¨                  Data collection and management

    ¨                  Statistical analysis and interpretation

    ¨                  Qualitative and mixed methods approaches

    ¨                  Design and evaluation of complex interventions such as found in medicine, psychology, nursing, physiotherapy and so on.

    ¨                  Managing and running studies

    ¨                  Advice on ethics and governance approval processes.

    ¨                  Involving patients and the public in research

    ¨                  Troubleshooting

    How do I find out more?

    For further information about, and access to, our consultancy service 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/

    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.

    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/

    ‘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

    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/

    People at Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU)

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

    In yesterday’s posting we gave a brief introduction to BUCRU. Today we introduce you to the members of the team.

     

    Louise Ward

    Louise is one of the administrators for the unit and has been with the team since 2008.  She has worked in various NHS settings and has an interest in marketing.  Both her undergraduate and Masters degrees were studied here at Bournemouth University.

    Professor Paul Thompson

    Paul is Consultant Rheumatologist at Poole Hospitaland Visiting Professor at BU. He was appointed Director of the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education (CoPMRE) in 2007, where he has been leading developments between research and education active doctors in NHS Trusts and the academic community at the University. He is Co-director of BUCRU, Lead for the musculoskeletal local priority group for the Western Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN) and Fellow of the NHS Improvement Faculty. He is interested in clinical research and service development in the rheumatic diseases. He supervises PhD students and is an External Examiner at other Universities.

    Dr Sarah Thomas

    Sarah is Deputy Director (methodology). She has a background in psychology and since 2000 has worked in the NHS in Dorset.  As well as supporting other researchers in a Research Design Service capacity, she also conducts research. Her main research interests are in the field of multiple sclerosis (MS) and she is currently Chief Investigator for a pilot study funded by the UK MS Society exploring the use of the Nintendo Wii™ in people with MS.

    Professor Peter Thomas

    Peter is Co-Director and leads on research methodology. He has a background in epidemiology and statistics, and has been with Bournemouth University since 1996. He has a special research interest in psychosocial aspects of chronic disease and much of his recent work has focussed on multiple sclerosis.

    Dr Zoe Sheppard

    Zoe is a demographer with particular experience investigating socio-economic status.  She joined Bournemouth University in October 2009 as a Research Fellow in Research Methods.  She provides research methods support for people doing health research and support writing grant applications in her National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service (RDS) capacity.

    Suzanne Sheppard

    Suzanne is a Clinical Researcher recently recruited from the pharmaceutical industry to help manage the unit’s clinical trials.  She has experience in setting-up and monitoring clinical trials across phases 1 to 3 in a variety of therapeutic areas. 

    Annabel Kenny

    Annabel is a Clinical Research Administrator who joined Bournemouth University in October 2009.  She provides support to Dr. Tamas Hickish, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Royal Bournemouth Hospital/Poole Hospital and the rest of the research team on various ongoing research projects within the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit.

    Liz Griffiths

    Liz works for the Royal Bournemouth Hospital as a research facilitator.  She has been working in research within the NHS since 2003 in a variety of roles.  Currently focusing on supporting researchers to develop proposals and prepare submissions to regulatory authorities.

    Louise Fazakarley

    Louise is a Physiotherapy lecturer with experience in neurological rehabilitation, the management of chronic disability and rehabilitation research. She joined Bournemouth University in 2006 to establish and teach on the BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy course. Louise is currently working on the MS Society funded pilot study to look at the Nintendo Wii™ as a method of helping people with MS increase their physical activity.

    Audrey Dixon

    Audrey is the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education (CoPMRE) co-ordinator and co-administrator for BUCRU.  She has worked for the NHS since 1988.  She first joined Professor Paul Thompson in 2001 to assist him with his academic work, following his secondment to the university.  Audrey was seconded to BU in 2003.  She now looks after a growing Visiting Faculty of 41 members and the education arm of CoPMRE. She is very proud to see the little acorn grow into a Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education and BUCRU.

    Roger Baker

    Roger is Professor of Clinical Psychology and runs the MSc course Foundations in Clinical Psychology at BU. He is also a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust.  He has expertise in the design of assessments and questionnaires, research design and clinical evaluation of services and has worked in a dual role as researcher and clinical psychologist at Leeds, Aberdeen & Bournemouth Universities and in NHS Trusts specialising in Mental Health.

    Helen Allen

    Helen is a health psychologist with a nursing and midwifery background.  She has a qualitative background with a particular interest in the mind:body interface and chronic disease, including patient empowerment.  She is the Unit lead on Public Patient Involvement.

    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/

    Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU)

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

    This week the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) will be posting daily blogs. In these blogs we will tell you a little about the Unit, what we do, who we are, and how we might be able to help in your research endeavours.

    What is BUCRU?  

    BUCRU is a new model for supporting and conducting health related research in Dorset. It supports researchers in improving the quality, quantity and efficiency of research across the University and local National Health Service (NHS) Trusts. It does this by:

    • helping researchers with developing high quality applications for external research funding (including small grants)
    • ongoing involvement in funded research projects
    • a “pay-as-you-go” consultation service for other work

    How can BUCRU help?

    BUCRU can provide help in the following areas:

    • Study design
    • Quantitative and qualitative research methods
    • Statistics, data management and data analysis
    • Patient and public involvement in research
    • Trial management
    • Ethics, governance and other regulatory issues
    • Linking University and NHS researchers

    BUCRU focuses on health research that has relevance to the NHS. The Unit is available to Bournemouth University staff and people working locally in the NHS. There are no general restrictions on topic area or professional background of the researcher. However we do have special interests in areas such as chronic disease and complex interventions (interventions in nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology and so on).

    How is it funded?  

    BUCRU is partly funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and incorporates the Dorset office of the NIHR Research Design Service (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk). Further funding comes from a variety of research grants and contracts.

    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/