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From one NIHR Fellowship to another!

Awarded & submitted bids, NHS

From one NIHR Fellowship to another!

This week I complete my 3-year, 100% FTE NIHR Career Development Fellowship. After the Christmas holiday I then start on a new NIHR Clinical Trials Fellowship.

If you’re not familiar with NIHR fellowships you can find out more here: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/our-research-community/NIHR-academy/nihr-training-programmes/fellowship-programme.htm. The NIHR have re-packaged their fellowship programme and so the Career Development Fellowship is no longer available, as it has been superseded with an Advanced Fellowship.

The Career Development Fellowship has been a career-changing experience. It not only provides you with funding to lead a multidisciplinary team to conduct a research project of importance, but the opportunity to undertake a training and development programme. This has enabled me to further develop my skills and expertise in clinical trial research methods so that I can undertake larger, more complex studies, and therefore go on to produce much higher quality work with greater impact.

The new fellowship that I will start in January 2019 is a Clinical Trials Fellowship. These are designed to provide further advanced research methods training in clinical trials. They provide hands-on experience with several trials at different phases of progression and are to be based in a clinical trials unit. For me, I will be based at PRIMENT, the Clinical Trials Unit at UCL with expertise in trials conducted in primary care and to do with mental health, including my area of dementia. This will help consolidate the experience I have gained so far and training from completing an MSc in Clinical Trials, with further hands-on experience in dementia trials at a leading trials unit.

I can highly recommend NIHR fellowships and happy to discuss them with colleagues interested in applying for one.

Dr Samuel Nyman

Changes to the way that NHS research costs will be attributed and funded

Guidance

We have been informed by MRC of changes to the way that NHS research costs will be attributed and funded. You may already be aware but the Department of Health and NIHR have introduced a new attribution tool called the Schedule of Events Attribution Tool (SoECAT) which will now be mandatory for any researcher wishing to access resources within the NHS for their study. The Pilot stage for the project began on 1st October 2018 and there are three main changes;

1.  Any researcher applying to a funding call that opened from 1st October will be required to submit a SoECAT with their proposal or with their second stage proposal if applying to a 2-stage application process.

2.  All current research projects accessing resources within the NHS will be asked to migrate onto the new SoECAT system.

3.  A ‘high threshold’ is being introduced where the portion of NHS costs attributed to Excess Treatment Costs (ETC) will in future be reassessed for value to the NHS before these ETC are funded. This threshold is set at more than 1M per study or 20,000 per patient.

There are Acord specialists working within Local Clinical Research Networks (LCRN) who are available to assist researchers in completing the SoECAT. It is anticipated that these Acord specialists will be in high demand and while DH is training more Acord specialists they advise that researchers wishing to access this resource do so early during preparation of their proposals.

During this Pilot stage MRC are working with DH and NIHR to devise appropriate ways of working for MRC applicants and will be able to update their Guidance for Applicants in early 2019.

Next steps for researchers undertaking/planning to undertake clinical studies;

1.  Contact your Acord specialist within your LCRN for more information and to discuss completion of the SoECAT.

2.  While they are updating MRC guidance more information can be found here on the NIHR web-site.

If you have any questions, please contact your LCRN Acord specialist.

 

RKEO alternative 12 days ‘to’ Christmas – 11 REFs a piping

On the eleventh day to Christmas, my RKEO friend gave to me, 11 REFs a piping.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the exercise for assessing the volume and quality of research in UK HEIs. As with its predecessor (the RAE), the results of the REF are used by HEFCE to determine the annual quality-related research (QR) grant distributed from HEFCE to HEIs in England.

We have a dedicated REF2021 site on the blog, which will bring you all the latest news. You can also find here development sessions available for each of the UoAs that BU intends to submit to. Book your place now!

Successful Away Day for the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health

Fusion, HSS Our 9 Research Entities, international, NHS

CMMPH held its annual away day on the 12th December and was led by the Centre leads, Professors Edwin van Teijlingen and Susan Way. It is an opportunity for BU staff, PGR students and Visiting Faculty to come together and share their research development and impact over the previous year. Time is also given to thinking ahead to ensure the Centre is meeting its aims of promoting the health and wellbeing of women, babies and their families by enhancing practice through education, research and scholarship.

The morning started with an update about EDGE, an NHS IT platform that provides a governance framework for tracking NHS research studies. Doctoral students whose studies require NHS ethics approval will have their research tracked through this system. Other discussions included an update on REF and BU2025, developing a publications strategy and match-funded PhD studentships.

  

Luisa Cescutti-Butler                            Malika Felton

Several PGR students presented their work to date, ranging from rising caesarean section rates in hospitals in Nepal (Sulochana Dhakal working towards Probationary Review); acute and chronic effects of slow and deep breathing upon women who have pregnancy-induced hypertension (Malika Felton working towards Major Review); updating the understanding perineal practice at the time of birth by midwives (Sara Stride working towards Probationary Review) and women’s experiences of caring for their late preterm babies (Dr Luisa Cescutti-Butler recently awarded doctorate). The presentations were all excellent and produced a lot of questions and discussion. Well done to all those who presented.

 

Sulochana Dhakal                                                 Sara Stride

The afternoon was used as an opportunity to think ahead about future collaborative research, how this fits in with the Centre aims and objectives as well as meeting the university’s ambitions to be a world class organisation.

The day was really enjoyable with a lot of positive feedback.

 

Edwin and Sue

RKEO alternative 12 days ‘to’ Christmas – 10 funders funding

On the tenth day to Christmas, my RKEO friend gave to me, 10 funders funding.

I’m going to be lazy here and list seven that are all research councils, although you may see this as one as they all come under the banner of UKRI (with Innovate UK and Research England thrown in for good measure).

There are seven research councils who receive funding from the Government’s science budget. These are AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC, MRC, NERC and STFC. The research councils fund high quality research that has an impact on the growth, prosperity and wellbeing of the UK. Some projects may include international partners. Their focus tends to be on more theoretical rather than applied research. In addition to research project funding, money may also be available to hold seminar series and support training and career development of researchers.

You can find links to all seven, plus their funding opportunities, strategy, delivery plan, funding guidance, impact reports, and much more in the one place here.

You’re getting more than you bargained for here (takes the tally to 11) with the many charities that BU submits funding applications to. The four main ones are British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society. Click here for more information on all of these.

And going back to the third day of Christmas, find out all you need to know about Horizon 2020 here.European Union - Horizon 2020

 

UPDATED: HE Policy update for the w/e 21st December 2018

Student Engagement

Grade Inflation

New report on Grade inflation by the Office for Students

The report has already been criticised for the obvious reason – it describes as “unexplained” all improvements in student degree outcomes that are not linked to prior attainment or student background.  The UUK/QAA report last month said improvement was “unexplained” if it wasn’t attributable (according to their methodology) by improvements in SSR, expenditure as well as UCAS scores.  And they are running a consultation.

The language used by the OfS is also reflective of the mood music at the moment – it’s “spiralling” grade inflation.  Nothing to do with hard work improving outcomes, particularly for those from backgrounds that haven’t always had straightforward access or a straightforward road to success university. (more…)

Deadline today: Research funding panels – call for Chairs and Deputy Chairs

Today (Wednesday 19 December at 5pm) is the deadline for expressions of interest from the professoriate to act as Chairs / Deputy Chairs for the new Funding Panels:

  • Acorn Funding Panel
  • Charity Impact Funding Panel
  • Doctoral Studentship Funding Panel
  • GCRF Funding Panel
  • HEIF Funding Panel
  • Research Impact Funding Panel

In line with our organisational value of inclusivity, we particularly welcome female applicants and those from an ethnic minority, as they are often under-represented within BU management committees.

Full details are available on the Staff Intranet – https://staffintranet.bournemouth.ac.uk/news/news/thismonth/researchfundingpanelscallformembers.php

 

Congratulations to Dr. Mariam Vahdaninia

NHS, Publishing, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Vahdaninia in FHSS on the publication of her PhD paper ‘ω-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy and risk of allergic outcomes or sensitisation in offspring: a systematic review and meta-analysis’ which has been accepted by the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. This journal is published by Elsevier and has an Impact factor of 2.6.

This paper addresses the increasing global trend in allergic diseases over the past last two decades with children suffering the highest burden. The increasing burden of allergic conditions is an important public health concern and understanding how to prevent the development of allergic diseases is a vital area of research. In this paper, the authors have assessed the effectiveness of omega-3 fatty acids in randomised controlled trials that have supplemented pregnant women during pregnancy for prevention of allergic diseases in children. Their results have shown that intake of omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy can reduce the risk of sensitisation to egg and peanut in children. These findings have important implications in research since food allergies are common in children and are a key risk factor for developing sensitisation to aero-allergens and allergic respiratory diseases later in life.

The publication is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2018.12.008

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Create: Share: Inspire: working with our students in global contexts

conferences

Professor Debbie Holley addresses an international audience at the World Education Conference (hosted by London International Education Conference) in Cambridge on 12th December. Invited to keynote, her talk covers the possibilities and affordances offered by global collaborations. Drawing on the extensive knowledge of working with the ‘digital’ to engage staff, student and communities, Debbie covers the pleasures and pinchpoints of scaling up innovation, and suggest design based learning as a possible framework for exploring and sharing concepts.

Abstract:

How can we break down barriers and encourage and inspire our students to communicate, collaborate and create together? At time when the ‘global’ is offering ever more affordances to learners, how can we as educators respond to the challenges posed by a fast moving technology sector, yet ensuring that we are delivering robust, evidence based teaching? At Bournemouth University we are exploring some of the opportunities and challenges and this talk will offer some insights as what may be possible, and some strategies for overcoming the barriers we face to make the possible happen in our own classrooms.

(more…)

Documenting scenes & events that did not exist: Rutherford’s photographic projects

Rutherford’s practice-based research explores the ability of photography to document scenes and events that did not exist ‘out there’ in the world – but were created by the act of photographing them.

*  *  *

In my previous photographic projects (1982- to present), I have explored the various ways in which the medium can be invited to provide an ‘unanticipatable’ contribution to the resulting artwork. I have done this mostly through photography, but an earlier project (Word processing as an act of collaboration) explored the use of word processing software to generate texts.

My current photographic project explores the ability of the camera to document scenes and events that did not exist ‘out there’ in the world – but were created by the act of photographing them.  The works in this series are all ‘straight’ photographs.  While in some cases, I have adjusted the brightness and contrast of the original files, these images have not been otherwise manipulated or ‘Photoshopped’.  This project developed through three phases:

The first phase Submarines exploited the combination of two factors: i) the reflective-refractive properties of water and ii) the way in which the monocular view of the camera interprets and renders the effect of these reflective-refractive properties on the appearance of those who agreed to undergo the ordeal of posing for me. As a consequence of the constant motion of the water and the ‘delay’ in the release of the shutter of the digital camera, it was not possible to determine the composition of the frame or to anticipate or choose with intent the ‘moments’ recorded, these photographs were the result of an active (an act of) collaboration between photographer and the medium of photography.

In the second phase of the project Supermarines, I held a waterproof camera below the surface and pointed it upwards (diagonally) through the surface of the water towards figures whose heads and torsos were above the surface of the water.

In addition to the factors of the previous Submarines series (in which the camera position, the constant changes in the surface texture of the water and the delay in the release of the shutter made it impossible to determine the composition of the frame or choose with intent how the figures would be rendered or depicted), as a result of holding the camera underwater, I was unable even to predict with any certainty what elements might be in the frame when, following the delay, the shutter released.

In the most recent phase, Technical Images of Flux, my starting point was the observation by Flusser:

The world reflects the sun’s and other rays which are captured by means of optical, chemical and mechanical [digital] devices on sensitive surfaces and as a result produce technical images, i.e. they appear to be on the same level of reality as their significance. […] This apparently non-symbolic, objective character of technical images leads whoever looks at them to see them not as images but as windows. Wilém Flusser. Towards a Philosophy of Photography. (Flusser, 1983)

As argued in my article Is This Photograph Taken?, the assumptions which follow from the widely accepted conception of photographs as “windows” which provide an “accurate and objective record” (Genoni 2002: 137) and “a truthful account” (Fosdick and Fahmy, 2007: 1) of the world ‘out there’ hinder our ability to imagine the possibility of an active (or, an act of) collaboration between the medium and photographer.

In an effort to reduce further my conscious control over the final result, rather than photograph those people willing to pose for me, I began to point the camera (which was still underwater) in the general direction of people I passed in the water, as well as nearby buildings, clouds and other features.

In an effort to reduce further my conscious control over the final result, rather than photograph those people willing to pose for me, I began to point the camera (which was still underwater) in the general direction of people I passed in the water, as well as nearby buildings, clouds and other features.

 

For more information, please contact Rutherford (Programme Leader – MA Advertising, Faculty of Media and Communication).

Previous projects and articles can be found on Rutherford’s website: http://www.theshadowofthephotographer.co.uk/

RKEO alternative 12 days ‘to’ Christmas – 8 Outputs a milking

On the eighth day to Christmas, my RKEO friend gave to me, 8 Outputs a milking (apologies that this sounds really odd).

The University recognises that research publications, as one of the main outputs of research, are a key asset. Click here to find out more about how RKEO can support you with your outputs. This includes the Writing Academy, Open Access, BRIAN, and much more.

HE Policy update for the w/e 14th December 2018

Industry collaboration, international, Knowledge Exchange, open access, Student Engagement

A busy week in politics, and for policy too.  Not looking any quieter as we approach the end of the year, either.  We will do a short update next week because the ONS report on student loan accounting is due and there are likely to be interesting reflections on that through the week.

Student loans and accounting

Ahead of the big ONS announcement on Monday about accounting for student loans, there is a House of Commons library report: Student loans and the Government’s deficit

Following concerns from parliamentary committees, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is re-examining how student loans are recorded in the Government’s deficit (which is the difference between the Government’s spending and its revenues from tax receipts and other sources). The ONS will announce its decision on 17 December 2018. (more…)

Kidney Research UK continues to support BU research.

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in the UK. In collaboration with the University of Bristol, BU is in receipt of (another) three year grant that ultimately, we hope, will lead to the discovery of new treatments to prevent kidney failure developing in patients with diabetes.

The work, using patient data and BU’s Drosophila (fruit fly) kidney model, will look at how preventing the disruption of energy within kidney filtration cells called podocytes might slow or prevent kidney failure. The image shows the surface of a podocyte-like cell within a fruit fly, with linear arrays of filtration slits covering its surface. These minute structures are common to both human and fly cells and become damaged when energy is depleted in the cells – leading to loss of cell function. Flies allows us to understand the molecular basis of how this leads to kidney failure in humans – and guides us as to which molecules to target in the patients.

Dr. Paul S. Hartley.

Transparency in research: Health Research Authority survey results

NHS, open access, Research assessment, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy

The HRA recently carried out a survey which aimed to establish some of the current obstacles to transparency, and to identify future opportunities to improve practices.
The survey was advertised to researchers, researcher managers, sponsors and funders in order to collate views surrounding research transparency.

You can see the results here on the HRA website.

It’s vital that research participants are informed about the results of research, and in the beginning they are told about the research and implications, in a transparent fashion.

BU has access to the ClinicalTrials.gov system so get in touch if you would like access. This is a great opportunity to register your study and study results in the public domain.
Despite the name, the system may be used for other clinical research projects.

BU composer’s music in concert in Bangor, Brussels and Beijing

This autumn I have been fortunate to have had my music played in international concerts and festivals in Bangor, Brussels, and Beijing.

My composition ‘Traces of Play’ featured in the Musicacoustica Festival, Beijing, on 26th October, and was peer reviewed and selected by the British Electroacoustic Network to represent the UK at this international festival. Musicacoustica is run by CIME (International Confederation for Electroacoustic Music), and it was an honour to be selected and included in this concert.

On Wednesday 24th October the same composition was a finalist in the Métamorphoses International Acousmatic Music Composition competition, which is part of the L’Espace du Son festival run by Musiques et Recherches, Belgium. This is one of the most esteemed competitions in the field, so it was amazing to be selected as a finalist and to be able to attend the festival.

And on Tuesday 20th November my music featured in the Electroacoustic WALES concert at Theatre Bryn Terfel, Pontio, Bangor, Wales, alongside works by esteemed composers Prof David Berezan and Prof Andrew Lewis. Again, it was an honour to be involved and invited to perform, and we look forward to welcoming David Berezan for a concert here at BU on 27th March 2019.

RKEO alternative 12 days ‘to’ Christmas – 7 Development options to swim in

On the seventh day to Christmas, my RKEO friend gave to me, 7 development options to swim in.

Some of the verses aren’t quite flowing but you get the idea.

The RKEDF provides a whole host of opportunities for academic development. Here’s seven ways to find out what’s on offer for you: