Tagged / collaborative research

Congratulations to Dr. Tsofliou & Prof. Appleton on latest interdisciplinary paper

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, writing

Congratulations to BU’s interdisciplinary nutrition-behavioural sciences team that published the recent review “Barriers and Facilitators Associated with the Adoption of and Adherence to a Mediterranean Style Diet in Adults: A Systematic Review of Published Observational and Qualitative Studies” [1] in the journal Nutrients.  The academics are based in two different faculties, namely the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science & Technology, represented by Dr. Fotini Tsofliou and Prof Katherine Appleton respectively.  Two BU students (recently graduated) are also two co-authors: Dimitrios Vlachos (who completed the MRes) and Christina Hughes (MSc Nutrition & Behaviour).

This review which is Open Access includes all studies investigating barriers or facilitators to adopting or adhering to a Mediterranean style diet in adults aged 18 years old and over.  The paper identified  financial, cognitive, socio-cultural, motivational, lifestyle, accessibility & availability, sensory and hedonic and demographic factors. Similar barriers and facilitators are often reported in relation to healthy eating or the consumption of specific healthy foods, with a few exceptions. These exceptions detailed concerns with specific components of the MedDiet; considerations due to culture and traditions, and concerns over a cooler climate. Suggestions for overcoming these barriers and facilitators specific to adoption and adherence to the Mediterranean diet are offered. 

Well done!  nutrients-logo

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

Reference:

  1. Tsofliou F, Vlachos D, Hughes C, Appleton KM. Barriers and Facilitators Associated with the Adoption of and Adherence to a Mediterranean Style Diet in Adults: A Systematic Review of Published Observational and Qualitative Studies. Nutrients. 2022; 14(20):4314. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14204314

Free Upcoming Seminars

Guidance, NHS, Training

See below for two opportunities to attend free seminars.

Selling to the NHS

Thursday 3rd November – 13:00-14:30
A Healthcare Innovator’s roadmap. This course will help you address key market access challenges in healthcare.

This 90 minute session is suitable for anyone who is involved in developing new healthcare technologies and products, be it as an entrepreneur, clinician, academic or investor. It will help you to understand key market issues in healthcare markets and how to overcome them, understanding your (NHS) customer and the value of evidence and how to use it to drive adoption.

BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE HERE

Grant Funding Opportunities for MedTech Innovators

Thursday 10th November – 12:30-13:30
This free 60 minute session is suitable for anyone from the NHS, academia or industry looking to learn more about how to prepare robust funding applications to support the development of new medical technologies.

BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE HERE

Horizon Europe Update – October 2022

Since my last update, there is no significant news and the message from officials remains the same – UK researchers should continue to apply for Horizon Europe grants despite uncertainty over association.

I want personally to thank those BU academics who follow this advice in practice. As a result, 15 EU grant applications have been submitted in September. The fact is that the only way to secure external funding is to apply for it.

There are still calls open on EU Funding & Tenders portal with deadlines in November until early 2023. Work programme parts for 2023 – 2024 still are in development stage, more information regarding those you can find on Brightspace (presentation from yesterday’s funding briefing session is also there).

There was an interesting article published by Research Professional today about EU/UK negotiations related to Horizon Europe association; if interested, you can read full article here.

I only have to add that negotiations are not over; they speak in article about specific working group established in August 2022; unfortunately, their efforts ended up without any results.

We have recently seen some interest in COST Actions from BU academics. Formally, COST is not a part of Horizon Europe and the UK is one of COST member states. You can also read more here.

Once again, I would like to emphasise that regardless of outcome of EU/UK negotiations, international networking generates opportunities to apply for collaborative grants. If you are invited to join COST network, please do remember to submit e-ItB form, so RDS can process and support your application.

New BU PhD education paper

BRIAN, Centre for Excellence in Learning, international, Student Engagement, writing

This week the editor of the journal Journal of Education & Research informed us that our paper ‘Reflections on variations in PhD viva regulations: “And the options are….”’ has been accepted for publication [1].  This paper grew out of a discussion between the six authors about the apparent differences between the outcomes of the PhD viva at different universities.  We have all acted as internal or external examiners for a PhD viva and had noted inconsistencies between universities, either in the regulations or in the interpretation of their PhD regulations.  The authors are based at three different universities, on two different continents and, between them, have examined PhD theses submitted to universities based in at least ten different countries.  Three authors are based in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (Prof. Vanora Hundley, Dr. Pramod Regmi & Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen), two authors are based in the School of Human & Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield (Prof. Padam Simkhada & Dr. Bibha Simkhada and both are Visiting Faculty at BU), and one author is based in the Institute for Global Health in the School of Public Health & Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA (Prof. Krishna C. Poudel).

This paper outlines the range of outcomes of a PhD examination.  It also includes four short case studies, each reflecting on a particular aspect /differences we experienced as examinees or as examiners. The authors aim to alert PhD candidates and examiners to study the examination rules set by the awarding university, as the details of the PhD examination outcome, and hence the options available to both examiners and the students, may differ more than one might expect.  This is the latest CMMPH education publication around aspects of the PhD [2-5].

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

 

References:

  1. van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, B., Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., Hundley, V., Poudel, K.C. (2022) Reflections on variations in PhD viva regulations: “And the options are….”, Journal of Education and Research (accepted).
  2. Way, S, Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E, Walton, G., Westwood, G. (2016) Dr Know. Midwives 19: 66-7.
  3. Wasti, S.P. Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2022) Writing a PhD Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P.P., Hundely, V. & Shreeh, K. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 176-183.
  4. Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Converting your Master’s or Doctoral Thesis into an Academic Paper for Publication, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 184-189.
  5. Regmi, P., Poobalan, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) PhD supervision in Public Health, Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health 20(1):1-4. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/HPROSPECT/article/view/32735/28111

September update on Horizon Europe

The UK government has announced an extension of the financial support provided to successful UK Horizon Europe applicants, which will now be in place to cover all Horizon Europe calls that close by the end of this year.

According to UK Research Office in Brussels (UKRO), this new announcement reiterates that association to EU programmes remains the UK’s preferred outcome and extends the scope of the Guarantee to cover additional Horizon Europe calls for proposals while the delay to association continues.

Following the announcement, the relevant UKRI guidance documents have been updated.

Previous versions of this guidance included a list of calls in the annex, but this has been replaced by a comprehensive commitment to include all Horizon Europe calls with a final submission deadline date on or before 31 December 2022 as shown on the EC Funding and Tenders Portal. For two-stage calls, only a final submission deadline on or before 31 December is considered to be in scope.

The MSCA4Ukraine scheme to support displaced scientists from Ukraine is now open to prospective host organisations. Organisations interested in hosting a displaced researcher from the Ukraine can register their interest on the MSCA4Ukraine website by completing the online form. The scheme will fund individual researchers at either the doctoral or postdoctoral level for a minimum of six months up to a maximum duration of two years. The funding rates are in line with the MSCA Doctoral Networks and the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships.

The MSCA4Ukraine scheme has a total budget of €25 million and forms part of the European Union’s collective response to the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although there is a separate process for registration of interest, please note that applications must be submitted by prospective host institutions on behalf of a named researcher, so the usual BU/RDS processes are in place.

Preliminary information on eligibility criteria and application requirements are available of the call website, and there is a dedicated FAQ page. If you have any additional questions, please contact the MSCA4Ukraine team directly.

Please note that RDS resumes weekly funding briefings on 14 September. You are welcome to participate every Wednesday at 12pm. An overview of Innovate UK SMART Grants is scheduled for the first this season’s briefing session. The first spotlight focusing on Horizon Europe will be on 28 September. You can find link to join briefings and more details in our previous post.

Could you help the Health Research Authority improve the research ethics review?

Guidance, NHS, PG research, Research Ethics

Remember – support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS or social care – email the Clinical Research mailbox, and take a look at the Clinical Governance section of the website.

July update on Horizon Europe

According to UK Research Office (UKRO), ​the UK Government has announced a new package of measures to support applicants to Horizon Europe affected by the delays in association. The measures aim to ensure the stability for UK researchers and businesses and their European partners.

The measures will only come into force if the UK is unable to associate to Horizon Europe and will ensure that there is no funding gap. The UK government remains committed to a strong research collaboration with Europe and has reiterated that association remains its preferred outcome. The UK Government is ready to formalise association to EU programmes at the earliest opportunity.

Full details about the new measures are available on the dedicated page of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) website.

The main message from the Government to the UK academics and research institutions remains the same – UK organisations can continue to apply to Horizon Europe in line with the European Commission’s ‘Q&A on the UK’s participation in Horizon Europe’ document.

The General Annexes attached to the main Horizon Europe work programme (2021-2022) ensure that UK applicants are treated as if the UK is an associated country throughout the process, from admissibility and eligibility to evaluation, up until the preparation of grant agreements. However, grant agreements can only be signed by UK participants if the association has come into force. Before that, normally, UK organisations will receive grant funding from the UK Government.

To finish this update and the whole academic year on an optimistic note, I am glad to tell you that in July 2022 BU academics have been awarded two Horizon Europe collaborative grants. This is amazing – congratulations!

UPDATE: just after publication of this blog we received information the from European Commission that the third Horizon Europe grant has been awarded to BU in July.

I wish all academics to enjoy the rest of the summer and keep promoting their research ideas in way of developing and submitting external grant applications. Majority of RDS pre-award staff will also be enjoying summer holidays in August to continue providing support after their return.

P.S. the recording and presentation from this year’s last funding briefing (Horizon Europe: Searching for funding opportunities and finding a call) is available on Brightspace. See you in September funding briefings again!