Tagged / research

UK and Chinese experts work for the health benefits of patients

Business Engagement, conferences

International experts in the economics of health care have gathered to explore the cost-effectiveness of using screening and diagnostics tools for the benefit of patients in the UK and China.

A masterclass was held at Zhejiang University on the 23rd and 24th March 2021, which explored the key economic arguments surrounding the implementation of diagnostic tools and screening programmes with practical examples of screening for lung cancer illustrating the talks. Presentations were given by Gill Caldicott, Area Director of British Council East China (inset) and leading experts in diagnostic and screening evaluation methodologies. The sessions were chaired by the UK-CHEP Partnership Leads, Professors Hengjin Dong (Zhejiang University) and Chris Bojke (University of Leeds).

UK-CHEP supports participating universities so they can work together to create significant impact for both the British and Chinese people and economy by engaging in long-term projects and knowledge collaborations that generate new expertise in health economics and health policy

UK-CHEP Is designed to:

  • Help build mutual understanding and deepen and broaden collaboration between participating universities by sharing research and educational opportunities that help deliver the goals of China’s “Double First Class” programme.
  • Promote international collaboration between world-class academics in China and the UK uninterrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Darrin Baines, Bournemouth University, said: “This masterclass demonstrates the ongoing commitment of our partners in China and the UK to work in partnership to help secure significant health and economic impact by improving patient quality of life through better and faster access to cost-effective medicines and promoting world-class research and education in keeping with China’s ‘Double First Class’ programme.”

Professor Chris Bojke (University of Leeds), Professor in Economic Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment Methods, said: “I am delighted that in conjunction with our partner university we have been able to come together in these challenging times to deliver a masterclass on the health economics of diagnostic testing and screening at Zhejiang University and online. I am confident that this partnership between universities, will mark the start of lasting research and teaching collaborations.”  Professor Bojke also acknowledged and thanked GSK for their contributions to the partnership.

Professor Hengjin Dong (Zhejiang University, pictured below), Professor in Health Policy and Health Economics said: “Zhejiang University and Leeds University, alongside Bournemouth University, have overcome the Covid-19 pandemic to work together to deliver this on-line and off-line masterclass programme focusing on the health economics of diagnostic tests and screening. This is a great trial.

“This cooperative work and programme will further strengthen the collaboration between UK and Chinese universities in the areas of health and health economics, especially in the areas of exchanging ideas and experience in the studies of health technology assessment and their application on the health policies. I believe this work will also contribute to the overall collaboration in the areas of health and economic development between our universities.”

The UK-China Health and Economy Partnership (UK-CHEP) promotes long-term collaboration in health economics and Health Technology Assessment for the mutual benefit of leading academic institutions in the UK and China, which has been funded by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and is overseen by the British Council.

This partnership promotes long-term collaboration in health economics and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) between four UK universities, Bournemouth University, University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, University of York, and three Chinese universities, Zhejiang University, Fudan University and Shandong University.

This partnership, led by Bournemouth University, was originally launched in Jinan, Shandong province in November 2017 by GSK.

Funding Development Briefing – Spotlight on Innovate UK Smart Grants

Funding opportunities

The RDS Funding Development Briefings occur weekly, on a Wednesday at 12 noon.

Each session covers the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Some sessions also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU.

Next Wednesday 19th May, there will be a spotlight on Innovate UK Smart Grants.

We will cover:

  • Overview of the scheme
  • How to apply
  • Q & A

For those unable to attend, the session will be recorded and shared on Brightspace here.

Please email RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk to receive the Teams invite for these sessions.

HEIF Small Fund Reminder: Applications for Third Round Closes Wednesday 12 May

Funding opportunities, HEIF, Knowledge Exchange

The third round for applications closes on Wednesday 12 May.

Bournemouth University has a small amount of funding available to facilitate and enhance research and development collaboration with external partners.

The purpose of the funding is to:

  • Enhance external collaborative engagements with industry partners to further the development of innovative projects
  • Increase the amount of available funds for research undertaken collaboratively with external partners to patent innovations, enhance technology readiness levels and/or commercialisation
  • Encourage future funding bids (such as from Innovate UK) with external partners

There is flexibility in the way that the fund can be used, provided that a strong case can be made, and the assessment criteria are met. Funding could be used in various ways, for example for consumables, staff, and for travel/events/meetings, where restrictions allow.

All funding will need to be spent by 31 July 2021.

Eligibility/What we can fund

The HEIF Small Fund is open to all researchers across Bournemouth University, including those who are already working with industry partners and those who would like to build up new networks. In particular, the panel would welcome the following types of applications:

  • Projects of up to £5,000 which will either facilitate new relationships with external partners or build on existing research collaborations with external partners, support initial prototyping, project/product feasibility and/or market research.
  • Subject to the lifting of current restrictions, small travel grants of up to £500 to help facilitate relationship development with organisations. This could be travelling to potential partner sites or networking/funding briefing events Please note, the HEIF Funding Panel will not fund applications relating to conferences.

Due to the nature of this fund, we particularly welcome applications;

  • from Early Career Researchers (ECRs)
  • that incorporate social sciences and humanities
  • that demonstrate research interdisciplinarity

In line with BU2025, we will positively encourage applications from under-represented groups.

Application process

To apply, please read the guidance and complete the application form

Applications must be submitted to heif@bournemouth.ac.uk

Applications will be reviewed by the HEIF Funding Panel (see Panel Information below), with recommendations submitted to the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC) monthly. Once a decision has been made, this will be communicated to applicants. We aim to confirm the outcomes within two to three weeks of the closing date for that month.

The closing dates for each monthly assessment are as follows:

  • Wednesday 12 May
  • Wednesday 16 June

BU’s Funding Panels and Research Principles

The following funding panels operate to prioritise applications for funding and make recommendations to the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC).

There are eight funding panels:

  1. HEIF Funding Panel
  2. GCRF Funding Panel
  3. Research Impact Funding Panel
  4. Doctoral Studentship Funding Panel
  5. ACORN Funding Panel
  6. Research Fellowships Funding Panel
  7. Charity Impact Funding Panel
  8. SIA Funding panel

These panels align with the BU2025 focus on research, including BU’s Research Principles

The following BU2025 Principles are most relevant to the HEIF Panel:

  • Principle 1 – which recognises the need to develop teams
  • Principle 5 – which sets of the context for such funding panels

If you have any questions please email heif@bournemouth.ac.uk

Free online course – Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research

NHS, Research Ethics, Training

Interested in clinical research and what’s involved? Are you contemplating a career in healthcare or the life sciences, or, do you want to find out more about the role of clinical research in improving healthcare?

If you’ve answered yes to any of the above questions, then why not sign up to FutureLearn’s Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research course?

The course has been developed by the University of Leeds and is be available from Monday 24th May, via this link.

It is completely free and all online, lasting 4 weeks.

This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. By completing the course you will have achieved 16 hours of CPD time.

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

Funding Development Briefing – Spotlight on British Academy Mid-Career Fellowships

Funding opportunities

The RDS Funding Development Briefings occur weekly, on a Wednesday at 12 noon.

Each session covers the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Some sessions also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU.

Next Wednesday 5th May, there will be a spotlight on British Academy Mid-Career Fellowships.

We will cover:

  • Overview of the programme
  • How to apply
  • Q & A

For those unable to attend, the session will be recorded and shared on Brightspace here.

Please email RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk to receive the Teams invite for these sessions.

 

NIHR welcomes new vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery

NHS, Research Ethics

The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and partner organisations across the health research ecosystem have welcomed the publication of a bold and ambitious vision for the future of clinical research delivery in the UK.

This UK-wide vision sets out the ambition to create a patient-centred, pro-innovation and data-enabled clinical research environment, which empowers everyone across the health service to participate in delivering research and enables people across the country to take part in research that is of relevance to them.

The vision has been developed through the cross-sector Recovery, Resilience and Growth programme, with NIHR working alongside the NHS, regulators, medical research charities, life sciences industry, the UK government and devolved administrations.

You can read more here.

Funding Development Briefing – Spotlight on Horizon Europe – Digital, Climate and Food Work Programmes

Funding opportunities

The RDS Funding Development Briefings occur weekly, on a Wednesday at 12 noon.

Each session covers the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Some sessions also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU.

Next Wednesday 28th April, there will be a spotlight on Horizon Europe Work Programmes – Digital, Climate and Food (EU).

We will cover:

  • Overview of the programme
  • How to apply
  • Q & A

For those unable to attend, the session will be recorded and shared on Brightspace here.

Please email RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk to receive the Teams invite for these sessions.

 

Congratulations to PhD student Raksha Thapa

international, PG research, Publishing, Student Engagement, Women's Academic Network, writing

This week BU PhD student Raksha Thapa  heard from the editor of the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health that her  manuscript “Caste Exclusion and Health Discrimination in South Asia: A Systematic Review” has been accepted for publication [1].  Raksha is supervised in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Vanessa Heaslip and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.  The paper is a systematic review and the protocol for it was published in PROSPERO early on at the start of her PhD studies [2].

Well done!

 

References

  1. Thapa, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Heaslip, V. (2021) Caste Exclusion and Health Discrimination in South Asia: A Systematic Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (accepted).
  2. Thapa, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Heaslip, V. (2018) Caste exclusion and health discrimination. Prospero CRD42018110431crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?ID=CRD42018110431

IMSET Seminar: Modelling land use in the ancient Near East

Knowledge Exchange

Thursday 22 April at 4pm 

Modelling land use in the ancient Near East: methodological problems and interpretive potential with Dr. Dan Lawrence, Durham University 

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes have important biophysical and biogeochemical effects on climate via a variety of mechanisms. The PAGES working group LandCover6k aims to produce global reconstructions of land use and land cover based on archaeological data to provide climate modellers with datasets for sensitivity testing. The Ancient Near East has a long history of agricultural and pastoral exploitation, and as such represents a key area for the understanding of human induced landcover change. This paper will discuss the methods through which land use has been reconstructed by the Middle East group of the Landcover6K project. It will also show how these methods can also be used by archaeologists to investigate socio-ecological systems through time, building on datasets collected through the ERC funded Climate, Landscape, Settlement and Society (CLaSS) Project. This project aims to collect all archaeological settlement, zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical data available for the Fertile Crescent over the Holocene. Combining land use modelling with archaeologically derived evidence for past population and subsistence practices has significant interpretive potential. We illustrate this by presenting new results on the impact of the 4.2kya event, a period of drought associated by some with the collapse of the Akkadian empire and widespread population decline. We will also discuss preliminary work on long term trends in social complexity, productivity and resilience. 

Find out more and book your place.  

 

Happy New Year 2078 (in Nepal)

international

Bournemouth University wishes all its Nepali students, staff and collaborators in both the UK and in Nepal a Healthy and Happy New Year 2078 today.

 

 

 

Funding Development Briefing – Spotlight on the new Wellcome Trust funding programmes

Funding opportunities

The RDS Funding Development Briefings occur weekly, on a Wednesday at 12 noon.

Each session covers the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Some sessions also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU.

Next Wednesday 21st April, there will be a spotlight on Wellcome Trust’s new funding schemes.

We will cover:

  • Overview of the new schemes
  • How to apply
  • Q & A

For those unable to attend, the session will be recorded and shared on Brightspace here.

Please email RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk to receive the Teams invite for these sessions.

Early Career Researchers – Showcase Series 20-21

Wednesday April 21st 16:00 – 17:00

The Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) at BU provides a forum for Early Career Researchers to meet each other, share experiences and learning, and potentially could lead to collaboration on research projects. This year, we are also providing a platform for Early Career Researchers to present their research and/or their experiences. We are launching this with a double bill of presentations at the ECRN meeting on 21st April 16:00 – 17:00.

April’s event features the following :

Improving care and support for people living with dementia with Dr. Michelle Heward, Post Doctoral Research Fellow and member of the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre at BU.

In this talk Michelle will discuss her research journey so far in the field of ageing and dementia. With specific examples of studies that she has been involved in that are designed to improve care and support through hearing the voices, understanding the experiences, and facilitating coproduction of people with dementia, family carers, practitioners, and care staff.

Women’s Sport Governance: Merger-Takeovers in the 1990s and beyond with Dr. Rafaelle Nicholson, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Sustainability.

Raf will be discussing the question why so few women are involved in the governance of sport in the UK, and how can we encourage more women to embrace governance roles, to ensure more diverse decision-making. To try to answer these questions, Raf has been interviewing women who were involved in sports governance in the 1980s and 1990s about their reasons for leaving. She will share some of their stories in this presentation.

These presentations will be followed by Q&A.

If you would like to attend, please contact OD@bournemouth.ac.uk