University of Exeter Medical School News in Brief
 

Thursday January 21 2015

Events

 
 

Top news

Gillings Foundation donates £1 million

We are delighted to announce that we have received a £1 million donation from The Dennis and Mireille Gillings Foundation towards our pioneering work in genetic disorders. The generous donation will fund new staff to work alongside the team led by Professor Andrew Hattersley, our Gillings Chair in Precision Medicine, and other colleagues who are embedding research in clinical care. It will help expand our research to improve patient care in the NHS and beyond, building expertise in the diagnosis of genetic disorders, including in early pregnancy, and other innovative diagnostic testing. Read more on our news pages.

Goodbye Steve

Thanks to everyone who attended our send-off for Steve Thornton and Peta Foxall in December. You can view images on our Instagram account. Angela Shore is now Interim Pro-Vice Chancellor with Noel Morgan as Interim Vice-Dean (Research). A recruitment process for a new Pro-Vice Chancellor is now underway. Rob Anderson and Dr Ruth Garside will be taking over from Peta Foxall as co-chairs of the Research Ethics Committee.

International appointment

Congratulations to Matt Whiteman, who has been appointed as Medical School Associate Dean International and Development (ADID).  This is a new role created across the University in each College, linked to the establishment of the new Global Engagement Directorate (GED) and supporting our institutional aspirations to be sustainably Global 100.

Research makes waves

A study involving Medical School researchers has been ranked as among the most shared and discussed academic research of 2015. The research, published in The Lancet, showed mindfulness-based therapy may potentially offer an alternative to antidepressants for preventing depression relapse. It is listed in the 2015 Altmetric Top 100 list, which measures the research which most caught the public’s attention this year. Rachel Hayes, Rod Taylor and Felix Gradinger were among those involved. Read more on our news pages

Researchers among world's most highly cited

Three Medical School researchers were named in an authoritative list of the world's most influential academics. Andrew Hattersley, Tim Frayling and Mike Weedon all made the Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers List for 2015. Read more on our news pages.

Name our first teaching lab!

We are appealing for suggestions for names for our first lab dedicated to teaching, which will open on the ground floor of North Cloisters (next to NC12) before the start of the September term. It will mean Medical Sciences students can be taught in labs at St Luke's, rather than having to travel to Streatham. It will be used for modules in Genomics, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, and undergraduate research, such as PTY and final year projects. Please send suggestions for names to Ellie Pickering by the end of February.

Research awards

Congratulations to the following for their recent grant awards:

Dr Kate Ellacott (with Professor Randall and Dr Beall) for her MRC funded project ‘The role of hypothalamic astrocytes in homeostatic regulation of feeding behaviour’, which has been awarded £439,937.

Dr Kashyap Patel (supported by Professors Hattersley and Morgan) for his Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Research Training Fellowship on the ‘Identification of novel subtype of monogenic diabetes by excluding Type 1 diabetes using a polygenic risk score’ which has been awarded £399,601.

Dr Katie Lunnon (with Professor Mill) for her MRC award of £267,473 for the project under the Joint Programming in Neurodegenerative Diseases (JPND) initiative: Targeting epigenetic dysregulation in the brainstem in Alzheimer's Disease.

Dr Jane Smith (along with other colleagues in IHR) for her NIHR funded project  ‘A mixed methods study to improve assessment and understanding of mechanisms of action in group-based health behaviour change interventions’, which has been awarded £158,360.

Dr Mike Weedon (along with other colleagues in IBCS) for his Diabetes UK funded project ‘Developing a type 1 diabetes genetic risk score to get the right diagnosis and the right treatment for patients with diabetes’, which has been awarded £241,113.

Visiting Professor coup

A world-renowned expert in diagnostic test evaluation will come to Exeter in March as a Visiting International Academic Fellow. Patrick Bossuyt is Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the Amsterdam Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, where his research has a particular focus on the development of methods for the evaluation of tests and biomarkers in medicine. He is the lead for the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) guidelines – the internationally recognised standard for reporting studies of test accuracy. Professor Bossuyt will be based at St Luke’s between March 7 and 18. A schedule of opportunities to engage with him will be publicised in February. If you would like to meet Patrick or participate in the seminars he will lead, contact Chris Hyde, who is coordinating his visit. An example of his previous lectures can be viewed here.

Staff updates

As part of the ongoing Transformation process, we have seen a number of changes in business partners facing the Medical School. Alice Staniford is interim maternity cover for Helen Evans and Sally Cowling, our two web marketing officers. A new maternity cover post for this role will be announced next month. Please continue to use uems-web@exeter.ac.uk for all web enquiries. For a full list of professional services staff who now provide dedicated support to the Medical School, visit the intranet.

Staff news

Congratulations to the following staff:

Vicki Goodwin, who was awarded a Fellowship from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in recognition of her excellence in research, education and partnership working. Read more on our news pages.

Jonathan Mill, who has been awarded a Distinguished Investigator Award by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, a US charity that funds research into the causes of mental illness. Read more on our news pages.

Sam Jones, who has been promoted to Research Fellow; Chris Clark, who has been promoted to Senior Clinical Lecturer.

Welcome to our recent new starters: Alison Aldred, Administrator ECEHH; Dr Rob Andrews, Associate Professor, Institute of Medical Education; Dr John Baker, Clinical Research Fellow, Cognitive Behavioural Neurology; Dr Vashti Berry, Senior Research Fellow, PenCLAHRC; Kelly Blockley, Associate Research Fellow, PenCLAHRC; Dr Mick Craig, Research Fellow, Neurobiology; Bogden Grigore, Associate Research Fellow, PenCLAHRC; Dr Karyn Morrissey Senior Lecturer, ECEHH; Dr Laura Sims, Senior Lecturer, Primary Care; Dr Mitra Tavakoli Senior Lecturer; Dr Sarah Moore, Academic Clinical Fellow, Jen Kew, Secretary, Discovery Group; Emma Seymour, Knowledge Exchange Officer, ECEHH; Dr Joel Tabak-Sznajder, Senior Lecturer; Dr Emma Villeneuve, Associate Research Fellow, PenCLAHRC.

 
 

In the news

PhD student John Dennis worked with Just Retirement insurance on a study which found MPs live far longer than the UK average.

Jon Brown and Andy Randall were involved in two papers which help shed light on why people with dementia become disorientated.

PhD student Sam Chng was involved in research in Singapore which found that comments from mothers were linked to eating disorders.

Education

Ethiopia link success

Medical School staff led another successful trip to University of Wollega Medical School in Ethiopia. The group was led by Truro-based Ian Fussell and Rob Marshall, and included UEMS year 3 students Amy Hough and Ailise Smith, PCMD year 4 students Jacob Link and Oliver Sharp, and intercalating student Timo Tolppa. The month-long visit followed a week's trip by a group of foundation doctors based in the South West. The teams worked closely with Wollega's Dean and Senior Lecturers and helped establish their new clinical skills lab. The students ran a number of projects and workshops with Ethiopian students. The visit included input to the Red Cross, local schools and sewage and water works. The team is grateful to the Tropical Health and Education Trust for funding. For more details, including how to get involved, please contact Rob Marshall on the Cornwall Campus or visit the project's website.

Free online course on genetics of diabetes

Sign up now for a free online short course to teach the genetics of diabetes, devised by our academics including Sian Ellard, Anna Murray and Maggie Shepherd. The four week course begins next month. Find out more on our news pages.

Research news

PhD news

Congratulations to Kate Ruth, the first student to complete her PGR studies solely with us. All our previous PhD graduates had either begun their studies elsewhere or were awarded their degrees via PCMD. Kate's thesis was entitled “Identification of genetic and non-genetic factors contributing to female reproductive ageing”. She was  funded by a University scholarship and her supervisors were Anna Murray, Tim Frayling and John Perry (Cambridge).

Medical School researchers have been awarded the Arthur and Sadie Pethybridge PhD Studentship by Diabetes UK, to support a project that will advance the team’s studies into the causes of type 1 diabetes.  The grant, worth in excess of £91,000, has been awarded to Noel Morgan's team and will support the studies of a PhD student for three years from October 2016. The student will study a protein known as PPP1R1A which is present at high levels in the insulin- secreting beta cells of the pancreas and appears to be important for their ability to respond to viral infection.

Exeter leads the way in prevention of suicides

Christabel Owens has been involved in developing a new practice resource for local authority public health teams in England, which will help them take action to prevent suicides in public places. Read more on our news pages.

Application workshops

The ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) provides funding to enable academics to create and strengthen relationships with non-academic partners. Ahead of the next application deadline of April 6, the ESRC IAA team is holding workshops for potential applicants to support researchers to write their applications. This will be the penultimate round of funding for the larger grant streams, Project Co-creation and Knowledge Exchange Fellowships, so those with any interest in applying are encouraged to attend.
There are two separate workshops taking place on Tuesday 26 January:
Streatham Campus, Building One Marchant Syndicate Room A, 11.00 - 12.30.
St Luke's Campus, South Cloisters 1.23, 14.30 - 16.00.
Register at research-events@exeter.ac.uk.

Ayudar Colombia Fellowship

Academic colleagues are encouraged  to apply for an Outward Mobility Academic Fellowship (total of up to £5,000) for a visit to develop or expand relationships with higher education institutions in Colombia. The funding is offered by the Ayudar Colombia Fund,  established to develop relations between the University and counterparts in  Colombia, particularly where the work will contribute to positive social, environmental and business development in the country. In addition to providing scholarships for Colombian students and study abroad bursaries for Exeter students, the Fund provides opportunities for Exeter academics to travel to Colombia to further their research and forge long-term partnerships. This funding will  operate within the Outward Mobility Academic Fellowship, covering the College 50% contribution. Applications can be made here.  Applicants should write “Ayudar Colombia Fellowship” at the beginning of their response to the “Purpose of Award”.  For further information please contact Rachel King.

Athena SWAN update

The Athena SWAN Working Group (ASWG) now has a Student Inclusivity Committee, comprising student representatives from all undergraduate programmes in UEMS. The Committee will link into the ASWG and feedback any issues of concern regarding equal opportunities generally, including gender diversity. They will also be arranging a student focus group, similar to the staff focus groups which took place in November.

Thank you to all those of you who completed the online staff focus group questionnaire. The results are currently being analysed and further information will be available in the next News in Brief.

Next edition

The distribution date for the next Medical School News in Brief is yet to be confirmed.  Please continue to send ideas and feedback to Louise Vennells, and events submissions to uems-web@exeter.ac.uk. Back copies are available here.

APEx seminar: Improving person centred coordinated care
Weds January 20
Smeall building, St Luke's

Hospital Grand Round: Musical Neurology with Dr Tim Harrower
Fri January 22
Smeall building, St Luke's

PenCHORD Training - Problem Structuring Workshop
Thurs January 28
Baring Court 112, St Luke's

Patient and Public Involvement Clinic
Thurs January 28
South Cloisters 1.21, St Luke's

Process Evaluation Seminar
Weds February 3
Smeall building, St Luke's

Patient and Public Involvement Clinic
Tue February 9
South Cloisters 1.21, St Luke's

BERA seminar: Using evidence to inform policy and practice in teacher education and medical education
Thurs February 11
TBC

Patient and Public Involvement Clinic
Thurs February 11
South Cloisters 1.21, St Luke's

Use of Bayesian MVMA to inform decision making in HTA
Guest lecture: Dr Sylwia Bujkiewicz, University of Leicester
Mon February 22
Smeall building, St Luke's

APEx seminar: Patient feedback: useful in transforming primary care?
Weds February 24
Smeall building, St Luke's

Process Evaluation Seminar
Weds March 2
Smeall building, St Luke's

Patient and Public Involvement Clinic
Tue March 8
South Cloisters 1.21, St Luke's

PenCHORD Training: Foundation- Introduction to Excel Skills for Modelling
Tue March 8
Baring Court 112, St Luke's

PenCHORD Training: 1- Introduction to Excel-based Modelling in Health and Social Care
Weds March 9
Baring Court 112, St Luke's

PenCHORD Training: 2- Geographic Modelling
Thur March 10
Baring Court 112, St Luke's

Patient and Public Involvement Clinic
Thur March 10
South Cloisters 1.21, St Luke's

NHS Sustainability Day Roadshow 2016
Thur March 17
Reed Hall, Streatham

ADHD: lifetime trajectories, Professor Eric Taylor
Thur March 17
RILD Lecture Theatre, Wonford

APEx seminar: Amy Blackhouse: Care in dementia and Sarah Price: Clinical practice research datalink
Weds March 23
Smeall building, St Luke's

Patient feedback: potential or problem in a changing NHS?
Thur April 7
TBC, Streatham

BOOK NOW: Waking up to Epilepsy 2016
Weds April 20
Keynote speakers: Professor Mark Richardson, Paul Getty III Chair of Epilepsy, King’s College, London and Professor John Terry, Professor of Biomedical Modelling, University of Exeter
RD&E Wonford

BERA seminar: Understanding Cost, Value and Quality in professional education
Mon April 25
TBC

SAVE THE DATE: EBMA Annual Academic Conference: Crossing Boundaries – Assessment in Medical Education
Fri-Sat October 14-15
Register for more details: AssessmentMedEd@exeter.ac.uk

Please submit entries for this events column to uems-web@exeter.ac.uk. Deadline is at the bottom of the newsletter.

 
 

Thank you for reading. Please send news and events for future editions and any feedback to Louise Vennells: L.Vennells@exeter.ac.uk.



 
 

This newsletter is also available online at www.exeter.ac.uk/staff/news/medicalschool/. Contributions for the next newsletter should be sent to Louise Vennells, Communications Officer, L.Vennells@exeter.ac.uk