INSPIRE News

Announcements

More information has now been released about this year's INSPIRE Research Day.

The first round of summer studentships at the Keele School of Medicine was awarded under an INSPIRE grant supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences and Wellcome Trust. 

With additional support from the Health Faculty, School of Medicine, and the research institutes of Science and Technology in Medicine and Primary Care & Health Sciences, a total of just under £6,500 was awarded over seven projects.

The following groups and projects were funded:

  • Aditya Narain and Professor Robert McKinley: Initial development of a questionnaire to examine drivers of medical student career choices;
  • Arani Vivekanantham, Dr Samantha Hider, Dr Joanne Protheroe & Dr Sara Muller: Evaluating on-line health information for patients with polymyalgia rheumatic;
  • George Tancock and Dr Rachel Berkson: Sequencing the Cysteine-Rich Region of PLAC8, a Novel Cancer Regulator;
  • Gurvin Chander, Dr Nikki Kuiper, Dr Nick Forsyth & Tina Dale: Characterisation of stem cells for cartilage cell therapy;
  • Jaspal Cheema and Dr Sarah Hart: Chemical Proteolysis as a New Proteomics Tool;
  • Jessica Spalding, Dr Sarah Yardley and Dr Gill Clifford: What can children teach us? An exploration of how children using hospice services can contribute to undergraduate medical education and service development;
  • Nicholas Ellerby and Dr Ed Roddy: Does intra-articular corticosteroid injection in the pre-operative period increase the risk of joint infection following hip or knee arthroplasty? A systematic review.

A conference bursary scheme is also supported by the award, along with an annual research showcase to be held on 27 November, where medical students will have the opportunity to present research findings from studentship and intercalation projects. The INSPIRE programme is led by Dr Divya Chari (ISTM) and Dr Samantha Hider (PCHS), and its initiatives form part of the SoM's drive to evolve the medical research component of the medical curriculum and train the next generation of medical researchers.

INSPIRE 2013 students and supervisors


Pictured are Robert McKinley, Sarah Hart, Samantha Hider with students Aditya Narain and Jessica Spalding.

External Medical Student Conferences:

6th Annual National ATRIUM Conference will take place on 22nd February 2014 at the Chancellor’s Building, New Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

The event is a great opportunity for medical students to gain insight into the world of academic medicine, with pioneering researchers and key figures in the academic foundation programme in Edinburgh acting as our keynote speakers. Students will also gain experience in presenting their research, with individual feedback for all presenters. Prizes will be awarded for posters and oral presentations. 

Attendance price will be £10. Abstracts of original research, audits and systemic reviews (not exceeding 250 words) will be welcomed for oral or poster presentation. Abstract submission is now open until the 1st November 2013. For further details, visit www.atriumsoc.co.uk

Barts & The London Academic Medicine & Surgery Society (BLAMSS) inaugural National Research Conference on Saturday, 5th October 2013 at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.

This conference aims to inspire and foster the training and work of future generations of clinician scientists by bringing together medical trainees at all levels from across the United Kingdom to discuss their current research, exchange knowledge and ideas, and build informal networks with their peers that may lead to future collaborations and achievements. The theme of BLAMSS 2013 will be on ‘Translational Medicine’ and will explore how scientific discoveries and novel technologies can revolutionise clinical practice, and how clinical observations from the bedside can guide basic scientific research. 

State-of-the-art keynote addresses by internationally-renowned clinician-investigators and scientists: 
• Professor Sir Nicholas Wald, FRS, Institute Director, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts & The London School of Medicine, London
• Professor Peter J. Ratcliffe, FRS, Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine & Head of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford (Recipient of the Canada Gairdner International Award, 2010 "For identification of molecular mechanisms of oxygen sensing in the cell”)
• Professor Charles Swanton, Group Leader, Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, Chair in Personalised Cancer Medicine, University College London (UCL) Cancer Institute, & Consultant Medical Oncologist, UCL Hospitals, London
• Professor Molly Stevens, Professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine, Research Director for Biomedical Material Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London

For further details on registration please visit the conference website www.blamss2013.org and www.facebook.com/blamss2013 (for live updates).