NEW HEAD OF MEDICAL SCHOOL

Professor Val Wass has been appointed as the new Head of Keele's Medical School and Professor of Medical Education. She succeeds Professor Richard Hays who is returning to Australia after four years at Keele.

Professor Wass graduated from Guys, University of London, then worked at the hospital for ten years in Paediatrics and Nephrology before an interest in holistic patient care led her to train in Primary Care.  She practiced for 11 years as a GP in Kent before moving back into academic medicine at Guy's, Kings and St Thomas's Medical School as a Senior Lecturer in Primary Care.   In 2003 she was appointed as Professor of Community Based Medical Education at Manchester Medical School and is currently responsible for the community programme and for leading academic and international development of the course.

She has published a number of highly cited papers on evaluation, QA and assessment methodology, and contributed widely to PMETB guidelines during her period as convenor and chair of the Examination Board at the Royal College of General Practitioners. 

Professor Wass is currently International Development Advisor for RCGP involved in the development and assurance of undergraduate and postgraduate examinations in the UK, Europe and Asia.  Professor Wass holds a Masters and PhD from Maastricht University and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2008.  Her current research centres on cultural diversity within medical training, professionalism and the development of health care education to meet the needs of globalisation.

FROM FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE TO CLINICAL APPLICATION

The Surface Science of Biologically Important Interfaces group (SSBII) last week held its 11th meeting at Keele Hall. Academic, clinical and industrial delegates alike were impressed by the excellent and stimulating scientific content.

Organised by Dr Frank Rutten, School of Pharmacy and the Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, the meeting was titled "From fundamental surface science to clinical application". Speakers included Professor Alicia El-Haj, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, who spoke on "Engineering cells for orthopaedic therapy" and Professor Jon Heylings, Professor of Toxicology in the School of Pharmacy, who spoke on "Interaction of chemicals with the human stratum corneum". In addition to a programme of leading speakers, including Dr Peter Kingshott from Aarhus University, Denmark, and Professor Frantisek Rypacek, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, a range of sponsors exhibited stands including cutting-edge scientific equipment.

The poster session was of a high standard with student posters awarded prizes by the RSC and the SSBII.

HUNDREDS ATTEND STUDY ABROAD FAIR

Hundreds of Keele students attended the annual Study Abroad Fair last week. The event showcased the many opportunities students have to study at a partner university overseas, whilst earning credit towards their Keele degree.  Returned students and international students were promoting their host/home universities and projection screens around the room showed highlights of their time overseas. Strong interest was shown in new destinations, especially those in Hong Kong, South Africa and South Korea.  The Fair was extremely well-attended with over 270 students registering their interest.  The Centre for International Exchange and Development is looking forward to a busy period leading up to the application deadline on 18 January next year.

NEW APPOINTMENTS

The following academic appointments commenced in post this week:

Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine

Professor Gordon Ferns has been appointed Director of the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine. He was formerly Head and Dean of Medicine at the University of Surrey and Clinical Director, Surrey and Sussex Comprehensive Research Network.

School of Medicine

Sarah Hart, Lecturer in Bioscience, previously a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Manchester.

AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE OATCAKE

The Staffordshire oatcake is a local food hero, originally humble, cheap and filling sustenance for the poor. James Boswell, used to Dr Johnson's definition of oats as 'a grain which in England is given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people', laughed when he discovered it widely eaten in Johnson's native county. Perhaps Johnson, used to the soft Staffordshire variety, had no stomach for the hard Scots version.  This, and a wealth of other stories, appears in a new book, 'The Staffordshire Oatcake. A History', published this week.
 
The writer, Dr Pam Sambrook, of the Centre for Local History, has long been a champion of history from below. So, her illustrated history has Dr Johnson and Steve Povey, of Povey's Oatcakes, Biddulph, producing oatcakes from a recipe from 'the back of an old fag packet.' The book is published at £7.99, but is available from the Centre for Local History at £7, oatcake not included.

KEELE SCIENTISTS IN THEIR ELEMENT WITH CHEMISTRY PODCASTS

Two Keele scientists have contributed podcasts to an interactive look at the periodic table. Professor Pat Bailey, left, and Dr Katherine Haxton appear in Chemistry World's Chemistry In Its Element series, in which a leading scientist or author takes a look at the story behind an element.

Professor Bailey, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: "It was a challenge to write a three minute description of my chemical element in an unusual and engaging way, and good fun to have to deliver it in a recording studio – the closest most academics will get to recording a pop song, I guess!"

Chemistry World is the publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

STUDENTS WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY

Students from Keele and Staffordshire universities worked with the local organisation Lovestoke last weekend to make a difference for people in need across Stoke-on-Trent, as part of Community Service Volunteers Make a Difference Day.

About 16 volunteers reported to the Lovestoke When… distribution centre in Fenton, to sort items which had been donated from companies such as Ethel Austin. Once sorted the items are distributed to people in need, including single parents, children's centres and women's refuges.

KEELE FORUM FOR PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH LECTURE

There was an excellent turn-out for the 2009 Annual Lecture of the Keele Forum for Philosophical Research on Tuesday night. This was the second annual lecture of the Forum, which was set up last year to provide a focus for philosophical research at Keele, and this year's lecture was timed to coordinate with other events being organised in the run-up to World Philosophy Day on 19 November.

The speaker, Miranda Fricker, Reader in Philosophy at Birkbeck College, London, pictured above. is a world authority in ethics, epistemology, and in those regions of feminist philosophy that concern social identity, power, and the authority of reason, and earlier this year she gave the prestigious Simone Weil Lectures on Human Value, held in Sidney and Melbourne. After the lecture, a very lively and productive discussion ensued before the speaker joined the Keele philosophers and other members of the audience for dinner at a local restaurant.

ENVIRONMENT SURVEY KICKS OFF CAMPAIGN

As part of the University's Environmental Awareness Campaign an environmental survey was launched at Keele this week by Campaign Director, Professor Peter Jones, Pro Vice-Chancellor, to assess the level of motivation and awareness of staff. The survey will allow the campaign to be tailored to the needs of staff, as well as providing a mechanism to measure its success.

Keele is committed to becoming the "Ultimate Campus University for the 21st Century" and has committed to the HE Carbon Management Plan, which it is hoped will achieve a 15% reduction in carbon emissions by 2015. The awareness campaign will be key to achieving these ambitions and will be formally launched in February 2010 during Green Week.

A student specific survey will be launched on Monday, 9 November.

SYMPOSIUM ON DEPICTIONS OF DISEASES IN U.S. LITERATURE

The David Bruce Centre for American Studies this week hosted a symposium on 'The Syndrome Syndrome: Disorders and Diseases in Contemporary Literature', which brought together scholars from Denmark, the Republic of Ireland and British universities including Warwick, Leeds, Southampton and Lancaster.

Organised by Drs James Peacock and Tim Lustig, American Studies, the symposium explored contemporary British and American writers' intense interest in genetic, biological and medical science – an interest which signals new forms of artistic engagement with the contemporary world.

Addressing literary and popular fiction, film and TV, travel narratives and graphic novels, panellists discussed writers such as Martin Amis, Jenni Diski, Don DeLillo and Ian McEwan from the point of view of disability studies, trauma theory, philosophies of identity and the 'neuronovel'. The symposium was attended by colleagues and undergraduates as well as past, present and prospective postgraduates in American Studies.

EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION

The University last week held an induction event for its external examiners for the first time. Organised jointly by the Quality Assurance Office and the Learning Development Unit, the event was opened by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Janet Finch. Talks about the Keele context, the external examiner role and the examining process were then given by Dr Stephen Bostock, Chris Pike and Helena Thorley. School contacts joined the event at a buffet lunch.

Keele's external examiners were also offered a professional development opportunity in an online programme, Developing Practice in External Examining, from February 2010. Keele staff who externally examine elsewhere are also welcome.

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT IN ICT

Dave Miller, School of Public Policy and Professional Practice, gave a keynote talk at the Genesis of Professional Uses of Technology Among Teachers (GUPTEn) Symposium held at the University of Reims last week.

The topic of his talk was Teacher Development in ICT in the UK and research on the use of the interactive whiteboard.

ANATOMY PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST

Medical students used all their scalpel skills this year to take part in the first ever Anatomy Pumpkin Carving Competition. They were charged with carving a pumpkin 'of anatomical relevance' and were also judged on technical ability and artistic merit.

INSTITUTE AUTUMN COURSE

The Institute of Revenue and Ratings for the 7th year running chose to host their three-day Autumn Course at Keele Management Centre. Delegates utilised meeting rooms throughout the management centre for revision tutorials in preparation for their exams in December, which will be taken in the Sports Hall.