STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2011

Keele has recognised four undergraduate students who have excelled academically as well as making an outstanding contribution to the wider community.

The winner of the University's prestigious Neil and Gina Smith Student of the Year Award is Amy Chapman, pictured,a 29-year-old from Crewe, who is the first in her family to go to university. 

The runners-up, all of whom impressed the interview panel, are Danielle Hughes, a Psychology and Criminology student from Crewe, Craig Doughty, an English and History student from Stoke, and Danielle Bremner, a Psychology and Sociology student from Essex. The winner and the runners-up will be recognised at the University's degree ceremonies this July.

Amy, who has taken a degree in Criminology with Psychology, left school at 15 with no formal qualifications and qualified as a hairdresser, eventually setting up her own business, whilst continuing with her own professional development. She came to Keele via an Access to Higher Education course and worked throughout her time at university to support herself financially. She hopes to continue her studies at Keele to postgraduate level.

Amy has made valuable contributions to the student community and the local wider area. She worked with school children as part of the University's AimHigher programme and acted as a peer mentor for undergraduates. Amy has volunteered at a local charity supporting young offenders and currently works as a volunteer mentor for young people who have been in care.

SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY ROOMS NAMED

The School of Psychology organised an event to formally name several of its rooms after three illustrious individuals who have made major contributions to the development of the School over the past sixty years.
 
They included Professor Ian Hunter, who was the first Chair of Psychology at Keele. He was appointed in 1962 and retired in 1982.  The others were Professor James Hartley (appointed in 1964 and retired in 1997) and Professor John Sloboda (appointed in 1974 and retired in 2008). 

The event was attended by over 40 current and former staff of Psychology and other areas of the university.  It included a forum on the 'The past and future prospects for psychology teaching and research', chaired by Professor Chris Cullen, former President of the British Psychological Society. 

The photograph shows Professors Cullen, Sloboda and Hartley with Professor Michael Murray (current Head of School).

DOUBLE VICTORY FOR KEELE MEDICAL RESEARCH POSTERS

Two Keele researchers gave excellent impromptu presentations of their first- prize winning posters at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire Research Day this week. 

The poster session judges could not decide between these two very different posters and so decided to award an equal first prize to both and ask them to give an immediate oral presentation.
 
Research Fellow Dr Owen Driskell discussed the evidence of inappropriate pathology testing using diabetes tests as a model, and part-time PhD research student Miss Nicola Lomas gave a clear outline of her paper on stem cell repair mechanisms in pulmonary fibrosis. 

In awarding the prizes, Professor Gordon Ferns, Director of UHNS R&D, who chaired the Research Day, commended all the authors on the quality posters and the involvement of junior and senior members of the academic and clinical teams in the Keele-UHNS partnership. 

The theme of the day was "Impacting on Patient Outcomes through Partnerships" and it was followed by the second of UHNS' stakeholder consultation events. Nicola and Owen are pictured in front of their winning posters, the prize for which was £50 to be spent of further research costs or training.

NEW ACADEMIC STARTER

The following academic appointment commenced in post this week:

Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics:

Professor June Verner, Marie Curie Fellow, who was previously a Visiting Professor at the University of New South Wales.

BIG IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE 

Research at Keele is featured in a joint report, Big Ideas for the Future, listing 100 UK university research projects that could revolutionise the world, published by Universities UK and Research Councils UK this week.

The illustrated report, part of the ongoing Universities Week, includes sections written by well-known academics, including Robert Winston, Alice Roberts and Iain Stewart, and showcases some of the excellent research being carried out in UK universities.

An article "Improving Physiotherapy Services" looks at the work of researchers at Keele, and the University of Bristol, supported by the Medicval Research Council, into PhysioDirect.

The publication is available here.

BMJ FRONT COVER FEATURE

Professor Shaughn O'Brien, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, pictured below, had his latest publication featured on the front page of last week's British Medical Journal.

Together with Professor Andrea Rapkin, of the University College of Los Angeles, Professor Lorraine Dennerstein, of the University of Melbourne, and Dr Tracy Nevatte, of Keele, pictured below, they have written a definitive review of the diagnosis and management of premenstrual disorders, drawing on a range of evidence including clinical trials, meta-analyses, international guidelines and patients' experiences.

Professor O'Brien has also just chaired and published a paper for the International Society for Premenstrual Disorders which is aimed at getting international bodies such as the World Health Organisation and the Royal Colleges to revise their diagnostic criteria. Contributors included nearly all the international leaders in this field, with Julia Magnay, ISTM, playing a major role in developing the final publication.

Professor O'Brien holds Keele's first chair in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and, alongside his research, he has taught on the Medical School's postgraduate and undergraduate courses since 1989.