OFFICIAL OPENING FOR PET/ CT SCANNER

Professor Erika Denton, National Clinical Director for Diagnostics, has officially opened a new state-of-the-art PET/CT Scanner - less than a year after a £3 million fund-raising appeal was launched.

The majority of the funds came from a near £2 million legacy-gift, while Keele gave almost £1 million via the universities matched capital funding scheme. Professor Andy Garner, Dean of Health and a Non-Executive at the Trust, said: "I'm delighted to see the scanner in place. This is such a wonderful news story for patients that will enable a significant increase in clinical research activity."

An appeal was launched for the remaining £250,000 with hundreds of families and businesses holding events throughout the year to support the cause. Among those who supported the appeal was 74-year-old Ron Alcock, from Cheadle, who gave £1,000 of his own money after his wife Jeannette died of leukaemia in 2009, aged 68. Ron said: "Hopefully this piece of equipment will help to save many lives."

Professor Erika Denton - who later gave a lecture entitled 'The New Structure of the NHS and the Implications for Imaging' to a capacity audience in the Lecture Theatre at the Undergraduate Medical School Building - said: "This was a fantastic appeal and the response was wonderful. Thanks to the community's generosity, the hospital can offer the most cutting edge service currently available to its patients."

Professor Garner and Professor Denton are pictured with Steve Rushton, UHNS Charity Manager.

CENTENARY AWARD RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED

As part of the Medical Research Council's Centenary celebrations, Keele received an extra award of £30,000 for the benefit of newly-recruited scientists and medics at the start of their independent research careers.  Keele received the award due to the number of MRC research students it hosts and the training environment it offers in biomedical sciences.
 
Following two competitions, connected to the well-established "Bridging the Gaps" grants and Keele ACORN scheme, the following members of the Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine (ISTM) have received funding for their medical research ideas (in alphabetical order):

- Dr Ed Chadwick, Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering, for a new collaborative project on "Continuous control of advanced myoelectric prostheses" involving Dr Theo Kyriacou & Dr Cath Bücher.

- Dr Ruoli Chen, Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy & Pharmacology, for a PhD project on "Proteomic Analysis of Thrombi Retrieved from Cerebral Arteries of Patients with Acute Ischaemic Stroke"

- Dr Wen-Wu Li, Lecturer in Analytical Biochemistry, for his novel work on "Plant-derived anti-infective molecules: a Keele-based nexus for their identification, characterisation and development" involving Dr Paul Horrocks, Prof Trevor Greenhough and Dr Tony Curtis.

- Dr Mark Skidmore, Lecturer in Biochemistry, for a PhD project on "Next generation, anticoagulant, low molecular weight heparins".

Professor Mark Ormerod, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise), who is leading the activity on behalf of young researchers in biomedical sciences, congratulated them by saying "Keele is very grateful to the MRC for providing this extra support for some of our outstanding early-career researchers recruited into the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy and Life Sciences. They have put forward some truly novel, high quality medical projects and we want to encourage them to develop these into new publications and new strengths in Keele's research over the next few years."

Photo: clockwise from top left: Dr Ed Chadwick, Dr Ronnie Chen, Dr Wen-Wu Li and Dr Mark Skidmore.

NIHR FUNDING FOR KEELE'S RESEARCH DESIGN SERVICE GUARANTEED FOR ANOTHER FIVE YEARS

Since 2008 Keele has been part of the NIHR funded RDS national network. By offering free specialist methodological advice in areas including statistics, health services research, mixed methods research, health economics, and patient and public involvement in research, the RDS helps health and social care researchers to formulate high quality research grant proposals. The Keele RDS serves researchers from across Staffordshire and Shropshire and since 2008 the support offered has led to grant successes (mainly for researchers from Keele and/or UHNS) that have generated income in excess of £3 million. Thanks to the NIHR, RDS support is now guaranteed for a further five years from October 2013.

The Keele RDS is hosted by the Institute of Primary Care and Health Sciences and the core RDS team includes Roger Beech (Director), Julius Sim (Assistant Director), John Bankart, Clare Jinks, Faye Foster, Lucy Riley and Debbie Cooke (other Keele staff who supported the bid for ongoing funding were Peter Croft and Rhian Hughes).

The RDS team are available to offer advice on formulating research questions; building an appropriate research team; designing a study; involving patients and the public in research; appropriate methodologies (quantitative (including statistics), qualitative, health economics); identifying the resources and costs required for a successful project; identifying suitable funding sources; regulatory issues and writing lay summaries.

Researchers who are preparing grant submissions can access RDS support, by going to http://www.rds-wm.nihr.ac.uk/web/guest/keele-hub-contact and registering a query.

ENVIRONMENTAL GERONTOLOGY - NEW BOOK

Environmental Gerontology: making meaningful places in old age is the latest book from Professor Miriam Bernard, of Keele's Centre for Social Gerontology, with Kentucky University colleague, Professor Graham Rowles.

Published by Springer Publishing Company, the book is grounded in the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of current research on place attachment, environmental meaning, and community living in later life. It brings together authors from Europe, North America and Asia to examine such themes as the transformation of spaces into places of personal identification and attachment, the need for shared intergenerational spaces, and consideration of diverse populations when designing public spaces.

With a strong interdisciplinary focus, Environmental Gerontology includes the contributions of scholars in anthropology, architecture, economics, education, geography, gerontology, planning, psychology, sociology, and health sciences. A key feature of the book is that it translates the findings from contemporary research into a series of innovative and judicious recommendations for the creation of community environments that are truly beneficial for older adults.

DIGNITY AND RESPECT DAY 2013

Tuesday 28 May - Chancellor's Building

After months of consultation and talking to managers, staff and students, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, will formally launch the University Dignity and Respect Framework. This sets out what you have told the University is most important in creating a culture where dignity and respect can flourish.

The Framework sets out our shared responsibilities and our common expectations and understanding of what dignity and respect looks like and feels like within the context of operating in a complex and diverse organisation and community.

The day will be an opportunity for staff, students and visitors to hear more about the Framework, 'sign-up' to the Framework, and reflect upon what this means for us as individuals and as a community, in working, studying, and living at Keele. There will be workshops and presentations exploring dignity and respect from a range of perspectives including faith, gender identity, disability, and the staff and student perspective.

A key note address will be delivered by Dr Laura Mitchell, Keele University, on "Working with dignity; going beyond checklists".

All staff, students and visitors are welcome to attend. For more information: http://www.keele.ac.uk/keeleunity/keeledignityandrespectday/.

MEDICAL SCHOOLS' ADMISSIONS MEETING

Keele hosted the 2013 annual meeting of the Northern Admissions Network of Medical Schools (NANMS) on Wednesday 22nd May.

The meeting - attended by medicine admissions tutors and staff from eight medical schools in the north of England, as well as the General Medical Council (GMC) and the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) organisation - was held in the Sustainability Hub and chaired by Dr Gordon Dent (Director of Admissions for Undergraduate Medicine, pictured).

Delegates discussed a presentation from Professor John McLachlan (University of Durham) on the recent GMC-commissioned review of best practice in selection of medical students, of which he was a co-author.

Further sessions covered the use of personal statements and new interview formats in selection, and the development and impact of widening participation initiatives for medicine.

RESEARCH VISITS TO SPAIN AND CHINA

Dr Aleksandar Radu, Chemistry, has returned from teaching/research visits to Spain and China.

Thanks to support from the British Council (through ERASMUS Teaching Exchange) and Keele, he spent first two weeks visiting University of Barcelona, where he delivered a module titled "Ionophore-based sensors"  to postgraduate students in chemistry of University of Barcelona and discussed in detail activities for the on-going preparation of large, multinational grant application with Professor Arben Merkoci.

His visit to Nanjing University and Nanjing Xiaozhuang University had two objectives:

1)      To visit Dr Yu Qin at Nanjing University (NJU). Dr Yu Qin is involved in a large EU-funded research network ("IBS-Network") coordinated by Dr Radu. They discussed research directions and most importantly staff exchange.

It was agreed that every year in the next four years at least one PhD student will be exchanged between NJU and Keele for 3-6 months, thereby promoting knowledge exchange as well as building experience and expertise. The ultimate goal of the IBS-Network is training a future generation of experts in the field of Ionophore-Based Sensors (IBS) and this visit was one step towards this goal.

2)      Visit Chemistry staff at Nanjing Xiaozhuang University (NXU) with the view off setting up research links

WAKING A SLEEPING GIANT

Professor Robert Ladrech, School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, has visited the Department of International Relations at the University of Bilkent in the context of the Erasmus Teaching Staff Mobility program and the agreement between Keele and Bilkent.

Professor Ladrech, one of the best-known academics in the area of Europeanization studies, delivered two talks at the department, one on UK-EU relations and the other on the current Eurozone crisis. The latter was a Jean Monnet Seminar organized and hosted by the Jean Monnet Chair of the IR Department, Assistant Professor Dimitris Tsarouhas.

Professor Ladrech began his seminar talk by pointing to the Lisbon Treaty changes (e.g., trade, budget, the Fiscal Treaty), and the increasing influence of the European Parliament (EP) in the EU's economic governance as a result of these changes. He argued that in contrast to most political scientists' characterization of the 2014 EP election as another "second-order" election, it will actually be a critical one.

According to him, the Eurozone crisis has made these changes and the upcoming election particularly important, mainly because of the changed environment, in which public opinion has been mobilized against the politics of extreme austerity.

Professor Ladrech concluded by describing the mobilization of public opinion as the "awakening of a sleeping giant," and asserted that stakes are high in the upcoming EP elections.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

Professor Mihaela Kelemen's (KMS) article entitled "Pragmatism and heterodoxy in organization research: Going beyond the quantitative/qualitative divide", published in International Journal of Organizational Analysis, has been chosen as a Highly Commended Award Winner at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2013.

Every year Emerald invites each journal's editorial team to nominate what they believe has been that title's Outstanding Paper and up to three Highly Commended Papers from the previous year (2012).

The paper has been selected as it was one of the most impressive pieces of work the team had seen throughout 2012.

Further information regarding the Awards for Excellence can be found here.

KEYNOTE LECTURE

Ceri Morgan (Humanities) gave a keynote lecture at the 'Women's Writing and Filmmaking in Quebec' conference at the Institute for Germanic and Romance Studies, London.

Dr Morgan spoke on the work of Josée Yvon, an important figure in Quebec's counter-culture, whose writing has been long overlooked in favour of that of her more famous companion, the poet Denis Vanier.

SHAMELESS PAPER

Dr Beth Johnson, lecturer in Film and Television Studies was invited to present her research at MediaCity this week in the Salford University seminar series.

Her paper entitled 'Shameless: Situating Sex Beyond the City' focused on Paul Abbott's television series.

Analysing the prominence of feminist issues within the show as well as the intersections between representations of female sexuality and socio-politics, the paper and following Q&A session was attended by staff and post-graduate students. 
 

WiFi PROJECT UPDATE

The installation of a wireless network (WiFi) began across campus this week.

It will enable students and staff to move freely around Administrative / Academic buildings and Halls of Residence with a smartphone or tablet device whilst remaining connected to the network.

Work will be carried out as a rolling programme across campus. To keep up to date with progress in your building please visit here.

GRADUATE INTERNSHIP SCHEME

Keele Graduate Internship Scheme is now accepting applications from final year students who are interested in getting a paid internship – so, if you know anyone about to graduate please tell them about this very worthwhile scheme see here.

NEW ACADEMIC STARTER

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Miss Tara Meredith has been appointed a Lecturer in Adult Nursing and was previously an Advanced Nurse Pactitioner Cardiac Rhythm Management - John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.

WHAT'S ON

WEDS 29 May - 3pm

Summer Celebration Service on the Chapel concourse (indoors if wet). This is an opportunity for the diverse groups and individuals connected to the Chapel to put on a celebration service of thanksgiving at the end of the academic year, to which ALL in the University community are invited!

Wednesday 29 May; 5pm – 5am (Outside Events until 1am)

Summer Ball – 'Woodstoke 2013' -
Students' Union car park and Students' Union building.

The Students' Union will be holding its annual summer ball on Wednesday 29 May from 5pm. It will be located within the Students' Union and on the car park in front of the Students' Union building.

The SU car park will therefore be closed from after business hours on Monday 27 May until the afternoon of Thursday 30 May.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Thirty-four years ago ..

Keele's four new £64,000 squash courts were opened by the Pro-Chancellor, Mr Len Barber.

World no.3 in women's competition, Angela Smith, met Keele postgraduate student Peter Platts-Martin in a challenge match. 22 May 1979.

VICTORIA COUNTY HISTORY

The fourteenth volume of the Victoria County History was launched at Keele this week. The current volume covers North West Staffordshire, including Trentham, Keele, Audley and surrounding areas and is edited by Dr Nigel Tringham, of Keele.
 
The launch was attended by more than 100 people, including the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Ian Dudson, who presented the volume, and Cllr Ian Lawson (Chairman of the County Council) who received it on behalf of the County Council.

To mark the occasion Tristam Hunt, MP, delivered the Marc Fitch Lecture examining the role of the Dukes of Sutherland, who held extensive estates in Staffordshire and other counties – the first time the lecture had been held outside London.