Professor Beate Kampmann has been nominated by the Medical Research Council (MRC) to join AcademiaNet – Expert Database for Outstanding Female Academics.
The Robert Bosch Stiftung, in cooperation with Spektrum der Wissenschaft (Nature Publishing Group), has set up this exclusive expert database in 2010. It was launched by German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and it is the only Web site of its kind that shows profiles only of outstandingly qualified women who are best in their field. They all have been nominated by highly recognized science and research institutions. To date, more than 1,700 profiles of female top-class researchers of all disciplines are in the database.
The website (www.academia-net.org) is supplemented by editorials such as up-to-date news reports, scientific articles and interviews with female scientists and has registered over one million clicks to date. The high number of visitors to the database is not the only indication of its success: all four female scientists awarded the Leibniz Prize in 2014 – the most important research prize in Germany – are members of AcademiaNet.
The MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling held its annual away day on the 9th of October. Both 2014 and 2015 saw very significant contributions made by the Centre in a variety of areas. Most notably this included both the work carried modelling and in also in the subsequent provision of vital policy advice to aid the effort to contain and end the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
The Centre was rated an unprecedented 10/10 by the MRC subcommittee for the work carried out in its first term. As we now move through the second term the Centre remains committed to an ethos of continual improvement. This year’s away day saw staff at all levels throughout the Centre present their work via a series of excellent research talks. During the latter sections of the day staff contributed to discussions and workshops aimed at further developing the capacity of the Centre, its training and mentoring schemes, further improving its excellent public engagement activities, and in expanding its health economics capacity.
In addition, over 80 of the centre’s staff took part in a 2-hour team build activity. Teams were pre-selected with the intention of connecting newer staff with those that were more established. The 15 participating teams all competed in a geocaching / trivial pursuit hybrid activity where they were asked to plan their walking route around the Paddington area, to discover question locations, and answer as many of them as possible. Questions on infectious diseases, statistical modelling, and the MRC Centre itself led to ‘pie wedges’ and points being awarded along the way. Bonus points were awarded for completing photo challenges (see above). Congratulations to all the teams for completing the activity and especially the winning team of Jenny Smith, Neil Ferguson, Obiora Eneanya, Helen Fu, and Martin Walker.
James Hayward
Scientific Manager MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling
Kiara Chang presented her work on the Impact of the NHS Health Check on global cardiovascular risk, individual risk factors and prescribing. Dr Raffaele Palladino presented his work on the Association between Framingham Risk Score and work limitations in health surveillance. Lastly, Thomas Hone presented his work on The Introduction of Family Medicine in Turkey 2005-2013.
The conference was an excellent opportunity to showcase the work of the School of Public Health at an international level, as well as enjoying some Italian culture and food!
Thomas Hone Research Postgraduate Department of Public Health and Primary Care
Guest Presentation from Mr Shuhei Nomura, PhD candidate in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, ICL
From the left: Ahmed Almujil, WHO CC fellow, Mustafa El-Monstri, PHD student, Dr Sondus Hassounah, Teaching Fellow, WHO CC, Dr Alex Chen, PHD student, Mr Shuhei Nomura, Mrs Aisha Hamada, PhD student, Ahmad Al Mashrafi, PhD student
As part of the Department of Primary Care and Public Health’s effort to develop and engage doctoral students and fellows to debate and discuss their work, the WHO CC holds weekly seminars. On Oct 21, 2015, Dr Alex Chen (PhD candidate), the seminar organiser, invited Mr Shuhei Nomura, PhD Candidate in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics – ICL, to share his research projects about Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster.
Mr Nomura delivered a presentation on current radiation levels in Japanese coastal cities (Minamisoma City and Soma City, 15-40km north of the nuclear plant), as well as key issues and challenges facing the residents of these cities. He presented data from the internal and external radiation screening programmes for residents of these cities – work in which he has been involved since it was launched in Japan in July 2011.
On 11 March 2011, Japan experienced an unprecedented catastrophe compounded by a radiation-release incident at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which was later assessed as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale – the worst possible rating.
1st International Conference of Primary Care and Public Health & 3rd International Congress of Person Centred Medicine “Celebrating Primary Care Achievements: Seeing the person behind the patient”
The 1st International Conference of Primary Care and Public Health, 3rd International Congress of Person Centred Medicine, was held at Imperial College London, United Kingdom, from the 29th to 31st of October 2015.
The conference covered five central themes: Primary Care in the 21st Century, Ageing and Ageism, Children and Adolescences, Integrated Care, and Public Health in Primary Care. The programme comprised of keynote lectures, brief oral presentations and posters, featuring prominent figures as well as members of local communities from numerous global settings, including the UK, US, Middle East and Mauritius. Over 250 individuals attended from countries all over the world.
The importance of this conference was laid out in the opening remarks from Imperial College President Alice Gast together with Dr Derek Bell of NIHR CLAHRC NWL and His excellency Professor Ala Alwan Eastern Mediterranean Regional office for the WHO. The trans-boundary issues which threaten health warrant an international response, and events such as this conference are crucial for knowledge exchange and the planning of action.
A summary of the calls to action from the conference below and more information from each speaker can be found on the conference website www.icpcmlondon2015.org
i. Establish a shared goal of improvement in the health of the population through person and people centered care, taking into account biomedical, socio-cultural, psychological and spiritual elements that form part of the whole person and the demography of diverse populations.
ii. Primary care and Public health professionals should create and enhance local links and build relationships with each other and local stakeholders.
iii. Prevention programmes at all levels should be fully integrated within primary care.
iv. Create health care databases and identify new data sets, creating from these a consolidated information system a platform for sharing and displaying local population health data that could be used by communities.
v. To create common research networks to foster and support the integration of primary care and public health to improve population health.
vi. To develop multidisciplinary educational programs developing the curriculum and clinical experience that ensures the integration of primary care and public health.
i. That primary care should be delivered within the social networks of each person, alongside the provision Social Care and recognized as being part of a complex adaptive system with many components that reciprocally influence one another.
Primary Care in the 21st Century
This theme was explored throughout the conference both in addressing the complexity of a world in which displaced people’s health needs require action and in widening our understanding of what it means to be healthy. From Professor Ted Epperly’s insight to the American Health model and how our spending on medical services is not in line with what maintains health, through to Professor Marisa Papaluca’s clear explanation of how Regulators are driving innovation in providing personalised medicines.
Ageing and Ageism
The fact that the world’s population is ageing and the need to account for increasing longevity a known fact, exploring attitudes to ‘casual ageism’ both in the elderly and the often overlooked adolescent group was integral to Professor Jon Snaedal’s talk. Professor the Baroness Ilora Finlay brilliantly summarised the importance of palliative care and highlighted the lack of focus and expertise which health systems provide for end of life care. The one time all people will require healthcare is at the time of death so it is important to focus on the end as well as the beginning.
Childhood and Adolescence
Sir Al Aynsley Green delivered a powerful and important talk on the most important significant and influential period of an individual’s life: childhood. With changing population demographics it is more important than ever to invest in children and nurture them taking inspiration from the holistic methods of childcare in Finland. The importance of person centred medicine was emphasised by Professor John Cox with particular regards to perinatal depression. This is an issue which can have enduring effects on families involved and it must be addressed in order to ensure every child has a good childhood.
Professor Mitch Blair, in his inspirational talk, stressed the need for doctors to pay attention to the beginnings of life and the crucial first years and seeing the patient in the wider context of family, school, immediate community circumstances.
Integrated Care
Professor Azeem Majeed raised important points about the need for research and innovation in primary care, and explained the proposals for family practitioner led and hospital led integration. Professor the Baroness Sheila Hollins spoke compassionately about the need for person centred medicine and the imperative for care givers to work with the patient and their family and loved ones, to see the person behind the disability. Using integrated care for the treatment of atrial fibrillation was informatively described by Dr Abdul-Majeed Salmasi.
Public Health in Primary Care
Building health systems on a foundation of primary care and public health is vital for universal health coverage and improved population health. Professor Salman Rawaf spoke passionately about how crucial primary care is in order to tackle the growing prevalence of non-communicable disease and for ensuring healthcare is family and person orientated. The importance of primary care in public health was stressed in a video message from Professor Ala Alwan, director of EMRO, who highlighted that primary care is at the core of the region wide priorities for EMRO, including health system strengthening, addressing non-communicable disease, promoting health security and building capacity.
The conference was attended by over 200 attendees who benefited from the event and enthusiastically spoke about the experience.
“On the occasion of conclusion of the 1st International Conference of Primary Care and Public Health which was held at Imperial College, London (29-31 October, 2015), I would like to express the highest of my appreciation and gratitude to the marvelous efforts exerted on your part to have this extremely valuable conference in the best shape with this outstanding and remarkable success.
My very cordial congratulation for the success of the conference which is considered a turning point in primary care and public health march at the global level. The success of the conference was evidenced by the broad participation from every corner on earth, it was a global demonstration about primary care and public health. The themes and the scope of the conference encompassed a lot of interesting issues that were so vital to primary care and public health & the presence of such group of elite scientists and experts of the field crowned these efforts and was a real added value.” Professor Tawfik Khoja – Director General Executive Board, Health Ministers Council for Cooperation Council.
“Although I could not participate fully from the beginning to the end; I am so pleased to have taken part of this rich intellectual and scientific activity. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and your distinguished team on the quality of the technical as well as operational arrangements of the successful conference.” Dr Atef El Maghraby – Technical Lead, Health Systems, World Health Organization.
Advanced Leadership and Health Management training: 1-5 September 2015
Chinese Guanghua Foundation, whose mission is to stimulate Chinese youth to contribute to China’s Science and Technology development through various programmes and awards, approached WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training in search for a bespoke Advanced Leadership for Healthcare course. The WHO CCentre delivered the training on 1st-5th September 2015 for 16 delegates. The course included visits to NHS trust Hospitals, Research hubs and local practices as well as a series of carefully selected exercises addressed at the needs of the participants.
The intensive 5-day course was the first in the series of the regular trainings for Chinese healthcare professionals and Hospital Managers. The next course is planned for April 2016.
Family Medicine in Sudan
The Republic of Sudan has made significant strides in developing its health sector, especially in terms of family medicine; the country aims to achieve universal health coverage as part of its post MDG 2015 agenda. In this regard, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has embarked on an ambitious plan for the expansion of primary health care network and the national health insurance fund is drawing its agenda for universal coverage. As such, the WHO CC was asked by the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office for the WHO (EMRO) to technically support the finalization of the family medicine policy currently being developed by teams at the Sudanese FMOH and Public Health Institute (PHI). Professor Salman Rawaf and Dr Sondus Hassounah from the WHO CC were joined by Dr Hassan Salah (Technical Officer-EMRO) from the 15th-21st August in Khartoum to meet and assist the FMOH and PHI in that regard.
Indus Foundation Healthcare Excellence award
Congratulations to our Director, Professor Salman Rawaf for achieving the Lifetime Achievement Award in Healthcare Excellence from the Indus Foundation.
The Indus Foundation has initiated the Healthcare Excellence Awards – country’s most authoritative awards for the healthcare industry. Each of the Awards recognizes “excellence in medicine and healthcare” as manifested in the varied ways that may significantly impact the health and well-being of our citizens.
New starters
Heba Awadh from Oman started her PhD in October 2015 and will be focusing on Patient safety in the Gulf Region
Asma Alnuaimi from Qatar joined WHOCC on 1st September 2015 as a WHO CC Fellow. Her two-year training programme will focus on health promotion, health education, public health and epidemiology. As part of her Fellowship, Asma will also work on a research question of her choice.
Ahmed Sulaiman AlMujil joined WHOCC on 1st October 2015 as a WHO CC Fellow. His training will be centred on: medical education, research methodology and publication process, healthcare management.
Leavers
WHO CC Fellow: Dr Saad Al Saad from Saudi Arabia finalised his fellowship on 23rd September 2015.
The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) paid tribute to some of the country’s leading medical researchers at its prestigious SAMRC Scientific Merit Awards in Cape Town. The esteemed President’s Award as well as the Platinum, Gold and Silver Awards were presented to scientists whose work has had a monumental impact on health science in South Africa.
Professor Wilkinson, Senior Wellcome Trust Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine, received the Gold Award on 29 October. His work has focused on clinical and immunological aspects of tuberculosis – particularly in the context of HIV infection.
More than 170 aspiring doctors have been given an insight into medical school by Imperial’s Muslim Medics society who held their ninth annual ‘PotMed’ conference last month.
Potential Medics (‘PotMed’) is aimed at ambitious school and college students from all backgrounds keen to study medicine. Taking place on 26 September, PotMed sought to inform and prepare students in Years 12 and 13 on the medical school application process.
A programme ‘for students, by students’, the day included talks from medical students and doctors; one-to-one advice on personal statements; tips on the UKCAT/BMAT as well as practice questions; mock interviews and an ethics seminar.
“Everything we learnt was really useful and has made me more confident in how I should go about getting into med school,” commented one AS-level student. “I think it’s made me want to be a doctor even more than I had wanted to and I didn’t think it was possible for me to be more keen than I already was.”
“It was very good, especially the mock interviews because of the good feedback,” said an A2 applicant. “The talks were all great, especially the one on personal statements, the lectures on interview technique and the role plays.”
PotMed was organised by Qamar Mustafa, president of the Muslim Medics society, supported by a committee of thirteen.
“We are filled with gratitude each year when we hear accounts of students who have been accepted into medical schools across the country because of PotMed,” says Qamar.
“It is particularly pleasing when we meet the new Imperial students who have benefited from our events! We try to educate students on the whole application process, from when they first get the idea to study medicine right through to (hopefully) accepting their offer.
“Responding to the fantastic feedback we receive each year, PotMed continues to inspire and empower students to study medicine.”
The College has recently successfully completed roll-out of cloud-based e-mail accounts (on Office365) for the student community here at Imperial. Following on from this, the next few months will see a similar migration programme for the e-mail accounts belonging to College postgraduate research students and staff here at the College.
This migration of email accounts to the Cloud is but the first in a series of steps as we move towards a full deployment of Office 365. The new accounts will offer significantly more storage capacity (50Gb) – but this is not the main motivation for this change. More significant is that it lays the foundations for what will be a transformational platform that will enable us to move ever closer towards a truly Virtual Office.
Future benefits will include, for example, the ability to create videoconferences on demand or for teams to work collaboratively on a document in real-time, no matter where they are located. Staff and Students will be able to connect from anywhere and at any time using whichever device they prefer – whether it is smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. Office will be fully functional on any device.
Over the next few months, staff and postgraduate research students will receive detailed e-mails individually explaining what will happen for their own accounts as the migration programme rolls-out. However, if you would like further information please contact Ellen Pengelly, Digital Partner for the Faculty of Medicine, ICT.
Dr Ellen Pengelly Digital Business Partner – Faculty of Medicine
Service Strategy & Planning
Information & Communications Technology
Worming our way to a new understanding of behaviour
The wriggling and writhing of worms may hold clues to the inner workings of our brains, according to scientists at the MRC’s Clinical Sciences Centre (CSC). The researchers have developed a pioneering tool to analyse a worm’s posture as it wriggles, and will use the tool to investigate how exactly the worm’s brain controls its movements.
Postdocs were freed to ask “stupid questions” at the inaugural postdoc retreat. The day-long event was organised by postdocs for postdocs.
“The science was great, but I think the biggest benefit is networking and getting to know the community in which we work. Finding out what people are working on so you know who to approach when you want to speak specifically about an area of research that you’re unfamiliar with is invaluable,” said Dr Angela Woods, a senior investigator scientist in the CSC’s Cellular Stress group.
Watch a video of the postdoc retreat at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjH_Ybjtiqc
Vahid Shahrezaei is the new mathematician–in-residence at the CSC.
He’s been running a biomathematics group in the maths department of Imperial College since 2008, and is now taking up a visiting position that teams him up with the CSC’s biologists.
He’s looking forward to bumping into biologists day-to-day, and though hasn’t yet sat in a lab with the CSC’s scientists, he’d like to try that out too. Regular interaction with biologists, Vahid says, is an important part of the atmosphere of the CSC, and key to creative collaborations.
Watch Miguel-Aliaga’s interview at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ewZtr4H7zY
Miguel-Aliaga is one of four chosen so far by the journal for a series it says will “support the next generation of cell biologists.”
Last week, the journal published a two-page article and a video interview with Miguel-Aliaga in which she discusses how a TV series about lizard aliens invading Earth inspired her to become a scientist.
She also talks about setbacks in science. “I think sometimes the roadblocks are your own set of preconceptions,” says Miguel-Aliaga. She also thinks that we can be our own worst enemy: “Human nature means that, even if we try not to be, we tend to be too hypothesis driven.”
Also this month
In our series of scientific seminars, Art Arnold from the University of California, warned CSC scientists that preclinical experiments must not exclude female cells and animals. He said that it has traditionally been thought that females, with menstrual cycles and fluctuating hormone levels, are poor test subjects. But research in his lab shows that this is a myth. According to Arnold, when it comes to scientific research, women and men are comparable subjects.
Year 13 pupils who want to study medicine have been helped on their way by Imperial students when ICSMSU Vision, the medical outreach society, held its annual senior conference on Sunday 20 September.
Aimed at sixth-form students from state schools, the conference sought to give a helping hand to medicine applicants from less-advantaged backgrounds. The day provided the 96 delegates with lectures, one-to-one mock interviews and a personal statement workshop.
The annual event, now in its fifth year, was organised by ICSMSU Vision—founded by Imperial students in 2007 to educate and inspire school and college students from all backgrounds about a career in medicine.
“This event gives underprivileged students a better chance to get into medical school,” said lead organising student Shivam Patel. “Medical school entry is incredibly difficult, and comprehensive school pupils are very under-represented in our cohort.”
The conference was for students committed to submitting a UCAS application in October 2015 and individual mock interviews and personal statement workshops were given by medical students, practising doctors and those who have sat on an Imperial College School of Medicine interview panel for an authentic insight.
As well as workshops, eminent physicians and surgeons Mr P. Paraskevas and Dr Joanne Harris gave lectures on life as a surgeon and medical school interviews. This year’s closing speech was delivered by Professor Lord Winston.
Each delegate received written feedback on their personal statement suggesting any areas for improvement, and also attended sessions on ethics, BMAT and UKCAT.
A delegate commented during the event: “Thank you so much, we don’t get this help in school and I really have no other chance to have a mock interview.”
“The success of this event is a result of months of preparation,” said ICSMSU President Maredudd Harris. “It is clear from the delegates’ experiences that it has been worth the hard work. Vision should be very proud of the work it does.”
“I’m hugely proud of our students for initiating and delivering such an outstanding event that mentors our next generation of doctors,” added Martin Lupton, Head of the Undergraduate School of Medicine.
“Like ICSMSU Vision, I believe that doctors should be representative of the communities they serve and our school strategy recognises this need for a diverse workforce. Outreach activities like this conference help ensure that entry to medical school is inclusive to applicants of all backgrounds and life experiences.”
Bookings for the senior conference next year will open in June 2016. More information can be found at the ICSMSU Vision website.
Ben Campion Communications Manager Imperial College School of Medicine
The Faculty Education Office has again achieved the national standard ‘Putting the Customer First’ in recognition of its outstanding customer service culture and delivery.
Established in 2004, Customer First is an independent organisation that aims to improve service delivery to customers by ensuring that institutions are assessed, developed and supported to a quality standard.
The FEO first achieved the Customer First standard in 2012, which comprises 30 principles of excellent service. Customer service champions at each campus promote awareness and good practice at a local level and also supported the arrangements for the assessment.
Examples of the FEO’s efforts to continually improve the student experience include a completely modernised student reception at the South Kensington campus, providing a more welcoming environment, the introduction of iPads across programmes and a new curriculum map for the medicine programme which is about to launch to students.
“A huge thank you to all staff who have been involved in meeting the Customer First standard once again,” said Chris Harris, Quality and Educational Development Manager in the FEO who led the original and re-accreditation. “This is a fantastic reflection of the team’s hard work and commitment.”
“I am absolutely delighted with the outcome,” adds Susan English, Director of Education Management and executive sponsor of the project. “The assessor was very positive and recognised the wide-ranging improvements we have introduced since our previous assessment and our on-going trajectory of innovation.
“It is really gratifying to have external recognition for the FEO’s focus on improving the student experience.”
Ben Campion Communications Manager Imperial College School of Medicine
We’ve seen some fantastic bakes that would make Mary Berry proud; including chromosome cupcakes and an entire lab cake! These science cakes will be entered into the national CRUK Centre Great Science Cake Off.
The winner of the Centre bake off and science cake off will be announced later this month.
Butterfly project at Clinic 8
Cancer Research UK has commissioned an art installation in an out-patient clinic at Charring Cross Hospital as part of renovation work.
The art installation will include ceramic butterflies and flowers demonstrating the symbiotic relationship between research and care, whereby patients receive care while simultaneously giving back to scientific research, allowing us to find newer and kinder treatments.
These pieces designed by artist David Marques will create a beautiful meadow, transforming the space for patients.
The butterflies, which each represent a patient coming to the clinic, fly over a healing meadow of flowers of different colours and patterns. These flowers represent the various treatment modalities and people patients meet on their care journey.
A selection of the ceramic pieces was displayed at the Imperial Design Fringe, and the public got the chance to do their own designs that may go on to be adapted by the artist for his work. The pieces will also be on display at the NCRI conference in November.
The installation will be in place by November 2015.
Tamsin Ashton
Research Engagement Manager- Imperial & ICR
Cancer Research UK
Four members of Prof Steven Marston’s group in the Myocardial Function section of NHLI attended the Alternative Motor and Muscle Club (AMMC) conference hosted by the University of Kent, Canterbury on 10th and 11th September. The AMMC is a special meeting exclusively for PhD students and postdocs that encourages full participation from the delegates and drives stimulating discussions and networking opportunities in an informal setting with no PI present. Such a unique blend of science and fun in a relaxed atmosphere is a great advertisement for muscle and motor protein research biology and the scientific world itself. It has been running for 30 years and provides an excellent template for student and postdoc networking.
We are happy to announce that the Imperial College researchers won all three poster presentation prizes. The awards went to:
1- “Investigation of obscurin and titin mutations and haploinsufficiency in hearts of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy” – presented by Dr Natalia Smoktunowicz
2- “Characterisation of sudden death pathologies in the E99K actin mouse model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy” – presented by Tom Owen
3- “Primary effects of HCM mutations in humans and cats” – presented by Dr Andrew Messer
We are also pleased to announce that the next AMMC meeting will be hosted by our group at Imperial College London, full details to follow.
Dr Natalia Smoktunowicz Postdoctoral Research Associate National Heart and Lung Institute
What can we learn from surgical history and can we use this knowledge to consider what the future of surgery might look like? These are the questions we are aiming to answer by taking our Time Travelling Operating Theatre across the country as part of a Wellcome Trust-funded research project.
Imperial College London’s Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science (ICCESS) are using real clinicians working together in re-enactments of three eras of surgical history – 1884, 1984 and 2014. These periods represent the beginnings of abdominal surgery, keyhole surgery and more recent developments such as the iKnife. The Time Travelling Operating Theatre not only immerses members of the public in a world that is usually closed to them but also demonstrates some of the cultural, social, technological and environmental changes that have occurred in surgery.
Following their trip through surgical time, the public then get the opportunity to discuss the changes they have witnessed with the participating clinicians and others including ethicists, medical defence layers and policy-makers. The rich discussions that have come out of the experience have covered a wide-range of topics, a key one being the ethics of medicine past, present and future.
To date there have been three events (at the Science Museum, London; Royal College of Nursing, London; Thackeray Museum, Leeds) with the final event taking place at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on 10th October. The data collected from the events will aim to understand if this unusual methodology is an effective way to involve the public and patients in policy-making decisions.
My group has been awarded £525,000 by NIHR Invention for Innovation Programme from Novomber 2015 for a 3 year project, titled: Decision-assist software for management of acute ischaemic stroke using brain-imaging machine-learning.
The project involves developing imaging analysis techniques for prognostication in acute stroke, using standard clinical CT scans (see pictured right; one such method already developed by our group for lesion detection), and entails a collaboration between Imperial Brain Sciences (Paul Bentley), Computer Sciences (Daniel Rueckert) and Neuroradiology (Amrish Mehta). The enterprise will include collating one of the largest early-stroke imaging databases available worldwide, for the purpose of identifying and quantifying features relevant for outcome prediction. The techniques developed will be incorporated into a bedside software facilitating emergency treatment decisions by doctors, and communication of these decision to patients and relatives.
Dr Paul Bentley MA MRCP PhD Clinical Senior Lecturer in Clinical Neuroscience Honorary Consultant Neurologist
Two new lecture theatres have been completed and are operation on the St Mary’s Campus – The Cockburn Lecture Theatre and Professor Peter Richards Clinical Lecture Theatre.
Cockburn Lecture TheatreProfessor Peter Richards Clinical Lecture Theatre
PRES (Postgraduate Research Experience Survey) is a unique service provided by the Higher Education Academy to all higher education providers. It is the only national survey of postgraduate research (PhD, EngD and MDRes) students’ experience. The survey collects feedback from current postgraduate research students in a systematic and user-friendly way. Results are anonymous, allowing comparison against the sector and within benchmarking clubs, while ensuring that they are used for internal enhancement.
The Faculty of Medicine response rate in the recent PRES survey was over 60%, making this the highest in the College. Given this, the Faculty will be able to make confident conclusions from the survey. With a view to improving the student experience at Imperial, PRQC (Postgraduate Research Quality Committee) has agreed that action plans should be discussed at Staff-Student Committees and signed off by the PGR student representative. SIDs have recently received the results and are in the process of preparing action plans.
In recognition of the importance of PRES to us, the Faculty has also run a prize draw for students who took part in the survey:
Apple Watch Winner:
Professor Jenny Higham, Director of Education, presents the first prize to Ben Foster
Ben Foster (Institute of Clinical Science)
Kindle Fire Winner:
Christopher Kane (National Heart and Lung Institute)
We were all very saddened to hear of the passing of Lisa Day on Saturday evening, the 12th of September. Lisa was one of Imperial College London’s Clinical Trials Assistants who worked on the Bioresource study on the Wharfside clinic at the St. Mary’s campus; obtaining consents and blood samples for future HIV studies. In her short time here in the CTC, she contributed so much more than her contracted duties. She was never without a smile; never complained about the nagging issues that Imperial College and the Trust deliver to our daily working lives; never failed to contribute a personal story which made us smile and laugh in equal measures. Nursing has lost a professional it never realised it had.
Lisa was very excited to be furthering her education and to be embarking on a career within the profession of nursing at City University. She was due to start her studies this month. We’re trying to raise £2000 to create a nursing student bursary in memory of Lisa because we’d like someone to finish what she never got to; helping those nursing students who may be having some financial difficulty while obtaining their own degree – but in Lisa’s name.
I am writing to you to let you know about College access to lynda.com, a high quality video training site for IT, business skills and general interests which may be of interest to your Faculty. The College has purchased a one year license for all College staff, renewable depending on take-up.
What is lynda.com?
lynda.com provides a vast online library of instructional videos covering the latest software, creative, and business skills. Taught by accomplished teachers and recognised industry experts, lynda.com is a high-quality resource for Students and Staff looking to develop skills in Microsoft Office, the Adobe Creative Suite, Project Management, Personal Development, Social Media and a wide range of other topics. With more than 3,000 courses and more added every week, lynda.com is designed for all learning abilities and is available whenever you’re ready to learn. You can even view it on your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, or other mobile device.
Access
Access is via College user accounts for both staff and students. If you already have a lynda.com account, you can merge this with your College account.
Go to lynda.com via the ICT website for more information on the service and to provide feedback.
Support
lynda.com have offered to provide sessions on the product if you or your colleagues would like to understand more about it and how it can be used. If you would like more information please contact me at e.pengelly@imperial.ac.uk. If you have any concerns or problems with usage or access, please contact the ICT Service Desk.
Dr Ellen Pengelly Digital Business Partner – Faculty of Medicine
Service Strategy & Planning
Information & Communications Technology
Masters of Public Health Educational Trip in Geneva
On Wednesday June 17 2015, 39 students from the MPH traveled to Geneva for an educational visit organised by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training. For three days, students attended talks at the WHO, MSF, UNHCR, the UN and Global Fund. They learnt about the work of international health organisations and attended talks on health systems and innovation, the global observatory on health R&D, evidence-informed policy, health system financing and the global burden of NCDs. They had the opportunity to meet public health experts such as Dr Najeeb al Shorbaji and Nicola Magrini. Students were extremely pleased with the trip and they returned to London with an unforgettable experience, advice about their future careers, and connections with key public health leaders.
Celebrating Primary Care Achievements: Seeing the person behind the patient
Baroness Ilora Finlay, Baroness Sheila Hollins and Sir Al Aynsley Green are amongst the World and UK leaders in Primary Care and Public Health who will be leading the conference.
The five central themes are: Primary Care in the 21st Century, Ageing and Ageism, Children and Adolescents, Integrated Care, and Public Health in Primary Care. Discussions will cut across the four major disciplines of education, training, research and clinical practice.
The conference will be held at Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, from the 29-31 October 2015.
Educational Visit of Public Health Students from East Carolina University
On a hot afternoon of 11 June a group of 32 American Public Health students from the East Carolina University came to learn more about the NHS and Public Health in the UK. The group was led by J. Don Chaney, Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Health Education and Promotion and Professor Karen Vail-Smith. They were given presentations by the team from the WHO Collaborating Centre on the work of the Centre; Professor Azeem Majeed talked to the students about the work of the Department and the different roles of an UK GP in comparison to the American Healthcare system equivalent. Dr Austen El-Aosta presented the English NHS from its conception till the actual times, and Dr Alex Chen engaged the group with a very passionate presentation on organ trafficking problem in Asia.
The group shared a very positive feedback and are planning to make this a regular yearly event.
There was a strong showing of Imperial college educators at the ASME conference in Edinburgh last week with some 20 teachers presenting their education research or innovative teaching ideas in undergraduate, postgraduate and CPD fields. Many thanks to Professor Sue Smith and MERU for granting funding to many of these teachers and enabling them to present their work in a National forum.
It is difficult to name any highlights but particularly interesting presentations were made by Dr Ros Herbert on the impact of role models on medical students and Dr Nina Salooja on the use of innovative teaching methods in a Teaching Skills course for undergraduates and the primary care team of Dr Andy Mckeown, Ms Gillian Williams and Dr Elena Barquero who presented their work on a pilot to match medical students and nursing students to health coach vulnerable patients in the community.
Particular mention needs to be made about the success of our teaching fellows; Dr Ann Chu for ASME New researcher Award Medical trainees’ views on the transition from core training to higher specialist training , Dr Suzie Pomfret for the TASME Teaching Innovation & Excellence Award for her work on simulation PTWRs and preparation for consultant practice and Dr Rula Najim and Dr Nina Dutta for being Highly Commended in the ASME poster prize for teaching fellow led teaching in undergraduate surgery.
We hope to build on this interest and energy in education with equally good numbers attending the forthcoming AMEE conference in Glasgow in September 7-9th 2015.
Dr Joanne Harris MRCP MRCGP MA(Med Ed) Deputy Head of Undergraduate School Deputy Director Primary Care Education
Rahul Ravindran took home the top prize at The University of London Gold Medal Viva – an annual competition organised by the University of London for institutions in the capital with medical schools. Fellow classmate Ashik Amlani also took home the Betuel Prize as the runner up.
Here Rahul and Ashik describe their successes, time at Imperial and hopes for the future.
Rahul Ravindran
I found out that I was nominated for the Gold Medal Viva in Muheza, a rural village in Tanzania, during my elective. To find this out by mobile in a place with no running water was surreal. It was a daunting task as I had been given around six weeks to cover most of what I had learnt over the past six years! My preparation consisted of reading medical journals and meeting with members of the Faculty of Medicine to practise answering viva questions.
The day of the viva was in the final week of my studies at Imperial. I was questioned on a very wide range of topics, ranging from the molecular mechanisms of colorectal cancer metastasis to my opinions on how to improve child health in the UK. After the grilling was over I enjoyed the sunshine and took some photos to remember the day (the photo here was taken after the viva before the results).
I knew I would discover the outcome on the same day and the wait was very nerve-wracking. I remember eating my lunch on the bank of the Thames by Tower Bridge when I received the result by email. I was shocked to discover that I had won the competition! I immediately called my parents and all the mentors and friends who had supported me through the process. I spent the rest of the day celebrating with friends in London.
I am now moving to Oxford to embark on an Academic Foundation Programme in order to develop a career which combines my two passions of clinical and academic work. Winning the London Gold Medal has been a truly special way to complete my time at Imperial. I owe my success to the constant encouragement I have received from my family and friends, as well as the remarkable staff from the Faculty of Medicine who have taught me over the past six years. I am very grateful and will be forever indebted to my teachers here.
Ashik Amlani
When I received my nomination for the University of London Gold Medal Viva, my initial reaction was one of shock and incredulity. I could not believe that Imperial College School of Medicine had nominated me to represent the rest of my peers and the College at large in this most prestigious and enduring of competitions which has previously featured the likes of Sir Alexander Fleming. However, having eventually cast away any thoughts of a colossal mix up, these feelings gave way to immense pride and honour. I was desperately keen to do Imperial proud and continue the trend of success we have enjoyed over the past few years in the competition.
The format of the competition is simple. There are six eminent examiners asking questions within their chosen fields – medicine, surgery, clinical sciences, clinical pharmacology, obstetrics & gynaecology, and paediatrics – for five minutes each. A daunting prospect indeed! The viva included being asked about the mechanisms of cancer metastases and the various theories behind the recent trend in increasing asthma diagnoses in the UK. Even though the teaching and exam process at Imperial prepares us very well for viva questions, the viva was extremely difficult and I felt it did not go well.
Imagine, then, my delight and surprise to have been part of another Imperial clean sweep in the Gold Medal competition. Being awarded with the Beutel Prize was, apart from proving the existence of divine intervention, quite simply the best way to end my time here at Imperial. It has been the most wonderful six years of my life and I have cherished every minute of it. In particular I must thank our dedicated teachers and professors, especially my personal tutor Dr. Amir Sam, without whom my success would not have been possible.
In the future I will soon be starting an Academic Foundation Programme in nuclear medicine at Barnet and Royal Free hospitals as an FY1 doctor. I look forward to putting everything that I have learnt over the past six years to good use in order to provide the best care for my patients and aspire to an eventual career in radiology.
As part of their ongoing effort to support and nurture postdoctoral staff in the Department of Medicine, the Early Careers Committee (a subcommittee of the Development and Opportunities Committee) procured funding to enable postdoctoral research scientists and research fellows in groups without such funding to present their research at conferences. The Postdoctoral Travel Awards are open to all postdocs and academic research fellows in the Department of Medicine, particularly those who need assistance with extraordinary costs relating to caring responsibilities.
Numerous applications were received for the most recent deadline and after careful deliberation the committee decided to allocate funds to Drs David Hodson, James Cole and Jason Long.
Dr David Hodson
“The Postdoctoral Travel Award allowed me to attend the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Boston USA, to which I was invited as a symposium speaker. This will be critical for my future career progression, since indicators of esteem such as this are important for obtaining grant funding and academic promotion.”
David’s Research
Gene variants in or close to the gene encoding ADCY5 are associated with an increased probability of developing type 2 diabetes, a socioeconomically-costly disease state. To better understand how this gene may influence insulin secretion in man, David and his group employed molecular biology techniques to silence ADCY5 expression specifically in human islets. Using these approaches, they were able to show that ADCY5 is indispensable for coupling glucose to insulin secretion in beta cells through generation of the signaling intermediaries cAMP and ATP. In addition, they also demonstrated that samples from human donors who harbor risk loci for ADCY5 present with lowered mRNA levels. Thus, ADCY5 variants in or near to ADCY5 are likely to impair gene expression, elevating type 2 diabetes risk.
Dr James Cole
“The travel award allowed me to attend this year’s OHBM meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii. OHBM is the premier international conference for the field of neuroimaging, and thanks to the travel award, I was able to attend this meeting for the first time in my career. The meeting attracts the world leaders from across areas of research relating to neuroimaging, and it was an excellent experience to be able to see the latest developments in my field all showcased in one event. As well as the many senior neuroimaging scientists in attendance at OHBM, I was able to meet with a number of more junior researchers with common interests to me, allowing me to get a broader view on the type of work being conducted by people at my career stage.
The research I presented at the conference was an analysis from the EU project I work on, known as COBRA (ComorBidity in Relation to AIDS). The opportunity to present this work at OHBM 2015 was invaluable as I was able to get insightful feedback from a range of researchers in the field. Furthermore, there is an important HIV research group based at the University of Hawaii, led by Dr Linda Chang. I was able to meet with Dr Chang and her colleagues, display my findings to them and discuss potential future collaborations.
James’s Research
The advent of combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) means that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is no longer a death sentence. For the first time, HIV-infected individuals are living into old age. Nevertheless, despite improved life expectancy, research conducted into groups of ageing HIV-infected people reports a concerning increase in the development of age-related diseases. Importantly this includes mild cognitive impairment, itself a key risk factor for dementia. As the number of older adults living with HIV increases globally, it is vital to understand what might underlie this increased risk of disease and cognitive decline.
James and his colleagues use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure brain structure and function in HIV-infected people. They then compare these brain measures with carefully selected uninfected people, with similar demographic and behavioural characteristics. Using structural MRI, they have accurately predicted chronological age in a large, separate group of 1500 healthy people, by employing a computational technique called ‘machine learning’. They then made predictions of age in a group of 134 HIV-infected people, aged between 45 and 78, by comparing their brain scans to this predetermined machine learning model. On average, HIV-infected individual’s brains were predicted to be two years older than their chronological age. The uninfected group did not show this ‘brain ageing’ effect.
This result indicates that, despite successful treatment with cART, individuals with HIV-infection have changes in brain structure that resemble those seen in normal ageing. Age itself is an important risk factor for cognitive decline and subsequent dementia. If there are ‘age-like’ alterations to brain structure due to HIV, these individuals may well have a higher risk of future health problems. Using this brain age model, they intend to further investigate which characteristics of HIV-infection may influence brain age, such as specific cART drugs, levels of residual HIV or behavioural and lifestyle factors.
Dr Jason Long
“We’ve recently come across a very interesting finding in the lab and are hoping to publish in a high impact journal soon. So we’re looking out for relevant conferences to go to in order to share this knowledge; it’s vital we let the field know about this and get collaborators on board. There’s never enough money for travelling, so receiving the PostDoctoral Travel Award really helps. In particular I’m using this award for a conference aimed at ‘younger’ scientists in the beginning stages of their careers, so I hope to benefit from being surrounded by others who are at a similar stage as I am, make connections and chat about options!”
Jason’s Research:
Influenza (flu) viruses originate in wild birds, and have crossed over to human hosts in pandemic events after which they adapt and continue to circulate causing seasonal epidemics. In addition there are frequent dead-end jumps from bird viruses into humans, such as the current H5N1 situation in Egypt and H7N3 in China. Yet these viruses have not yet made that extra leap to become pandemics. This is because the virus needs to make several changes in its genes in order to adapt to humans, a hard task for a virus. One such change that Jason and his peers have researched is the change in the polymerase (this is the virus machine that copies its genes inside the cells of the host). For many years we have known that bird flu viruses mutate a gene in its polymerase that allows it to replicate in humans. But until now we have not understood why.
They took cells that were part mammalian and part avian. By looking to see if bird flu polymerase could or could not work in these cells, and comparing the genes between the different cells, they identified a chicken gene that bird flu polymerase can use in avian cells, but cannot use the human equivalent in human cells. This identifies the point at which the virus has to mutate in order to copy its genes and adapt to humans. This finding is very important for the development of antivirals against the flu polymerase, as well as understanding which bird flus may be able to make the jump from birds to humans.
Mr Chris Lattimer wins second prize at the 16th Annual European Venous Forum Meeting
Mr Lattimer collected the award on behalf of his team at the EVF Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, for their presentation; ‘Increasing thigh compression pressure correlates with a reduction in the venous drainage index of air plethysmography.’
This highly competitive award has provided a grant of £1,500 for Mr Lattimer to present his team’s work on venous drainage at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Venous Forum, to be held in Orlando, Florida, next February. This is acknowledged to be the most prestigious venous meeting globally.
Dr Mick Jones receives multiple teaching awards in 2014/15
Dr Jones, Reader in Molecular Medicine in the Department of Medicine and Course Director of the MSc in Molecular Medicine, picked up numerous teaching awards this year:
The top prize at the Department of Medicine Teaching Awards, 2015 for Outstanding Contribution to Education
The awards for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Supervision and the Top Contributor to Teaching based on the 2014 Teaching Hours Survey
The award for the Best Teaching for Postgraduates at the 2015 Student Academic Choice Awards
Professor Charlotte Bevan appointed to the Executive Committee of the BACR
Miniature messenger molecules released by cells in the pancreas (green) may hold the key to early diagnosis of diabetes
Scientists at the MRC’s Clinical Sciences Centre (CSC) in West London are the first to show that a small molecule circulates in the blood of people who are in the early stages of type 1 diabetes. A simple blood test could detect this biological marker years, maybe decades, before symptoms develop.
“If we can identify and treat patients earlier, we may be able to help them to avoid secondary complications. This could ultimately extend a patient’s life,” said Mathieu Latreille, who leads the CSC’s Cellular Identity and Metabolism research group, and who carried out the research in collaboration with scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Latreille presented the results to doctors at Hammersmith Hospital this month.
Further interesting findings came from a CSC study which has shown that a gene, called Jarid2, may play a wider role than previously thought in co-ordinating the way that stem cells change in a developing embryo to form the specialised cells that make up our bodies.
Scientists know already that Jarid2 is important in organising the healthy formation of many organs, including the neural tubes that become the brain and spinal cord, the liver, spleen, thymus and cardiovascular system. But its central role very early on in embryo development is “surprising”, according to professor Amanda Fisher, director of the CSC, and head of the Institute of Clinical Science at Imperial College London, whose team published its findings in Cell Reports on July 16.
Also this month, in our series of scientific seminars, Simon Andrews of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, warned CSC scientists that experiments to sequence human genes can, and do, go wrong. Rapid advances in technology mean scientists can now sequence entire human genomes in a matter of hours, and for less than £1000. But Andrews explained that even the latest technology doesn’t stop scientists from making mistakes. “I’m showing you some of the ugly sides of sequencing experiments,” he said.
Winners team ‘Mansfield’ celebrate their rounders victory
Another seminar in the series saw James Ware, who works with the CSC’s Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Genetics research group, update researchers on the latest in his quest to understand the genetics of dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart condition which affects 1 in 250 people and can lead to sudden death.
Outside of the lab, CSC scientists and staff competed in the Institute’s annual rounders tournament, a relaxing interlude from serious science. Defending champions team ‘Mansfield’ came out on top.
Imperial Innovations has recently launched Quicktech, its new online portal for the straightforward non-exclusive licensing of technologies developed at Imperial.
The system was put in place to reduce the amount of time spent negotiating licensing deals, by using predefined prices and Terms & Conditions.
Quicktech can be used to promote materials you develop during your research, such as antibodies, cell lines, disease models, plasmids, patient surveys, and software. We can also provide sales reports, detailing how many units have been licensed and to whom, to support your impact statements.
We have recently completed our first license through the platform for OneZoom, a data visualisation software developed by Dr James Rosindell (Life Sciences).
The Robert Bosch Stiftung, in cooperation with Spektrum der Wissenschaft (Nature Publishing Group), has set up this exclusive expert database in 2010. It was launched by German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and it is the only Web site of its kind that shows profiles only of outstandingly qualified women who are best in their field. They all have been nominated by highly recognized science and research institutions. To date, more than 1,700 profiles of female top-class researchers of all disciplines are in the database.
The 
Three Researchers from the 
The College has recently successfully completed roll-out of cloud-based e-mail accounts (on Office365) for the student community here at Imperial. Following on from this, the next few months will see a similar migration programme for the e-mail accounts belonging to College postgraduate research students and staff here at the College.
The Great Centre Bake Off
Cancer Research UK has commissioned an art installation in an out-patient clinic at Charring Cross Hospital as part of renovation work.
On Wednesday June 17 2015, 39 students from the MPH traveled to Geneva for an educational visit organised by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training. For three days, students attended talks at the WHO, MSF, UNHCR, the UN and Global Fund. They learnt about the work of international health organisations and attended talks on health systems and innovation, the global observatory on health R&D, evidence-informed policy, health system financing and the global burden of NCDs. They had the opportunity to meet public health experts such as Dr Najeeb al Shorbaji and Nicola Magrini. Students were extremely pleased with the trip and they returned to London with an unforgettable experience, advice about their future careers, and connections with key public health leaders.
On a hot afternoon of 11 June a group of 32 American Public Health students from the East Carolina University came to learn more about the NHS and Public Health in the UK. The group was led by J. Don Chaney, Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Health Education and Promotion and Professor Karen Vail-Smith. They were given presentations by the team from the WHO Collaborating Centre on the work of the Centre; Professor Azeem Majeed talked to the students about the work of the Department and the different roles of an UK GP in comparison to the American Healthcare system equivalent. Dr Austen El-Aosta presented the English NHS from its conception till the actual times, and Dr Alex Chen engaged the group with a very passionate presentation on organ trafficking problem in Asia.
Two Imperial students have been 
“The Postdoctoral Travel Award allowed me to attend the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Boston USA, to which I was invited as a symposium speaker. This will be critical for my future career progression, since indicators of esteem such as this are important for obtaining grant funding and academic promotion.”
“The travel award allowed me to attend this year’s OHBM meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii. OHBM is the premier international conference for the field of neuroimaging, and thanks to the travel award, I was able to attend this meeting for the first time in my career. The meeting attracts the world leaders from across areas of research relating to neuroimaging, and it was an excellent experience to be able to see the latest developments in my field all showcased in one event. As well as the many senior neuroimaging scientists in attendance at OHBM, I was able to meet with a number of more junior researchers with common interests to me, allowing me to get a broader view on the type of work being conducted by people at my career stage.
“We’ve recently come across a very interesting finding in the lab and are hoping to publish in a high impact journal soon. So we’re looking out for relevant conferences to go to in order to share this knowledge; it’s vital we let the field know about this and get collaborators on board. There’s never enough money for travelling, so receiving the PostDoctoral Travel Award really helps. In particular I’m using this award for a conference aimed at ‘younger’ scientists in the beginning stages of their careers, so I hope to benefit from being surrounded by others who are at a similar stage as I am, make connections and chat about options!”
Imperial Innovations has recently launched