Author: Victoria Murphy

Co-designing for change: Imperial and Jason Roberts Foundation Partner to Tackle Prostate Cancer Inequalities through the ‘messenger effect’

In partnership with the Jason Roberts Foundation, our team at Change Lab has been exploring how to better support Black men, when it comes to understanding prostate cancer and encouraging participation in early detection initiatives. This project was generously funded by the Bob Willis Fund and its work forms part of the LIMIT study which is contributing to wider efforts to make diagnostic research more accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of communities often underrepresented in uptake of cancer testing.

The LIMIT Study tests a new MRI scan that can take place in the community and allows for prostate cancer to be detected in just 5-minutes.

Protecting mental health from the impacts of climate change: An imperative for action

Launch of a joint United for Global Mental Health & Climate Cares Centre report on mental health in national adaptation policies. This blog post was written by Alessandro Massazza, United for Global Mental Health, and Jessica Newberry Le Vay, Climate Cares Centre.

From increasing the risk of new mental health problems following extreme weather events to making people living with pre-existing mental health problems more vulnerable, climate change affects all aspects of people’s mental health and wellbeing. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates, with high confidence, that climate change has already been negatively impacting mental health globally, and that these impacts are expected to worsen as climate change deepens.

Digital Health Leadership Programme Q&A with Jake Marshall

The Digital Health Leadership Programme is delivered by Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation, in collaboration with a wide network of partnerships including Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.  Jake Marshall is a MSc student of the Digital Health Leadership Programme and completed the PG Diploma with Cohort 6 in 2023-24. He shares his experience of the programme and his career to date.

What’s your academic background? What did you study for your undergraduate degree or other degrees?

Jake Marshall (JM): I graduated with a BSc in Economics and Management from King’s College London (King’s Business School) in 2019, driven by an interest in analysing business challenges through the multidisciplinary lenses of analytics, leadership and technology.

Cybersecurity Bootcamp for digital leaders

In a rapidly evolving landscape, digital leaders in the NHS need the knowledge and practical skills to respond to new threats and opportunities for the healthcare sector, supporting them to lead their organisations with the latest developments in generative AI, Cybersecurity and other pressing issues.   

The Education team at IGHI has developed a new series of highly interactive, seminar-style residential bootcamps to support digital leaders, offering a carefully curated programme of expert panels, Imperial academic keynotes, real-life simulations and practical workshops to enable immediate implementation of their learning into their organisations.   

On 3 and 4 April, we hosted our first Cybersecurity Bootcamp in partnership with IBM.

Planning for Tomorrow: Psychological Impacts of Climate Change on US Youth

This blog post was written by Alexander Jake McDonald, and a version first appeared in a newsletter by CIRCLE (Community-minded Interventions for Resilience, Climate Leadership and Emotional wellbeing, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Stanford Medicine)

In a groundbreaking US survey, researchers explored the complex ways climate change psychologically affects youth, examining the links between a broad spectrum of emotional and mental responses, mental health and well-being, and life plans. Dr Britt Wray, Dr Ans Vercammen and Dr Emma Lawrance (Imperial College London) led this study alongside Dr Gary Belkin and Dr Yoshika Crider, delving into how young Americans aged 16-24 are psychologically impacted by climate-related concerns, and how self-reported experiences of climate change-related hazards and extreme events influence these responses.

Health Policy MSc Q&A with Adriana Lopez

The Health Policy MSc at Imperial College London is led by the Institute of Global Health Innovation. Adriana Lopez is a Health Policy Master’s student and part of the Imperial College London Sports Scholarship Programme. She shares her experience of the programme, which she manages alongside high-level sport and a full-time job.

What’s your background? What did you study for your undergraduate degree?

Adriana Lopez (AL): I studied for a BSc in Biomedical Sciences with a Placement Year at the University of Warwick. As part of my degree, I was a Medical Operations Industrial Placement student at ViiV Healthcare within GlaxoSmithKline.

Health Policy MSc Q&A with Mizan Musahid

The Health Policy MSc at Imperial College London is led by the Institute of Global Health Innovation. Mizan Musahid, a Health Policy Master’s student, shares his experience of the programme.

What’s your academic background? What did you study for your undergraduate degree?

Mizan Musahid (MM): I studied Law for my undergraduate degree, which developed my skills in critical thinking, structured analysis, and crafting arguments which are key skills for effective policy development. During my studies, I also took part in pro bono work, providing commercial and criminal legal advice to individuals who couldn’t afford costly legal fees. This experience deepened my commitment to ensuring access to justice for all, not just those who can afford it.

First Collaborative Network for University Staff Involved in Online Postgraduate Programmes Launched

Re-Cap of the Inaugural CROPSNet Event

The launch event for the Collaborative Research for Online Postgraduate Studies Network (CROPSNet) took place on Tuesday 10  September 2024, with over 30 higher education professionals from six different UK institutions in attendance. The network is the first of its kind, and the success of this initial event has provided a very strong springboard for future CROPSNet activities.

CROPSNet emerged from the work undertaken by the Student Wellbeing in IGHI Postgraduate Education (SWIPE) team (Dr Christa Hansen, Dr Annie McKirdy, Joe Kerr, and Julien le Jeune d’Allegeershecque), who have been working to improve the way in which the IGHI support the mental health and general wellbeing of its online students.

Waiting well

We know people are waiting a long time to receive treatment. We also know people living in less advantaged areas experience health inequalities. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the Helix Centre carried out a project, funded by the North West London Integrated Care Board, to understand the challenges faced by people living in less advantaged areas while waiting for orthopaedic treatment and to design tailored support initiatives that might help people to live well while waiting. To do this, we interviewed 7 patients to understand their experience of waiting for an orthopaedic procedure. Then we held a workshop with 8 patients at the Bush Theatre to design support ideas in response to the key insights from the interviews.

Health Policy MSc Q&A

The Health Policy MSc at Imperial College London is led by the Institute of Global Health Innovation. Laurence Woollard, a Health Policy Master’s student 2022-2024, shares his experience of the programme.

What’s your background? What did you study for your undergraduate degree?

Laurence Woollard (LW): In what now feels like another universe, I was originally pursuing a career in the music industry. I had studied Professional Musicianship at undergraduate level, finishing circa 2010. I then undertook a series of internships before landing a job offer at a music publisher in London. I reflect fondly on these times; the on-stage performance element as a gigging musician was a particularly important grounding in how to captivate and engage an audience’s attention, skills for which I have taken forward into my professional role and presentation delivery today.