Blog posts

The show must go on – part 1

In a matter of mere months, a new virus has completely changed the world. In the trail of destruction that coronavirus is causing, it has rudely propelled many of us into a new way of working. 

Offices have closed, laboratories shut their doors, classrooms and lecture theatres emptied. But the world has not ground to a halt – the show must go on. At IGHI, our researchers are continuing their endeavour to improve health and care. In this new series, find out how our people are adapting to working life amid coronavirus, and the unique opportunities and challenges this has presented them.

GLOW: Shining a light on breast cancer through fluorescence-guided surgery

Each year, there are approximately 55,200 new cases of breast cancer in the UK.

People with breast cancer face a host of different treatments including chemotherapy and radiotherapy. For the majority of people facing a breast cancer diagnosis, surgery to remove the cancerous tumour is their primary treatment, with people either undergoing breast-conserving surgery or a mastectomy.

IGHI people: Meet Lily Roberts, Teaching Fellow, NHS Digital Academy

IGHI is home to a team of staff who are skilled and passionate about their roles. Our talented people are the reason we’re able to tackle some of the most pressing global health challenges through cutting-edge innovation.

We’re giving you the chance to get to know our staff a little better and learn about what motivates them in their roles, who inspires them and what they like to get up to outside of IGHI.

Meet Lily Roberts, a teaching fellow at the NHS Digital Academy. Learn more about her role and how Lily supports the next generation of digital leaders in health.

What’s it like to… be a cancer surgeon?

By Mr Daniel Leff, Consultant in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Reader in Breast Surgery at Imperial College London

I became curious about surgery as a speciality in my final year of medical school training at Imperial. In my early post-graduate years, I finally decided upon a career in surgery when I witnessed the direct impact it had on improving patient outcomes. I relished the technical challenge of balancing the cancer surgery on one hand, with the need for high-quality aesthetic outcomes on the other.

Celebrating IGHI’s women

IGHI is fortunate to have so many inspiring women who play an important part in shaping our work. Not only have they influenced our legacy since the launch of the Institute in 2010, they’re also leading the way forward in delivering our latest innovative research.

For Women at Imperial Week, and with International Women’s Day around the corner, we’re highlighting 10 women in different roles across IGHI. We spoke to them to find out a bit more about what motivates them, and the future they’d like to see for women in the workplace.

How birdsong is helping raise awareness of hearing health

Nobody should have their quality of life limited by hearing loss. But if your hearing started to deteriorate, would you know?

Hearing loss can remain undetected and untreated for a long time. But if identified early and treated effectively, those with hearing loss can continue to communicate with the world around them and have meaningful experiences in all aspects of their life. This is one of the major messages that this year’s World Hearing Day is focused on, under the theme “hearing for life”.

Empowering stroke survivors in their own recovery

It was Christmas time three years ago when Amy experienced a stroke. Amy was enjoying her retirement, having spent her career working in publishing. But the stroke took away her independence, paralysing her left arm such that she needed full-time care. This isn’t an uncommon outcome: some 80% of people experience difficulty using their arms after a stroke.

Amy spent the next four months in hospital, the beginning of a long road to recovery.

“The rehabilitation I received in hospital mainly focused on walking, but it was my hand that I really needed help with,” she says.

“And I wasn’t told that if I didn’t use my hand that I would lose function of it.”

Waking up to sleep in secure mental health services

On a basic level, all humans really need to survive is air, water, food and sleep. We need to sleep every night to give our body important R&R, among many other things. And research has shown how getting a good night’s sleep is crucial for our mental health and wellbeing.

When we sleep well, we’re more likely to have greater concentration, be in a better mood and get things done. In contrast, when we don’t, we can really see and feel the opposite effect. While we all have a poor night’s sleep from time to time, we know that people in prison and forensic mental health hospitals in the UK struggle more than most.

IGHI people: Meet Marianne Knight, Director of Operations, Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery

IGHI is home to a team of staff who are skilled and passionate about their roles. Our talented people are the reason we’re able to tackle some of the most pressing global health challenges through cutting-edge innovation.

To mark our 10th anniversary this year, we’re giving you the chance to get to know some of them a little better and learn about what motivates them in their roles, who inspires them and what they like to get up to outside of IGHI.

Meet Marianne Knight, the Director of Operations for our Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery. Learn more about her role in helping run the day-to-day activities of the Centre.

It’s time to talk about mental health

It’s estimated that one in four adults will experience a mental health problem in any given year. Despite this, there remains a stigma attached to opening up and speaking about our mental wellbeing.

Today, we’re marking Time to Talk Day, encouraging us all to have a conversation about how we’re feeling. We asked four experts at IGHI about their experiences, insights and advice on speaking up about mental health.