Tag: Public health

A new era for gut science begins at Imperial

A new national centre is set to change how we study the human gut. Dr Tamas Korcsmaros, Associate Professor in Intestinal Epithelial Systems, and Dr Lejla Gul, Research Fellow in Host-microbe interactions, introduce the Centre for Intestinal Systems (CIS), a hub dedicated to advancing human-relevant gut research. They explore why the gut matters, how new technologies are reshaping the field, and how CIS aims to connect researchers and innovators to improve patient outcomes.

Imperial  has officially launched the Centre for Intestinal Systems (CIS), an interdisciplinary research hub focused on understanding the human gut and microbiome, and how they influence health and disease.

The Centre was launched on 12 January at Imperial’s White City Campus, with a full-day event bringing together nearly 150 researchers, clinicians, industry partners and funders. The mix of backgrounds and expertise reflected the ambition behind CIS: to connect those working on the gut biology and technology, and to accelerate research that is truly relevant to patients.

(more…)

Wishing for lifelong health for every child

Professor Sejal Saglani

This festive period, Three Wise Women from the Faculty of Medicine give us the gift of wisdom.

Professor Sejal Saglani, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine in the National Heart and Lung Institute and Director of Imperial’s Centre for Paediatrics and Child Health (PaeCH), shines a light on the pressing need to transform how we understand and manage childhood asthma. She discusses why the youngest children face the greatest challenges, how early-life illness shapes long-term health, and the critical role of research and advocacy in addressing inequalities that begin from birth. Her blog is a call to action: if we are to secure lifelong health, we must begin with the earliest years.

Asthma is the most common long-term condition affecting children of all ages worldwide. In the UK, around 10% of children live with asthma – meaning at least two or three children in every classroom. Among these, those under the age of five face the greatest challenges: they experience the most acute attacks, have the highest number of hospital admissions, and account for 75% of all emergency department visits for childhood asthma. Despite this significant burden, the rate of attacks and hospitalisations have remained unchanged for over 20 years.

This time of year brings the issue into sharp focus. Most admissions occur during the autumn and winter months. Parents and families live in a constant state of vigilance, never knowing whether the next runny nose will simply be a cold or will escalate into yet another visit to hospital with wheezing and breathlessness.

(more…)

My journey into addiction research and psychiatry

Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes

This festive period, Three Wise Women from the Faculty of Medicine give us the gift of wisdom.

Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes, Professor of Addiction Biology and previously Head of Division of Psychiatry in the Department of Brain Sciences, reflects on the journey that led her to become one of the UK’s leading experts in addiction psychiatry. From early uncertainty about medicine to pivotal moments in research labs in Cambridge and the US, she describes how scientific curiosity – and a fascination with how alcohol and drugs affect the brain – shaped a career dedicated to understanding and treating addiction.

Brought up in the countryside outside Shrewsbury, I was always interested in science and loved doing school projects. I wasn’t seen as particularly clever at school and was even advised that I didn’t need a “career” – just a job until I got married!

The only interesting university course covering “human biology” was medicine. Although I wasn’t sure about becoming a doctor, I applied. My father, a lawyer who had been to Oxford like his own father, wanted me to go there too, but my school was not exactly encouraging. I applied anyway and failed.

(more…)

Weight, hormones and health: Rethinking research for women and older adults

Dr Chioma Izzi-Engbeaya

This festive period, Three Wise Women from the Faculty of Medicine give us the gift of wisdom.

Dr Chioma Izzi-Engbeaya, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction and Consultant Endocrinologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, explores how decades of research into obesity and metabolic health are beginning to translate into better care for women and older adults – from fertility and menopause to cancer and liver disease. But as she explains, the work is far from over: true progress means making sure no group is left behind.

We live in exciting times. Decades of scientific and clinical research have deepened our understanding of the factors driving metabolic conditions such as obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, also known as ‘fatty liver disease’). 

Alongside this progress, we’ve seen a rapid rise in treatment options for metabolic conditions, with a variety of ever-increasing options on the horizon. However, significant challenges remain. Access to effective treatments is still limited for many people, and there are gaps in the evidence needed to guide how best to manage specific groups of patients. 

(more…)

Collaborating across borders to tackle HTLV-1 in Africa


HTLV-1 is a little known but serious virus that can cause life-threatening illnesses, including blood cancer and neurological disease. In many African countries, there is still a lack of research and policies to address it. Dr Carolina Rosadas, Research Fellow in Imperial’s Department of Infectious Disease, writes about bringing together scientists, health officials, policymakers, and community representatives from 18 countries for a groundbreaking workshop in Rwanda – sparking new collaborations, research networks, and strategies to combat this overlooked infection.

Based in the Department of Infectious Disease, I am a Research Fellow focusing on HTLV-1 – an understudied infection that disproportionately impacts underserved communities, particularly in Africa. HTLV-1 can cause severe and often fatal conditions, including blood cancer and neurological disease. There is no treatment for this life-long infection, but prevention is possible.

Despite recent global advances and the formal recognition of HTLV as a priority by the World Health Organization (WHO), many countries in Africa still lack sufficient data and policies to address it. My project aimed to promote local research and help translate knowledge into policy by encouraging multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder engagement.

(more…)

Inspiring tomorrow’s medics at PCSM’s Outreach Day

Dr Mohammed Sabbir Islam and Lord Professor Robert Winston

At a recent Outreach Day hosted by the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine (PCSM) and HelloFutures, Clinical Teaching Fellow Dr Mohammed Sabbir Islam helped local students explore life as a medic—from diagnosing real NHS cases to learning from none other than Lord Robert Winston. In this blog, Dr Islam reflects on a day of sparking ambition, breaking down barriers, and planting seeds for future careers in healthcare.  

The Pears Cumbria School of Medicine (PCSM) recently had the privilege of welcoming local year eight students for a unique outreach day at the University of Cumbria Fusehill Street campus, linked with HelloFutures.  

I am someone who has directly benefited from outreach projects during my journey into medicine and it was a real pleasure to speak, as a young doctor, to kids with whom I identified. 

(more…)

Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures: How neonatal research is shaping lifelong health

Dr Cheryl Battersby

Dr Cheryl Battersby, Clinical Senior Lecturer in the School of Public Health and theme lead for Neonatal Medicine at Imperial’s Centre for Paediatrics and Child Health (PaeCH), shares how neonatal research is helping to shape lifelong health outcomes for the most vulnerable babies. From harnessing the power of national data to leading pioneering research programmes, Cheryl and her colleagues are working to ensure that every baby – no matter how early or unwell they are born – has the best possible start in life.

We believe that every child deserves the best start in life, and we know from decades of research and clinical care that the health of a baby in the first days and weeks after birth can shape their entire future.

In the UK alone, around 90,000 babies each year are admitted to neonatal units. Some are born too soon. Others arrive on time but need urgent medical care. These fragile early moments matter. They are the beginning of a lifelong journey.

At Imperial College London, our Neonatal Medicine Research Group is one of the largest academic neonatal centres in the UK. We’re a dynamic team of neonatologists (doctors who specialise in the care of newborn infants), neonatal nurses, statisticians, data scientists, and public involvement experts – working together to transform care for the smallest, sickest newborns.

(more…)

Supporting the safe and meaningful involvement of women experiencing homelessness in research

Imperial’s Institute of Global Health Innovation is collaborating with the Marylebone Project and Central London Healthcare on a pioneering project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This 18-month initiative focuses on supporting the safe and meaningful involvement of women experiencing homelessness in research. By prioritizing trauma-informed, psychologically supportive practices, the project seeks to improve research methods, ensure participant safety, and empower women to share their experiences. This approach aims to enhance healthcare for this vulnerable group while driving positive change in research and policy.
Members of the research team from IGHI and the Marylebone Project having lunch

Imperial’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) is collaborating with the Marylebone Project and Central London Healthcare on a pioneering project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This 18-month initiative focuses on supporting the safe and meaningful involvement of women experiencing homelessness in research. The project seeks to improve research methods, ensure participant safety, and empower women to share their experiences.

IGHI recently received funding from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) for an 18-month project in partnership with the Marylebone Project and Central London Healthcare which focuses on supporting the safe and meaningful involvement of women experiencing homelessness in research.

People experiencing homelessness have shorter life expectancies, poorer physical and mental health, and less access to healthcare than the general population. For women experiencing homelessness, the average age of death is 43 – two years younger than men and nearly half the life expectancy of women in the general population. Many homeless women are survivors of abuse, and more research is needed to provide specialised, female-led support for this group in safe, trauma-informed spaces.

(more…)

Call for vigilance after fertility treatment

Dr Srdjan Saso

Fertility treatments like IVF help thousands of women achieve their dream of motherhood each year, but what are the long-term health implications? Dr Srdjan Saso, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction and Consultant Gynaecologist and Gynaecological Cancer Surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, explores what the data reveals, and how clinics can improve long-term health monitoring.

As a gynaecological cancer surgeon, I see many women diagnosed with cancers who I know are also concerned about protecting their fertility. Societal pressures, evolving gender roles, financial insecurities, but most importantly, in my opinion, a declining cultural emphasis of motherhood are leading to delayed childbearing and lower fertility rates.

Fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), help many thousands of women conceive every year. With colleagues from Imperial and KU Leuven, I set out on a collaborative research project to explore an important question: could undergoing fertility treatment influence the risk of developing certain gynaecological cancers?

(more…)

Fleming’s Final Flourish

Professor John Tregoning, Professor of Vaccine Immunology in the Department of Infectious Disease, explores the legacy of Sir Alexander Fleming and the urgent fight against antimicrobial resistance. From the historic discovery of penicillin at St Mary’s Medical School to the ambitious Fleming Initiative, Professor Tregoning discusses how a groundbreaking new centre aims to tackle one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine.

If you were watching the Royal Institution (RI) Christmas Lectures with Dr Chris van Tulleken, you will have seen two plates of food disintegrate into a mushy goo. This was filmed at the St Mary’s Medical School Building in Paddington, London. In fact, it was probably the last ever experiment done in this hallowed building. In some ways it seems appropriate that it involved mould. St Mary’s will always be famous as the site of where Sir Alexander Fleming performed his breakthrough studies. Or as he modestly put it: ‘revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world’s first antibiotic’. 

(more…)