Joint Research Office

Research Design Service (RDS) London will be holding the next Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) research design clinic on Wednesday 27 June 2012.

The clinic is three months before the deadline for RfPB competition 19 to allow experienced RDS advisors to review proposed studies early on and advise on how to make a successful submission.

The clinic, which is from 11am to 3pm at the Wellcome Collection, Euston Road, is specifically for researchers submitting to the RfPB programme. The clinic is free of charge and open to staff in universities and NHS organisations across London. Appointments can be booked online

In order to book an appointment, researchers will need to provide as much information about their project as possible, such as a working title and outline of the study design. If researchers cannot provide enough information one week before the clinic, it will not be possible to book an appointment but they can drop-in on the day.

Appointments last up to 30 minutes and advisors will give advice on whether the study is in scope of the RfPB programme and feedback on its design.

After the initial consultation researchers may need further time with an advisor or one of the specialists in the RDS London team and the service is happy to arrange this.

Researchers planning to submit to another NIHR programme or other funding stream can still access support from RDS London but will need fill out an online support request form.

To book an appointment online click here

UCLH/UCL clinicians and researchers have been celebrating the first output from the new PET MRI scanner – the first of its kind in the UK.

A photography exhibition commissioned by the Joint Research Office has opened featuring 5 clinical researchers and their patients.

The next Leading Light lecture on nurse and midwife led research will be looking at blending a research and practice career.

The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University College London is recruiting 4 new programme operations managers.

North Thames Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease Research Network (DeNDRoN ) is expanding its training programme for 2012/13 with the help of CEL CLRN funding for workforce development.

The programme, which includes multiple dates for courses, begins with Advanced Essential Skills for Research Nurses on 28 May 2012.

Other courses this year include: Understanding Essential Documents (18 June), Good Clinical Practice (10 July) and Informed Consent (12 September).

Training is free of charge for research staff working on DeNDRoN portfolio studies and the network will gradually be expanding its catchment to include other networks. So researchers are welcome to pass this information people in other networks who might be interested.

Procedure for booking is slightly different from previous years. For more information contact (ntdendron.admin@candi.nhs.uk)

UCLH has been awarded a total of £4.2m for to be spent on NHS service support costs in research over the next year.

A review of NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research is now available on the NIHR website.

Researchers are also reminded that the next programme grants competition opens on 11 June 2012. Programme Grants for Applied Research is also taking part in the current NIHR call for Applied Research in Surgery. This call closes on 25 May 2012.

Programme Grants for Applied Research: six competitions, 100 awards provides an overview of the programme and the application process and reviews the outcomes of the first six Programme Grant competitions. The review also contains case studies from eight researchers, who have been awarded Programme Grants across a broad range of health research, including dementia, children's medicines, diabetes and trauma.

Since Programme Grants for Applied Research was launched in 2006, over 120 Programme Grant awards and more than 20 Programme Development Grants have been awarded. Some of the research funded most recently includes the development of a structured screening programme and lifestyle intervention for the prevention of Type 2 diabetes in populations with learning difficulties, and an evaluation of community occupational therapy in dementia patients.

To download your copy of Programme Grants for Applied Research: six competitions, 100 awards, please click here.

The NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research (HS&DR) programme is now accepting applications to its researcher-led workstream. Closing date for applications is 19 July 2012.

Professor Monty Mythen last week joined a panel of experts including the Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies to discuss the role of commercial trials in the NHS.