We were thrilled to host more than 150 participants at the Skempton Building for our 2023 North West London (NWL) Research Symposium for NMAHPPs (Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professionals, Healthcare Scientists, Pharmacy Staff, and Psychologists).

Taking place on Wednesday September 27 2023, this event marked a significant milestone as our largest ever NWL Research Symposium – really highlighting the growth and interest in NMAHPP-led research across the area.

The afternoon began with delegates being offered a choice of three engaging workshops:

1. The path to doing a clinical trial - Presented by Dr Shawn Walker
2. The successful ingredients to leading, developing, and maintaining research networks - Presented by Dr Susanne Cruickshank and Helen Pearson
3. Embedding and using research in clinical practice (starting guide) – Presented by Prof Natalie Pattison

All of these workshops were well-attended and received positive reviews. Slides from all workshops and sessions can be found at the bottom of this article.

During breaks and lunchtime, attendees had the opportunity to engage with exhibitors from the research community and explore almost 50 research posters that were submitted for the event – again this was the highest number of posters we have received to date and further highlights the breadth and depth of NMAHPP research across NWL. During the break, participants also had the chance to cast their votes for the 'People's Choice Poster' award.

After the break, Professor Alison Metcalfe, our keynote speaker, delivered an engaging and insightful presentation that captivated the audience, highlighting the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship and how clinical academic roles can create the culture for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Following Professor Metcalfe’s inspiring talk, we had the privilege of hearing from Dr Margaret Coffey MBE, who shared her personal research journey as a clinical academic speech and language therapist - serving as a source of inspiration for others aspiring to follow in their footsteps.

The event concluded with research presentations by Jennifer Crow and Rebecca Smith, who emerged as the winners of the abstract competition.

We extend our thanks and congratulations to all the abstract submitters, with special recognition for the following individuals:

• Rebecca Smith – Joint highest scoring abstract
• Jennifer Crow – Joint highest scoring abstract
• Gemma Stanford – Winner of the inclusivity award
• Katie Webb – Joint winner of the People's Choice Poster award
• Carlyle London – Joint winner of the People's Choice Poster award

We’d like to thank everyone who was involved in the day. It was a true celebration of NMAHPP research and certainly contained lots of hope and inspiration for the future.

We hope to see you all again in 2024 (date and location TBC!).

Presentations from the day

1. The path to doing a clinical trial (PDF)- Presented by Dr Shawn Walker
2. The successful ingredients to leading, developing, and maintaining research networks (PDF) - Presented by Dr Susanne Cruickshank and Helen Pearson
3. Embedding and using research in clinical practice - starting guide (PDF) – Presented by Prof Natalie Pattison
4. Clinical Innovation and Entrepreneurship (PDF) - Presented by Professor Alison Metcalfe
5. The journey towards research (PDF) - Presented by Dr Margaret Coffey MBE
6. Implementing a protocol for a feasibility study investigating an early, personalised, follow-up programme of care for people after minor stroke (PDF) - Presented by Jennifer Crow
7. A randomised feasibility trial exploring management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in acute traumatic brain injury (PDF) - Presented by Rebecca Smith

On Thursday 6 July 2023 we held an inaugural event for Radiographers ‘Research Career Opportunities for Radiographers’.

We welcomed over 40 diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers from across the AHSC and the wider NWL, to South Kensington for an afternoon of learning, engaging and networking.

Sessions at the event included:

Personal stories from research-active clinicians

• Dr Helen McNair - Lead Research Radiographer & HEE/NIHR Senior Clinical Lecturer, RMH
• Kelly Wade Mcbane - HEE/NIHR Pre-doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellow, ICHT
• Sophie Alexander - Radiotherapy Research Superintendent Radiographer, RMH

Preparing for your research journey

• Prof Caroline Alexander - Lead Clinical Academic for Allied Health Professions, ICHT

Current hot topics in radiology research across the AHSC and where radiographers can get involved

• Dr Julia Murray - Consultant Clinical Oncologist, RMH
• Prof Declan O’Regan - MRC Investigator and Consultant Radiologist, ICL

A national overview of current radiography research

• Dr Helen McNair- Lead Research Radiographer & HEE/NIHR Senior Clinical Lecturer, RMH

Attendees also had the chance to join breakout groups to discuss their own research ideas and plans.

The event was timed perfectly with the announcement from the NIHR that the Imperial College AHSC had been awarded funding for three years to set up the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Radiographers Incubator.

All in all the event was an overwhelming success with 100% of attendees rating the event as good or excellent and agreeing that the event piqued their interest in a research career.

To find out more about future courses and opportunities for Radiographers through CATO or the NIHR incubator, please sign up to our mailing list: CATO@imperial.ac.uk

The CATO Research Symposium was finally back in-person! The event took place at W12 Conferences Centre on Tuesday 27 June and was very well attended with over 50 delegates including Doctors and NMAHPPs (Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professionals, Healthcare Scientists, Pharmacy Staff and Psychologists) from a range of different clinical academic pathways. The event kicked off with oral presentations, chosen from the best of the abstracts submitted and we heard from:

• Jacob King (Academic Clinical Fellow): Severe COVID anxiety among adults in the United Kingdom: cohort study and nested feasibility trial of adapted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Health Anxiety
• Tim Lindsay (Academic Clinical Fellow): Incidence and Trends in Workplace Violence within Emergency Departments in the United Kingdom 2017-2022: An observational time series analysis
• Justine Dempsey (Healthcare Professional, clinical academic): Delayed Symptoms post negative oral food challenges to Nuts and Seeds in Children
• Mark Sweeney (Clinical Research Training Fellow): Unexpected acute negatively inotropic and proinflammatory effects of interleukin-11 on the myocardium
• Arunashis Sau (Clinical Research Training Fellow): Neural network-derived electrocardiographic features have prognostic significance and important phenotypic and genotypic associations
• Edouard Mills (Clinical Lecturer): Kisspeptin Enhances Penile Tumescence and Sexual Brain Processing in Men with Low Sexual Desire
• Emma Rose McGlone (Clinical Lecturer): Sleeve gastrectomy causes weight-loss independent improvements in hepatic steatosis

We were thrilled to have Prof Adnan Custovic as our keynote speaker. Prof Custovic, a distinguished figure in the field of Paediatric Allergy at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, delivered a captivating talk that took us on a remarkable journey through his research in (paediatric) asthma and allergy. His expertise and insights left the audience inspired and enlightened.

Finally, attendees had the choice to attend one of two fantastic workshops; one with Prof Wisia Wedzicha exploring what editors of journals are looking for in papers submitted and top tips for writing high-quality papers; and one with Prof Alison Metcalfe on top tips for writing winning grants including where to look for funding and how to set realistic timelines.

We have included the presentation materials below from the workshops and Broadening Participation in Research presentation.

Broadening Participation in Research - Prof Jeremy Levy

Getting papers published: what do Editors really want by Prof Wisia Wedzicha’

Writing better grant/fellowship applications by Prof Alison Metcalfe

Feedback from the event has been very positive with 100% of delegates rating the event as excellent or good. Key comments included:

‘All the presenters were very knowledgeable and passionate about their topic’

'Excellent organisation and I particularly liked the masterclasses’

‘Really engaging and a diverse range of interesting topics’

Prof Levy and the CATO team hosted a “new” informative panel event Creating a research path from an NHS consultant post on 19 April 2023. Targeted at NHS Trusts Consultants not in academic posts or fellowships, the session aimed to inspire and suggest ways to develop a research path starting from an NHS Consultant post, as opposed to a formal research fellowship.

The guest panel below comprised of internationally recognised senior colleagues who are now leaders in their fields - achieving notable academic success having started out as 100% NHS Consultants from varying routes.

• Prof Gina Brown, Chair in Gastrointestinal Radiology, Professor of Gastrointestinal Cancer Imaging
• Prof Nick Oliver, Wynn Professor of Human Metabolism and Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology
• Prof Mark Wilson, Clinical Professor specialising in Brain Injury and Consultant Neurosurgeon
• Dr Candice Roufosse, Clinical Reader in Renal Pathology, Consultant Renal and Transplant Pathologist

On the day our panel was joined by 30+ Consultants from various clinical specialities across all Imperial College AHSC organisations. The attendees appreciated hearing about our guest speakers’ varied and impressive research achievements and learning about the realities and rewards of navigating alternative routes into research careers.

You can catch up with what was covered by watching the recording of the session online.

On Monday 13 March 2023, Prof Levy and the CATO team were delighted to host a ‘special’ Masterclass on the topic of Broadening participation in clinical research (a South African perspective).

Our special guest speaker was Professor Priscilla Reddy, a visiting Professor to Imperial College, who shared her personal experience of broadening participation in research and the challenges faced by clinical academics in South Africa.

Prof Reddy’s presentation covered fascinating topics including the decolonisation and transformation of health research post-apartheid and the significant work involved in moving data and evidence into policy and legislation. The talk also included reflections on Prof Reddy’s own research experiences / case studies, innovative ways of enhancing participation in research and in influencing the national research agenda in South Africa.

A notable 50+ colleagues, coming from various clinical professions across all Imperial College AHSC organisations, joined the Masterclass to hear our guest speaker talk on this topic.

You can catch up with what was covered by watching the recording of the session online.

Big data is a term we are used to using. It can encompass everything from genomic data and single cell RNA analysis right the way through to population data from GP surgeries, public health records and hospitals.

The aim of this masterclass was to share approaches to big data analysis and to learn the pitfalls and approaches for success, with help from two fantastic keynote speakers.

To open the session, we were delighted to have Professor Alex Bottle, Professor of Medical Statistics. Alex spoke to us about his work using - CPRD (Clinical Practice Research Datalink) and WSIC (Whole Systems Integrated Care).

We then heard Dr Melanie Chan, currently a Renal Specialist Registrar at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, but who recently completed a very successful Kidney Research UK Doctoral fellowship using computational biology in rare kidney disorders, having never before undertaken any sort of complex statistics or handling of large data sets when she started her PhD as a renal registrar. She spoke to the challenges and tips for success as a clinician starting out tackling such problems, and again handling large data sets (in her case genome wide data in almost 24,000 people).

An impressive 100+ colleagues, coming from various clinical professions across all Imperial College AHSC organisations, joined the Masterclass to hear our presenters talk on this topic.

You can catch up with what was covered by watching the recording of the session online.

On Monday 14 November 2022, we held our brand-new CATO in person panel event ‘Making a clinical academic career work’, aimed at CLs (clinical lecturers), other post-doc clinical fellows and final year clinical PhD fellows who have a strong desire to continue their academic career.

We welcomed over 20 attendees to the Translation & Innovation Hub (I-HUB) White City Campus for an afternoon of career exploration and networking.

The panel comprised of;

• Prof Jeremy Levy (chair), Director of Imperial CATO
• Prof Anthony Gordon, Chair in Anaesthesia and Critical Care
• Prof Edwin Chilvers, Head of the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI)
• Prof Gina Brown, Chair in Gastrointestinal Radiology
• Prof Gary Frost, Chair in Nutrition & Dietetics
• Prof Shiranee Sriskandan, Professor of Infectious Diseases

The session introduced the attendees to some of the most senior Imperial colleagues who have developed highly successful clinical academic careers. The attendees asked insightful questions and learned from the panel’s experiences. Overall, the event was a great success with attendees agreeing that they were glad they attended the session and great to have face to face networking.

We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the attendees. Some key comments included:

“I really like the approachability and honesty from the panel members. I learnt that resilience is key and to have an interesting question”.

“The breadth of the panel was incredible”.

“The most valuable takeaway for me were to make connections, look widely for support and find mentor/s”.

“I learnt about alternative funding options for clinicians.”

“What I like the most about the event – face to face, very human experiences and practical advice”.

On Friday 1 July 2022 Prof Laki Buluwela provided an informative session on “Following the Imperial College PhD timeline” which was well received by approx. 30 Clinical PhD/MD(Res) Fellows across the Imperial College AHSC.

The next session specifically for Clinical PhD/MD(Res) fellows will take place in the Autumn term, more information will be available closer to the time. Details will be distributed by your research degree managers and other Imperial AHSC Colleagues*.

* Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals (Affiliate)