| New Fellows elected to the Academy
40 of the United Kingdom’s leading medical researchers
have been recognised for excellence in medical science with their
election to the Academy Fellowship. These distinguished scientists
bring the total Fellowship to 983. We offer the new Fellows our
warmest congratulations on their election and welcome them to the
Academy.
Details of these
new Fellows can be viewed on the Academy website
where you can also download nomination
forms for the 2011 election.
The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at
a ceremony on Tuesday
22 June 2010. We hope you will support
the Academy and our new Fellows at this important event and look
forward to seeing you there.
View programme
Download attendance reply form
Jean Shanks Lecture
The Admission day will also include
the Jean Shanks Lecture 2010 – ‘Genetic
fingerprinting and beyond’, to
be given by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys FRS FMedSci. The Lecture
starts at 17.30 and will be followed by a drinks reception at
18.30.
A
flyer for the lecture is available. Please do forward this
information to interested colleagues.
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The new Fellows elected in 2009 |
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| Developments at 41 Portland Place
Work onsite at 41 Portland Place is going well. The old lift
has been removed from the well of the main staircase and a
new shaft has been erected in a more convenient location where
there is space to accommodate all access requirements. A new
exhibition area has been created on the ground floor in a beautiful
Georgian room, previously hidden behind the partition walls
of multiple WCs. The installation of new services throughout
the building is almost complete and work has begun on the office
suites to provide new facilities and work areas for the Academy.
To date we are delighted to have raised £4.6million
of our £5million target and we are extremely grateful
to everyone who has donated to the appeal, particularly our
Fellows who have together contributed over £300,000 to
date.
View
a list of everyone who has donated. We have also received
contributions to the appeal from a number of anonymous donors.
If you have made a donation and your name is not included
in the list please contact us so that we can thank you publicly.
We have still not reached our
fundraising target and we are now working hard to raise
the remaining £400,000 over the last 20 weeks
of construction works onsite. |
If all Fellows donate £1,000 to the appeal we will
reach our goal. Fellows who donate £1,000 will be recognised
on the permanent appeal board that will hang in the reception
at 41 Portland Place.
If you have not yet given we ask you to consider two options:
Option A - £1,000
A donation of £250 per year for 4 years, to give a total
of £1,000.
With a donation of £1,000 your name will be listed
on the appeal board in our new headquarters.
Option B - £500
A donation of £125 per year for 4 years, to give a total
of £500. All donors will be listed in a commemorative
publication.
View
information on how to make a donation online, by cheque or
bank transfer.
We are immensely grateful for the generosity of all our Fellows
and thank you for all your support.
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| Academy to conduct review of
medical research regulation
On 25 March 2010, the Health Secretary Rt Hon Andy Burnham
MP announced a commission for the Academy to conduct an independent
review of the regulation and governance of medical research,
with a focus on clinical trials. This commission was in response
to the recommendation in our report ‘Reaping
the rewards: a vision for UK medical sciences’, that
the UK should lead the world in creating a proportionate, risk-based
regulatory framework for medical research involving humans
that is fit for purpose and informed by an independent review
of existing regulations.
The study will be undertaken by a working group, chaired by
Sir Michael Rawlins FMedSci. The other members of the working
group will be announced shortly. The working group will:
- Review the regulatory and governance environment for medical
research in the UK. (In addition to the focus on all stages
of clinical trials, experimental medicine and epidemiological
studies will be considered).
- Identify key problems and their causes, including unnecessary
process steps, delays, barriers, costs, complexity, reporting
requirements and data collection.
- Make recommendations with respect to the regulatory and
governance framework that will: increase the speed of decision-making;
reduce complexity; and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy
and cost.
- Ensure the protection of the safety of participants, as
well as the need for appropriate arrangements for governance
and accountability.
A
call for evidence to inform the study was launched on
20 April 2010 with a closing date of 1 June 2010. We are
seeking input from all organisations and individuals with
an involvement or interest in the regulatory and governance
framework around medical research. We would be grateful if
the Fellowship would consider responding to this call for
evidence and disseminate it as widely as possible.
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| Academy’s public dialogue
welcomed
The Academy has chosen a consortium led by Ipsos-MORI,
and including the public engagement specialists Dialogue
by Design and the British
Science Association, to design and deliver a programme
of public dialogue on the use of animals containing human material
in medical research. A series of deliberative public workshops
and focus groups will take place in Newcastle and London in
May and June.
The dialogue will feed into the Academy’s current study,
enabling the working group to hear and consider public hopes
and concerns, alongside the views of scientists and other stakeholders
received through the study’s call for evidence.
In response to the announcement of the contract a spokesperson
from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills said, ‘These
animals can play a key role in advancing new therapies for
currently incurable diseases. But dialogue is vital for increasing
our understanding of the public’s hopes and concerns
about new technologies. I particularly welcome the consortium
approach at the heart of this project. By bringing together
world-renowned research expertise with experienced dialogue
practitioners and science communication professionals, the
public has a real opportunity to make their voices heard and
help shape future policy.’
A Department of Health Spokesperson said, ‘It is
essential that there is dialogue with the public on this
important area of work. It can be an emotive area of research
but one that holds the potential to bring huge advances for
healthcare in the future. We have a long term commitment
to research and are confident that the Academy's report will
benefit greatly from this.’
Sarah Castell, Head of Qualitative Methods, Ipsos MORI said, 'I
am delighted that the Academy has chosen us carry out public
dialogue on this important area. We believe that this is
the right methodology to give the Academy a really thoughtful
and rounded view of public attitudes to this complex topic.
We're looking forward to working with the public, as they
navigate through the scientific evidence, meet with scientists
and other experts, and explore different perspectives.’
The Academy’s study is chaired by Professor Martin Bobrow
CBE FRS FMedSci, and supported by the Wellcome
Trust, Medical
Research Council and Department
of Health for England.
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| Gulf growing between teaching
and research in UK universities
The Academy’s latest report ‘Redressing
the balance: the status and valuation of teaching in academic
careers’ highlights an urgent need to redress the
balance between teaching and research in our Higher Education
Institutions to maintain the UK’s position as a world
leader in biomedical and clinical sciences.
The report launched on 26 March 2010 and was prepared by the
Academy’s Non-clinical Academic Careers Committee, chaired
by Professor Keith Gull CBE FRS FMedSci. The study was initiated
in response to a perceived need to address the diminishing
value and status of teaching within our higher education system.
Although the report focuses on the status of teaching within
biomedical science departments and medical schools, many of
the findings are applicable more broadly across all academic
disciplines.
The report, which has been warmly welcomed by the academic
community, was covered in a number of journals. Professor Keith
Gull FMedSci wrote an article for the New Scientist blog ‘the
S word’, and articles also appeared in Research
Fortnight and The
Lancet.
The Academy will, as usual, work to follow up the report’s
findings. As a first step we are holding a discussion dinner
in early May with key representatives from the Department
of Business, Innovation and Skills, the Higher
Education Funding Council for England, Universities
UK, and Vice-Chancellors from a number of Higher Education
Institutions, to discuss how the report’s recommendations
should be taken forward.
We welcome your comments and thoughts on the report.
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| HFEA data now available for research
The Human
Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) register
is a unique, UK wide record of every fertility treatment
cycle involving in vitro fertilisation (and the use of donated
gametes or embryos in treatment) carried out since 1 August
1991. Thanks to new Regulations, which were made following
the recent revision of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology
(HFE) Act, researchers can now apply to use more of the HFEA’s
information for research purposes.
Identifying information (data of sufficient detail to uniquely
identify a single person) is particularly valuable for research
as, for example, it allows data from different sources to be
linked, creating the combination of information needed to answer
specific research questions. Since October 2009, identifying
information on the HFEA register has been available for research
only with the consent of the person(s) to whom it relates.
For the earliest HFEA records, it is often no longer practicable
for such consent to be obtained.
From 6 April 2010, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology
(Disclosure of Information for Research Purposes) Regulations
2010 set out a process for researchers to apply to use identifying
information where consent to its disclosure cannot be obtained.
Researchers must demonstrate that their research is in the
public interest, or in the interest of improving patient care;
that identifying information is necessary to achieve the research
aims; and that it is not practicable to obtain consent.
Throughout the parliamentary
debate of the HFE Act, and discussions on these resulting
Regulations, the Academy has worked closely with organisations
including the Wellcome
Trust, and Medical
Research Council to advise on scientific and regulatory
issues covered by the legislation. It is hoped that this
new access will enable researchers to make better use of
HFEA data in studying the long-term health implications of
fertility treatments, in turn fulfilling a clinical duty
of care to those involved in treatment of this kind.
Non-identifying information from the register is also available
for research. However, the HFEA will continue its policy not
to disclose data concerning donated gametes or embryos, or
where patient consent has been withheld. People who have undergone
treatment can instruct the HFEA not to disclose their information
via the HFEA website.
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| New UK/Middle East Travel Fellowship
grants awarded
The
Daniel Turnberg UK/Middle East Travel Fellowship Scheme,
launched in 2008, recently awarded a second round of Fellowship
Awards. This distinctive scheme offers short-term fellowships
to early and mid-career clinical academics and biomedical
scientists, providing them with the opportunity to gain additional
research experience, learn new techniques and further develop
their collaborative links.
Following the Selection Panel Meeting held on 9 March 2010,
the Academy is pleased to announce that, out of 32 applications
considered, 21 grants awards were made. The
awardees will each receive up to a maximum of £4,000
to cover travel and subsistence for a period of up to four
weeks.
The awards have been funded by the Daniel Turnberg Memorial
Fund with generous support from the Wellcome
Trust, the Royal
College of Physicians and The
Wolfson Foundation. As part of this second round of awards,
Lord Darzi FMedSci has also secured funding from his department
at Imperial
College, London to support a travel fellowship within the
research field of quality and safety.
This fellowship scheme runs annually. The third round of awards
will open for applications in November 2010.
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| Successful intern scheme at Academy
opens for new applications
Following the successful launch of the Academy
of Medical Sciences’ and Wellcome Trust policy internship
scheme in March 2009 we are pleased to open a new round
of applications. Feedback from our first two interns has
been overwhelmingly positive. Dr Sarah Gibb, who recently
completed her PhD at the University of Dundee said: ‘The
internship was one of the best experiences linked to my PhD.
This is such a unique opportunity, I would encourage all
PhD students to apply for these limited positions.’
During their time at the Academy our interns had the opportunity
to work on high level policy projects, such as a Department
of Health consultation on encouraging innovation in the NHS
and the Academy’s statement on climate change mitigation
and health. The scheme also allowed our interns to engage with
senior medical scientists and policymakers. Stephen Lu, who
is undertaking a PhD at the University of Cambridge, described
the scheme as ‘..a good way to network and meet people.’
Internships will take place at the Academy’s new offices
at 41 Portland Place, London. The scheme is open to students
who will be in their third or fourth year of a Wellcome Trust
Four Year PhD during the placement; or for the three months
immediately following their fourth year. Places are awarded
through a competitive application process. Successful applicants
receive a three-month extension to their Wellcome Trust PhD
stipend while based at the Academy. Financial support for travel
and other expenses of up to £2000 is available on a case-by-case
basis for students who normally live outside of London.
The deadline for applications is
23 May 2010 and interviews will be conducted on 7 July 2010.
Academy Fellows with eligible PhD students are encouraged
to draw the scheme to their attention.
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Stephen Lu, Academy intern Jan – Mar 2010 |
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| Mentoring and outreach events
One of the Academy’s strategic goals is to develop
the next generation of leading medical researchers. The Academy’s
Mentoring and Outreach Scheme is an innovative way to support
the increasing number of clinical academics across the training
grades. One element of the scheme is our programme of outreach
activities for trainees and medical students.
This rolling programme of regional events brings together
academic trainees, senior academics and other key representatives
from the wider medical science community. These events include
interactive sessions that provide the opportunity to:
• Hear inspirational talks
• Establish effective networks amongst peers and colleagues
• Hear from funders about fellowships and grants
• Understand how to use mentoring
• Learn about policy developments
• Engage in open debate
The Academy’s first outreach event in Northern Ireland,
on 22 March, was extremely successful and attracted over 80
participants. Further events are taking place in Bristol
on Tuesday 11 May and Sheffield
on Wednesday 9 June. Academy Fellows are an invaluable
part of these days, and trainees greatly appreciate the chance
to network with senior academics. As one attendee in Belfast
commented:
‘I am now confident that I would like to pursue a
career in academic medicine and found the advice I received
during the networking session very valuable!’
The event in Sheffield also includes a Mentor
Development Workshop, open to Academy Fellows, Clinician
Scientist Fellows, Clinical Lecturers and other senior academics.
This is a chance to explore the role of a mentor, as well
as discuss the elements that lead to an effective mentoring
relationship.
The Academy is grateful to the National
Institute for Health Research and NHS
Education for Scotland who financially support the scheme.
The Belfast event was funded by Queen’s
University Belfast, the Northern
Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, the HSC
Research and Development Office, Public
Health Agency and the Medical
Research Society.
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| Diabetes & obesity: getting
to the heart of the matter
The Academy and the Royal
Society of Edinburgh (RSE) are holding a joint symposium, Diabetes & obesity:
getting to the heart of the matter, in Edinburgh on Wednesday
26 May 2010. The event will bring together researchers working
at all levels across academia, industry and the health service
to review contemporary findings and consider future developments
in diabetes research. Speakers will cover topics including
epidemiology and genetics, disease mechanisms, novel imaging
approaches, and new therapies, with the focus very much on
horizon-scanning, rather than simply reiterating what is
already well known.
With support from the RSE
Scotland Foundation, the symposium will include leading
scientists such as Professor Stephen O’Rahilly FRS
FMedSci, University of Cambridge (monogenic causes); Professor
Andrew Morris FRSE FMedSci, University of Dundee (societal
change); and Dr Tim Rolph, Pfizer (novel therapies).
Book
a free place at the symposium
Download
programme
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