Professor Mona Nasser introducing attendees to the conference on Building a Rich Research Environment July 2024
With increasing demand and fewer resources, hospitals are under increasing pressure but there are also promising and exciting new opportunities to improve clinical outcomes through the use of research and evidence and the development of new innovations and technologies. Critical to this will be support for clinician-led research and the development of strong, sustainable and trusting research collaborations between hospitals and universities. 
 

Keynote talks

The event began with a keynote talk from Helen Dent, CEO of the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA) who spoke about research BIVDA had commissioned on how partnership models involving the NHS, academia and the commercial sector, can facilitate improved patient access in genomics. The presentation not only highlighted both the key enablers of partnership working but also included recommendations for policy development. 
A commercial keynote talk was delivered virtually by Martin Matthews from DM Orthotics who is also an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Plymouth whose presentation was entitled "From embryo to grown up – the development of dynamic scoliosis orthotics". 
Helen Dent (CEO of the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association) delivery the keynote address at the PIHR Joint University and Hospital research conference in July 2024
Helen Dent (CEO of the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association) delivering the keynote address.
 

Morning talks

The focus for the morning of the conference was on research around new advances in medical devices and medical imaging. Professor Elsa Fouragnan led the presentations after the mid-morning break and spoke about her pioneering work on Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation (TUS). TUS is a non-invasive neuromodulatory technique that uses focused ultrasound waves to target and influence specific areas of the brain. By temporarily enhancing or inhibiting neural activity, it has the potential for treating conditions like depression and chronic pain, as well as improving cognitive functions. 
The first of the speakers form University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust was Dr Peter Wright who is Director of Science and Healthcare Technologies at the hospital. Peter's presentation focused on the use of software as a medical device including its use in wearables, implantable devices and virtual wards. He drew on both local examples as well as those from other areas like the Sheffield 3D Lab and the use of scientific computing in Southampton. The talk also set out the potential opportunities to support academic and clinical groups to make use of the huge imaging dataset available in the South West Peninsula. 
Elsa Fouragnan speaking about Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation at the PIHR Joint Hospital/ University research conference in July 2024
Elsa Fouragnan speaking about Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation.
Dr Peter Wright speaking about Scientific computing and Software as a Medical Device at the PIHR joint Hospital/ University research conference in July 2024
Dr Peter Wright speaking about scientific computing and software as a medical device.
Other presenters included Dr Krithika Anil , Research Fellow in the University's School of Health Professions, who spoke about the use of electroencephalography in Parkinson's disease. 
Dr Om Prakash Singh , Lecturer in Digital Health in the University's Centre for Health Technology , spoke about the use of wearable sensors for addressing heart disease.
Dr Mark Thurston (Consultant Radiologist, University Hospitals Plymouth) and Dr Stephen Mullin (Associate Professor, University of Plymouth) delivered individual presentations both relating to research they had been collaborating on through SustAIn Southwest, a multidisciplinary research group focussed on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. 
Dr Krithika Anil delivering her presentation on controlling machines with your mind at the PIHR joint Hospital/University conference on 4th July 2024
Dr Krithika Anil delivering her presentation on controlling machines with your mind.

 

Afternoon talks

Following a networking lunch, there was a talk from Dr Ellie Edlmann (Associate Professor in Neurosurgery at the University and Consultant Neurosurgeon at the Hospital) on how the changing demographics of head injury patients has impacted on clinical research in the field. 
While it can be very rewarding, undertaking research does present a number of challenges to clinicians, who have to balance this with their day job. Dr Lucy Leeman , Consultant Clinical Immunologist at the Hospital, gave a presentation on her own research journey and highlighted the key lessons she had learned. 
Following this theme, the afternoon also featured presentations about potential support services available to researchers at both the University and Hospital including one from Dr David Mozley , on producing and safeguarding intellectual property and Dr Karen Piper on the new  Joint Clinical Research Office (JCRO)  – which has been set-up to support clinical research involving both institutions. 
The conference concluded with two talks. One from Stewart Brown (Cardiology Registrar at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton and PhD student at the University of Plymouth) was about a collaboration between the University, the NHS and industry around using implantable cardioverter defibrillators to predict adverse events amongst patients. 
The final presentation was led by Kofi (James) Ackah (ST5 Thoracic Surgery, University Hospitals Plymouth) and Adrian Marchbank (Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Caldicott Guardian, University Hospitals Plymouth). Their talk described their work on lung cancer resection and especially the role of the Da Vinci surgical robot in improving the accuracy of lung segmentectomies (where the piece of the lung containing the cancer is removed) and so increasing survival rates. 
Delegates networking at the PIHR Joint Hospital University Conference July 2024
Attendees at the 2024 Joint Research Conference

Poster presentations

Throughout the day and especially during the afternoon break, delegates were encouraged to look at the poster presentations which had been submitted to the conference as part of a poster competition. These posters showcased a range of research projects delivered by both university and hospital staff, often in collaboration.
Those with a sweet tooth were also treated to a stall run by the University's Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit (PenCTU) and Medical Statistics teams which simulated a clinical trial process using chocolate tasting! 
Delegates looking at the posters for the PIHR Joint Hospital University Research Conference 2024

Our research

Find out more about research at the University of Plymouth.

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Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research (PIHR)
Discovering the causes of disease, through to evaluating novel ways of delivering care, our community conducts world-leading research.

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Joint Clinical Research Office (JCRO)
The Plymouth JCRO supports clinical research involving both the University of Plymouth and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust.

Clinical trials

Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit (PenCTU)
Clinical, methodological and trial management expertise to design, set-up, conduct, analyse and publish clinical trials.