Dr Mona Nasser

• Clinical Epidemiologist/ Interdisciplinary Researcher
• Associate Professor in Evidence based Dentistry 
• Co-lead REF2020 (Unit of Assessment 3)
• NIHR Integrated Academic Training Lead (Dental School)

Qualifications

Dr Mona Nasser DDS, MSc, PhD, FHEA

I am a clinical epidemiologist and health policy researcher with extensive experience working interdisciplinary. I worked as a methodologist in different disciplines and sectors along with other scientists, members of public, practitioners and policy makers. I have >80 peer-reviewed journals, including leading medical journals - Lancet and BMJ. These papers range from medical history, microbiology to health services research and clinical epidemiology. I am committed to conducting high quality research in collaboration with stakeholders that leads to impact. Some of the impact of my previous research is incorporated in the REF2014 impact case study “Advancing methods for prioritising health research”. I have led or contributed to research grants that total to £3 million pounds.

I have founded or co-founded several international initiatives around the world – The Cochrane priority setting methods group, the Evidence based Research Network, and the aerospace medicine systematic review group. She was previously involved in founding/co-founding the Cochrane Developing Countries Network and the VITAMIN initiative (Virtual training and mentoring international network). Both initiatives focused on mentoring researchers in developing countries to conduct systematic reviews. I was a board Member (Trustee) of the Cochrane Collaboration 2011-2017 and currently is a member of the Scientific committee and Methods Board. The Cochrane Collaboration is the leading evidence-based health organisation in the world. The product of the Collaboration is a key resource used by health professionals, patients and policy makers, worldwide. I have received national and international awards e.g. the Bill Silverman Award. I am a reviewer for UK and EU research funders. I am currently (2020) the President of the Evidence based Dentistry Network of IADR and sit on the Editorial Board of the Evidence based Dentistry Journal. I have been a consultant for the micronutrient unit and the EU office of World Health Organisation. I am also a Health Services Modelling Honorary Associate (HSMA (health-modelling.org programme). Before, joining the dental school, I worked as a research associate and methodologist in the Department of Health Information at the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), the German equivalent of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK. My work focused on assessing evidence to inform reports that were commissioned by the Federal Joint Committee (GBA). During my time in IQWIG, I also co-authored a report commissioned by commonwealth fund comparing the evidence based health care process in France, Germany, England and Australia to inform the comparative effectiveness bill in USA.

My current research focuses on meta-research on how research funders contribute to reducing research waste, methods to prioritise research and set a research agenda, using a combination of clinical epidemiology and creative and interdisciplinary approaches to innovate the concept of clinical trials for future space missions, develop methods to conduct systematic reviews focused on aerospace medicine, design and pilot innovative approaches towards to social engagement in research specifically on engagement of disadvantaged groups and Haptic dental simulation models to enhance the acquisition of soft skills sensitivity and anticipation in training clinical dentists.

I am passionate about engaging with a wider audience about her work and research - I have an active twitter account @monalisa1n and hosted other accounts for specific projects e.g. @capsmg along with a blog. She also curates other twitter accounts like @realscientists (blog) or @wepublichealth (blog).

I qualified DDS (Doctorate in Dental Surgery) from the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2005. My doctorate dissertation focused on the antimicrobial activities of endodontic materials working in the Pasteur Institute in Tehran. I have also done a MSc in Dental Public Health with King’s College of London/University of London and a PhD in Health Services Research/Clinical Epidemiology and a postgraduate certificate in Clinical Education with University of Plymouth. My PhD focused on drivers on setting priorities for systematic reviews. I recently have done the Interactive Space Course 20 with International Space University with a scholarship from European Space Agency. Outside work, I am an extreme athlete (skydiver and paraglider), PPL pilot and conceptual/visual artist and study astrophysics. I flew across UK and France with a single-engine plane. I have participated in a four-way skydiving competition as part of a rookie team but currently focuses on learning freeflying and flying aerobatic planes and hopes one day she can participate in related competitions. In addition to my solo art work, I am part of an art collaboration called SEADS participating in an art installation that combines biological and technological agent. I am on the flight planning team of AMADEE 20 with Austrian Space Forum.

Professional membership

Roles on external bodies

Other roles:
• Co-convenor, Cochrane Priority Setting Methods Group
• Steering Group member, Evidence based Research Network
• Member of Space Ecologies Art Design (SEADS) network
• President, Evidence based Dentistry Network, IADR
• NIHR Oral and Dental Specialty Lead South West Peninsula Clinical Research Network
• Member of Flight planning team for AMADEE-20, Austrian Space Forum
• Member of the Scientific Committee of Cochrane

Teaching interests

Module Lead

Critical Appraisal Topics (CAT) 

Tutor

Dissertation Module for MSc programmes in Dentistry (restorative dentistry, periodontal surgery, minor oral surgery)

Academic Tutor

Teaching philosophy

I am dedicated to find better ways to teach research methods that is accessible to a wider range of individuals without loss of depth, subtlety or nuance. I have a variation of roles as module lead, tutor, facilitator, supervisor and mentor in my teaching career and I use a combination of lectures, plenaries, interactive workshops and hands-on exercise to deliver most of my teaching. I tap into the knowledge and expertise in performing arts to find better ways to engage students and use the space and knowledge from visual arts and interactive design to identify better visual tools and objects in teaching. I recently have worked with different groups of students on using speculative scenario along with real-life scenario to more efficiency teach them more complex topics e.g. methodological topics that need to consider values and preferences of a diversity of stakeholders. I ensure that my teaching is based on the best available evidence and research.

I have a lot of experience using a range of media and collaborating with artists and designers in teaching and research projects. So I engage with students and researchers beyond the teaching classroom in social media or other platform to enhance engagement, crowdsourcing educational support and life-long learning.

Staff serving as external examiners

Examiner for PhDs - University of Sydney (Australia), University of Western Australia and Bond University (Australia)

Research interests

Research groups

• Centre for Health Technology
• VOYAGE Healthy ageing in a healthy community

Other research

Current research students and staff

Research degrees awarded to supervised students

Previous research students and staff:

Agatha Haines, Ideas Exchange: Design and the post bio-tech-body (Co-supervisor), PhD as part Cognovo project

Anastasios Plessas (Director of studies), ResM, Impact of stress on the practice of dentistry 

Grants & contracts

Awards, contracts & grants:

Principal investigator, Haptic dental simulation models – Enhancing the acquisition of soft skills, sensitivity and anticipation in training clinical dentists, Peninsula Institute for Health Research £3908.70

Scholarship by European Space Agency to attend the Interactive Space Programme 2020 at International Space University 

Principal investigator, ColLaboratoire Multiple disciplinary Research Leadership Summer School, Global Challenges Award of Plymouth University £56966

Principal investigator, Supporting Public Health Wales Strategic Focus: Setting the research agenda for Early Years in Wales, £9804

Co-Investigator, EU COST Action, CA17117 - Towards an International Network for Evidence-based Research in Clinical Health Research. 

Principal Investigator, Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise (PDSE), Impact of a community and patient-centred dental school on the existence and gradient of oral health inequalities in Devon and Cornwall. £92,922

Co-investigator, Dental Education and Training limited, Developing sustainability in dental practice and education through an action research approach. £8000

Co-investigator, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), A systematic review of physical activity foralcohol and substance use disorders: evidence synthesis with stakeholderengagement to formulate practical recommendations. £ 149,946

Co-investigator, General Medical Council. Understanding differential attainment across medical training pathways (narrative synthesis). £34,837. 2015

2nd place, British Dental Editors Forum (BDEF) Young Dental Communicator Award 2014.

Co-investigator. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) contract. Production of an evidence review of approaches for conveying oral health promotion messages by dental teams £54,628. 2014-2015. 

CO-investigator. ISSR Small Collaborative Award - How can dentistry be sustainable? An exploratory study. £9790 (Co-investigator). 2014-2015. 

Co-investigator. EU FP7 Marie Curie Initial Training Network (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN-IDP 604764; 2013-17 €4.1m) "CogNovo: Cognitive Innovation". Denham S (Coordinator, Plymouth University); Harris, Waddington, Hanoch, Dales, Nasser (Plymouth), Katsikopoulos, Beck (Berlin), Djulbegovic (Florida): Project 14. Irrationality and Decision Making.

Bill Silverman Prize 2012 for the research project (Nasser M, Welch V, Tugwell P, Ueffing E, Doyle J, Waters E. Ensuring relevance for Cochrane reviews: evaluating processes and methods for prioritizing topics for Cochrane reviews. J Clin Epidemiol 2012 Apr 19).

Principal investigator, Developing a research programme for empiricial studies on health research priority setting methodology awarded by International Research, Networking and Collaboration, Round 3 scheme through University of Plymouth (2011-2012)

Collaborator, A mixed-method study to investigate the referral behaviours and attitudes of NHS general dental practitioners in making referrals from primary dental care to specialist surgical services for the extraction of teeth in North Devon, NHS North Devon (2012)

Co-investigator, Prioritising Cochrane review topics to reduce the know-do gap in low- and middle-income countries, The Cochrane Collaboration prioritisation fund, (2007-2008)

Cochrane Developing Countries Stipend. The Cochrane Collaboration 2007

Silver Medal in National Student Biology Olympiad (Iran), 1999

Creative practice & artistic projects

I am an interdisciplinary researcher trained in dentistry, public health, clinical epidemiology and astrophysics. I draw my art practice from my research to develop interdisciplinary artwork using different mediums. I draw, paint, do calligraphy, make sculptures, develop creative codes, dance (on the ground and in the air) and make dance videos. My art practice has at time become more than an adjunct to my main research projects – it opened new line of enquiries in my research or help me approach my research projects differently. Something that fascinates me how my art practice help us immerse in thought experiments or imagining alternative futures to look at current problems from a different angle or re-think how we approach research methods.

I am part of collective called SEADS (Space Ecologies Art and Design). SEADS (https://seads.network/) is a transdisciplinary and cross-cultural collective of artists, scientists, engineers and activists. Its members come from all corners of the world, from places such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Kosovo, Belgium and the US. SEADS is actively engaged in deconstructing dominant paradigms about the future and develops alternative models through a combination of critical inquiry and hands-on experimentation.

Some examples:

• Clinical Trials in interplanetary missions (the project has a scientific, artistic and educational aspect - the website is under development)
• Dissecting Medical Bodies in different dimensions and boundaries - The sculpture and drawings attempt to explore how the dissection of the body (or the wholeness of body) is seen or described in different dimensions and contexts. 
• The dark spots of evidence - The programme tries to demonstrate how even evidence base statements can become confusing and dark spots of information if not used or distributed appropriately. The code uses a statement from the evidence on physical intervention in reducing the spread of respiratory disease from a Cochrane review – “Evidence suggests that physical interventions may reduce the spread of respiratory diseases".
• Being a collaborator as part of SEADS in conceptualizing BIOMODD - a sci-art installation in the Sint-Janshopitaal in Bruggee, Belgium 

Reports & invited lectures

Selected ones:

Clinical Trials in Interplanetary Missions (CTIM): using thought experiments to design now and the future at the EDGE 2020 conference (10 March 2020), Southampton, UK

Off the lip 2020 (Las Bonas, Philippines) Using methods in evidence synthesis and evidence-based research in an interdisciplinary research program on sustainable development

Newcastle University – towards an evidence based approach to setting priorities for research 2019

Sydney University – Clinical Epidemiology, policy sciences & speculative medical research 2019

One HealthTech London, Invited Speaker -The importance of insignificance and negative results 2019

Setting priorities for research in context of funding agencies, First National Evidence based Dentistry Symposium, Kerman, Iran 2018

Our roles and responsibilities in reducing research waste - International Evidence-Based Health Care Society Congress, Kish, Iran 2017

Role of funders in reducing research waste in a special meeting during the conference celebrating 10 years of NIHR 2016

“Setting priorities in Clinical Research - Prospect of Evidence- Based Medicine and Cochrane in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2015

“Towards an evidence informed approach to set priorities for topics of systematic reviews.” Annual Cochrane Methods Symposium, Vienna, Austria 2015

“Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine: rules for assessing the effectiveness of drugs” Fifth and final event of Avicenna: a strategy for in silico clinical trials, Barcelona, Spain 2015

Survey of funders, 1st Evidence Based Research Network Symposium, 2014

Opening plenary on Research Priority Setting of the Campbell Colloquium. 2014

“Using Research Priority Setting Methods to identify uncertainties on sustainability issues: an example from the dental school” The Third Annual ISSR Sustainability Research Event 2014. Challenge Accepted! Creating Solutions for Horizon 2020 - 2014

External validity and generalizability of systematic reviews in primary health care: adapting the methodology to conduct the review. "Practice-based Evidence for Weight Management: Alliance between Primary Care and Public Health" sixth Heelsum workshop, Heelsum Collaboration, Heelsum, Netherlands 2010

Cochrane Primary Health Care Field: Introduction to systematic reviews and the Cochrane Primary Health Care Field, WONCA Europe, Istanbul, Turkey 2008

The Cochrane Developing Countries Network, Iberoamerican Cochrane Network conference, Costa Rica, June 2008

Conferences organised

BSODR 2017

Off the Lip 2020 

Research Residency on Cognitive Innovation for Sustainable Development 2020

Other academic activities

Official report

• Shamliyan TA, Kane RL, Ansari MT, Raman G, Berkman ND, Grant M, Janes G, Maglione M, Moher D, Nasser M, Robinson KA, Segal JB, Tsouros S. Development of Quality Criteria To Evaluate Nontherapeutic Studies of Incidence, Prevalence, or Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases: Pilot Study of New Checklists [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2011 Jan. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=methresdisease
• Nasser M, Sawicki P. Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care: Germany. Issue Brief (Commonw Fund). 2009 Jul;57:1-12. The full report was published on the Commonwealth fund website on 28 July 2009 http://www.commonwealthfund.org/ 

Other publications

• Karimkhani C, Boyers LN, Nasser M, Dellavalle R. Mapping research prioritization by The CochraneCollaboration to Global Burden of Disease 2010 data. Cochrane Methods. IssueSeptember 2014. Available at: http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/SpringboardWebApp/userfiles/ccoch/file/Files/Coch_Methods2014.pdf
• Nasser M, Crowe S, Welch V, Ueffing E.Proposed Agenda setting and priority setting methods group. Cochrane Methods.Cochrane DB Syst Rev 2011 Suppl 1: 37-38. http://www.cochrane.org/sites/default/files/newsletters/coch_meth_2011.zip
• Nasser M. Priority setting in theCochrane Collaboration. Cochrane Methods. Cochrane DB Syst Rev 2010 Suppl 1: 6. http://www.cochrane.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Newsletters/Cochrane%20Methods%202010.pdf
• Fox DM, Nasser M.Informing the politics of prioritizing (and funding) systematic reviews:another potential step for the Agenda and Priority Setting Methods Group. Cochrane Methods Supplement 2013. ISSN: 2044-4702. http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/SpringboardWebApp/userfiles/ccoch/file/Files/Cochrane%20Methods%202013.pdf
• Pooler J, Nasser M. Challenges in conducting priority setting exercises for Cochrane entities. Cochrane Methods Supplement 2013. ISSN: 2044-4702. http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/SpringboardWebApp/userfiles/ccoch/file/Files/Cochrane%20Methods%202013.pdf
• Nasser M, Tibi A, Savage-Smith E. Ibn Sina’s Canon of Medicine: 11th century rules for assessing the effects of drugs. The James Lind Library.(www.jameslindlibrary.org). Accessed Sunday 6 July 2008.
• Nasser M ,Tibi A (2006). Ibn Hindu and the science of medicine. The James Lind Library (http://www.jameslindlibrary.org).

Blog posts

I wrote blog posts for the following websites

British Medical Journal (BMJ) blogs - How can research publication be improved?

3) ISSR blog (currently ISSR is called Earth Sustainability Institute) - Uncertainties, knowledge gaps and research priorities

Other media

There is a short interview with me in the Anniversary video of the Cochrane Collaboration talking about the Priority Setting Methods Group at time 1:40.

I have also been asked by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), which serves as the regional office for World Health Organisation (WHO) in the Americas, to host and run four webinars on my work on research priority setting. I ran the webinars but did not edit or prepare the videos.

1) Meet the Methods Group: An introduction to the Cochrane Priority Setting Methods Group 

2) An Equity Lens for Priority-Setting Approaches in Systematic Reviews 

3) Priority Setting for Cochrane Review Groups: Tips, Tricks, and Case Studies 

Video associated with press release - What are research funders doing to minimize waste in research?

·    Press release - Plymouth academic to support Bosnian-Herzegovinian scientists on setting priorities for medical research. The event was also reported in an editorial “Mahmic-Kaknjo M, Novo A, Krleza-Jeric K. FIRST BH COCHRANE SYMPOSIUM HELD. Mater Sociomed. 2016 Feb;28(1):74-6.”

Invited speaker to give the opening plenary on research priority setting of the Campbell Colloquium.

Some reports from the fellows from ColLaboraoire (Reimagining Sustainability at ColLaboratoire, Conference & summer school log)

A video of our Clinical trials in interplanetary missions (CTIM) project

A video associated with press release - Medical guidelines for astronauts

Social media - I run a personal blog https://monanasser.wordpress.com and a twitter account @monalisa1n. I talk about my research along with my personal interests in aviation. This makes the public more engaged. With others, I also run research focus twitter accounts @capsmg (priority setting) @ebrnetwork (evidence based research network) and sometimes curate Twitter chats on issues faced by Cochrane authors (#cochraneauthor). As part of this project, I curated other research-focused Twitter accounts. These are the reports:

Introduction - Smiling wide and flying high – Mona Nasser joins Real Scientists  

Final report - Crowdsourcing the best in science: thanks and farewell to Mona Nasser 

Curating @wepublichealth 22-28 Sep 2014 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/wepublichealth-an-experiment-in-citizen-journalism-meets-public-health/

Curating @wethehumanities 12-19 Jan 2015 https://wethehumanities.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/12th-19th-january-mona-nasser/

Additional information

I am a pilot and skydiver. One of the few occasions that I brought together my interests in science and skydiving was a project that I call #skydivemath. 

During the British Parachute Association AGM (these days it is called British Skydiving), Anu Ohja from National Space Centre gave a talk on Going beyond Stratos and Stratex: Skydiving and human space exploration. As part of the talk, he talks about cosmonauts doing numerical problems in freefall as a training/text. So I did a jump with a friend in which we selected a math problem (it was a long division - I did not see it before the jump but in fairness it was an easy one) and I solved the problem in free fall. Here is the video of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjQQSFR1kz4. 

Links

Blog: https://monanasser.wordpress.com/

Cochrane Priority setting Methods Group: https://methods.cochrane.org/prioritysetting/

ColLaboratoire https://collaboratoire20.cognovo.org/

Space Ecologies Art Design: https://www.seads.network/

Evidence based Research Network http://www.ebrnetwork.org 

Cognovo https://www.cognovo.eu/