Profiles
Dr Mona Nasser
Associate Professor of Evidence Based Dentistry
Peninsula Dental School (Faculty of Health)
- Dentistry
- Evidence-based practice
- Systematic reviews
- Health technology assessment
Email publicrelations@plymouth.ac.uk to enquire.
Role
- Clinical Epidemiologist/ Interdisciplinary Researcher
- Associate Professor in Evidence based Dentistry
- Co-lead REF2020 (Unit of Assessment 3)
- NIHR Integrated Academic Training Lead
- Co-convenor, Cochrane Priority Setting Methods Group
- Steering Group member, Evidence based Research Network
- Member of Space Ecologies Art Design (SEADS) network
- President-Elect, Evidence based Dentistry Network, IADR
- NIHR Oral and Dental Specialty Lead South West and West Peninsula Clinical Research Network
- Member of Flight planning team for AMADEE-20, Austrian Space Forum
Qualifications
I am a clinical epidemiologist and interdisciplinary researcher who worked as a methodologist in different disciplines and sectors. have published over 70 peer-reviewed journals, including leading medical journals - Lancet and BMJ. I am not only committed to conducting high quality research but also ensuring that the research is implemented and has impact. Some of the impact of my previous research is incorporated in the REF2014 impact case study “Advancing methods for prioritising health research”.
During my career, 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. I 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 have been a Board Member(Trustee) of the Cochrane Collaboration 2011-2017. 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.
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 and finally design and pilot innovative approaches towards to social engagement in research specifically on engagement of disadvantaged groups.
I am quite passionate about engaging with a wider audience about my work and research so I have relatively active twitter account @monalisa1n and host other accounts for specific projects e.g. @capsmg, have a blog and sometimes curate other twitter accounts like @realscientists (blog) or @wepublichealth (blog)
In addition to my academic position, I am a PPL pilot, skydiver and astrophysics student. I have participated in a four-way skydiving competition as part of a rookie team but currently focus on learning freeflying and flying aerobatic planes and hope one day i can participate in related competitions.
Roles on external bodies
- Co-convenor, Cochrane Priority Setting Methods Group
- Steering Group member, Evidence based Research Network
- Member of Space Ecologies Art Design (SEADS) network
- President-Elect, Evidence based Dentistry Network, IADR
- NIHR Oral and Dental Specialty Lead South West and West Peninsula Clinical Research Network
- Member of Flight planning team for AMADEE-20, Austrian Space Forum
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
My overall research programme focuses on interdisciplinary research that addresses gaps between policy and practice with existing and proposed research – with an emphasize on identifying new methodological approaches to close the gap. In this process, I work with an expanding group of researchers to make clinical epidemiology a discipline of policy sciences, economics, history, law, operations research, political science, public management. My current research focuses on three major areas
- How do the methods of clinical epidemiology inform decisions about priorities, funding, and project management by officials of public agencies and staff of philanthropies that support health research?
- How can engaging a diverse range of stakeholders in “speculative research scenarios” stimulate the development of new and useful methods in clinical epidemiology?
- How can new approaches to social engagement enhance the engagement of disadvantaged groups in health research?
How do the methods of clinical epidemiology inform decisions about priorities, funding, and project management by officials of public agencies and staff of philanthropies that support health research?
Key collaborations:
Cochrane Priority Setting Methods Group Evidence based Research Network, EVIR Funders Forum, Reducing research waste campaign (REWARD)
Key publications:
- Nasser M, Clarke M, Chalmers I, Brurberg KG, Nykvist H, Lund H, Glasziou P. What are funders doing to minimise waste in research? Lancet. 2017 Mar 11;389(10073):1006-1007.
- Moher D, Glasziou P, Chalmers I, Nasser M, Bossuyt PM, Korevaar DA, Graham ID, Ravaud P, Boutron I. Increasing value and reducing waste in biomedical research: who's listening? Lancet. 2016 Apr 9;387(10027):1573-86.
- Rosala-Hallas A, Bhangu A, Blazeby J, Bowman L, Clarke M, Lang T, Nasser M, et al. Global health trials methodological research agenda: results from a priority setting exercise. Trials. 2018 Feb 5;19(1):48.
- Nasser M, Ueffing E, Welch V, Tugwell P. An equity lens can ensure an equity-oriented approach to agenda setting and priority setting of Cochrane Reviews. J Clin Epidemiol. 2013 May;66(5):511-21.
- 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. 2013 May;66(5):474-82
Key current grants:
CA17117 - Towards an International Network for Evidence-based Research in Clinical Health Research, EU COST action 2018-2022
Public Health Wales , Supporting Public Health Wales Strategic Focus: Setting the research agenda for Early Years in Wales
Research Students/Staff:
Sumanth Kumbargere , Equity oriented approach to set priorities for research (PhD student) – Director of studies
Selected related media:
- 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.”
- Press Release - Review addresses value and waste in biomedical research: This was picked up by other news sources like Science Daily
- Curating @realscientists - Introduction - Smiling wide and flying high – Mona Nasser joins Real Scientists http://realscientists.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/smiling-wide-and-flying-high-mona-nasser-joins-real-scientists/ and Final report - Crowdsourcing the best in science: thanks and farewell to Mona Nasser http://realscientists.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/crowdsourcing-the-best-in-science-thanks-and-farewell-to-mona-nasser/
- Invited speaker to give the opening plenary on research priority setting of the Campbell Colloquium.
How can engaging a diverse range of stakeholders in “speculative research scenarios” stimulate the development of new and useful methods in clinical epidemiology?
Key collaborations:
Transtechnology research group, Cognovo collaboration, SEADS
Key publications:
- Nasser, M. (2017). How do selected national funding agencies communicate the concept of cognitive innovation on their public website? [Special Issue]. AVANT, 8, 89–94. doi:10.26913/80s02017.0111.0009.
- Richter C, Braunstein B, Winnard A, Nasser M, Weber T. Human Biomechanical and Cardiopulmonary Responses to Partial Gravity - A Systematic Review. Front Physiol. 2017 Aug 15;8:583.
- Winnard A, Nasser M, Debuse D, Stokes M, Evetts S, Wilkinson M, Hides J, Caplan N. Systematic Review of countermeasures to minimise physiological changes and risk of injury to the lumbopelvic area following long-term microgravity. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice. Available online 19 Dec 2016 in press
- Nasser M, Peres N, Knight J, Haines A, Young C, Griffin J, et al. Designing clinical trials for future space missions. 69th International Astronautical Conference. Bremen, Germany. 2018.
Key current grants:
Global Challenges Award of plymouth University, ColLaboratoire Multiple disciplinary Research Leadership Summer School 2019-2020
https://collaboratoire20.cognovo.org/
Some reports from the fellows from ColLaboraoire
Reimagining Sustainability at ColLaboratoire
Research Students/Staff:Agatha Haines, Ideas exchange (PhD – co-supervisor)
Nick Peres, cinematic interface of medical simulation (PhD – co-supervisor)
Selected related media:
- A video of our Clinical trials in interplanetary missions (CTIM) project
- A video associated with press release - Medical guidelines for astronauts
How can new approaches to social engagement enhance the engagement of disadvantaged groups in health research?
Key collaborations:
MUSE working group, Cochrane Equity Methods Group, Global Evidence Synthesis Initiative
Key publications:
· Nasser M, Ueffing E, Welch V, Tugwell P. An equity lens can ensure an equity-oriented approach to agenda setting and priority setting of Cochrane Reviews. J Clin Epidemiol. 2013 May;66(5):511-21.
· Bhaumik S, Rana S, Karimkhani C, Welch V, Armstrong R, Pottie K, Dellavalle R, Dhakal P, Oliver S, Francis DK, Nasser M, Crowe S, Aksut B, Amico RD. Ethics and equity in research priority-setting: stakeholder engagement and the needs of disadvantaged groups. Indian J Med Ethics. 2015 Apr-Jun;12(2):110-3. Epub 2015 Mar 16.
· Rosala-Hallas A, Bhangu A, Blazeby J, Bowman L, Clarke M, Lang T, Nasser M, Siegfried N, Soares-Weiser K, Sydes MR, Wang D, Zhang J, Williamson PR. Global health trials methodological research agenda: results from a priority setting exercise. Trials. 2018 Feb 5;19(1):48.
· Bastian H, Scheibler F, Knelangen M, Zschorlich B, Nasser M, Waltering A. Choosing health technology assessment and systematic review topics: the development of priority-setting criteria for patients' and consumers' interests. Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2011 Oct;27(4):348-56. PubMed PMID: 22004776.
· Nasser M, van Weel C, van Binsbergen JJ, van de Laar FA. Generalizability of systematic reviews of the effectiveness of health care interventions to primary health care: concepts, methods and future research. Fam Pract. 2012 Apr;29 Suppl 1:i94-i103.
Key current grants:
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 2016-2023
Dental Education and Training limited , Developing sustainability in dental practice and education through an action research approach
Research Students/Staff:
Shiamaa Al Mashhadani , Oral Health care of children with disability in United Arab Emirates, PhD (Director of studies)
Selected related media:
- Session two – An Equity Lens for Priority-Setting Approaches in Systematic Reviews hosted by Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO)
- Curating @wepublichealth 22-28 Sep 2014 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/wepublichealth-an-experiment-in-citizen-journalism-meets-public-health/
Other research
Research degrees awarded to supervised students
Current PhD students
Mark Steven Howe (Director of Studies) Probability risk index in restorative dentistry
Sumanth Kumbargere (Director of Studies) Equity oriented to set priorities for research
Shiamaa Al Mashhadani (Director of Studies) Oral Health care of children with disability in United Arab Emirates
Nick Perez (Co-supervisor) Cinematic interface for cognitive exploration in (medical) simulation
Agatha Haines (co-supervisor) Ideas exchange: Understanding the human object (www.cognovo.eu)
Previous Research Students and Staff:
Anastasios Plessas (Director of studies), ResM, Impact of stress on the practice of dentistry
Zoe Allen (co-supervisor), PhD, Exploring the referral interface between general dental practice and salaried dental services
Jaysan Charlesford and Martha Paisi: (Postdoctoral fellows in Oral Health Inequality - investigating the impact of a community and patient centred Dental School on the existence and gradient of oral health inequalities in Devon and Cornwall (ICOD project).
Klara Łucznik and Mihaela Taranu - (Postdoctoral fellows) ColLaboratoire 2020 project
Grants & contracts
Awards, contracts & Grants:
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
Research groups
- IHC Health Technology
- VOYAGE: Rural and urban ageing and health inequalities
Key publications are highlighted
JournalsReports & 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 2016Setting 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 |
“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
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, RobinsonKA, Segal JB, Tsouros S. Development of Quality Criteria To EvaluateNontherapeutic Studies of Incidence, Prevalence, or Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases: Pilot Studyof New Checklists [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Researchand Quality (US); 2011 Jan. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=methresdisease
- NasserM , 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/Content/Publications/Other/2009/Comparative-Effectiveness-Across-Countries.aspx
Other Publications
- Karimkhani C, Boyers LN, NasserM, 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
- NasserM , 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
- NasserM . 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 ( www.jameslindlibrary.org ).
Blogposts
I wrote blog post 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. 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
Social Media - I run a personal blog http://monanasser.workdpress.com and a twitter account@monalisa1n. I talk about my research along with my personal interests inaviation. This makes the public more engaged. With others, I also run researchfocus twitter accounts @capsmg (priority setting) @ebrnetwork (evidence basedresearch network) and sometimes curate twitter chats on issues faced byCochrane authors (#cochraneauthor). As part of this project, I curated otherresearch-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 2014http://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
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/