The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, paid a visit to the Wellcome Trust this morning and announced a clutch of initiatives including: £250 million investment in 2010/11 for the new world-class medical research centre at St Pancras in London which will bring together research teams to tackle major medical challenges. The … Continue reading Good news on medical research regulation
Author: simondenegri
The Budget
This being Budget day, I couldn't help but feel that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling, must have woken this morning and felt some empathy with the dung beetle with whom he was sharing the news headlines. Those who missed this particular item on the BBC will want to know that, after months of study, the … Continue reading The Budget
Trachea transplants and charities
'..behind every headline there is not just one story but often many stories of howthe science was developed..'
A fillip for rare diseases
It has been one of those weeks! But I got a bit of a fillip with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Sir Liam Donaldson's, annual report on Tuesday. Apart from being a good read, the CMO's annual address on the state of the nation's health can give voice and momentum to an issue within the Department … Continue reading A fillip for rare diseases
Public Attitudes on Science
Friday is when I tend to pass on things of interest which have come across my desk. You might want to check out what I think is the first edition of the Wellcome Trust's Monitor of Public Attitudes. It is certainly comprehensive and looks as though there is some interesting stuff in there. The finding … Continue reading Public Attitudes on Science
Putting the 'public' in UK plc
Science politics could get mighty difficult for those of us prone to mixing up names. What with Lord Drayson as Science Minister. And Sir James Dyson advising the Conservative Party. We might need to look twice when next going to our understairs cupboard. Two of Drayson's predecessors as Science Minister - Lord Sainsbury and Lord Waldegrave - were … Continue reading Putting the 'public' in UK plc
The science base in parliament
Last night saw the annual dinner of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Medical Research. The guest speaker was Dr Venki Ramakrishnan. Venki was awarded the the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and gave an incisive and refreshingly down-to-earth summary of the challenges and opportunities faced by UK science. The ensuing discussion was chaired expertly by … Continue reading The science base in parliament
Unfinished business – clinical research
There has been much to dwell upon since our workshop for member charities 'Clinical research - working with NIHR' a fortnight ago. This is the fourth workshop on clinical research that AMRC has held in as many years. Each has attracted more delegates than the one before - a fact indicative of the increasing interest among … Continue reading Unfinished business – clinical research
Research charities on the world stage
Occasionally I post things up on the blog simply to illustrate different aspects of how UK medical research charities work. Last week the office noticed this rather cool interactive research map produced by the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) which shows the different projects supported by MRF around the world. A good example is its project … Continue reading Research charities on the world stage
What defines medical research charities?
It normally grates on me when someone makes passing reference to football or their favourite team in search of the common touch. So forgive me for doing the same just this once. It does serve a purpose.....of sorts. I am sure that those familiar with football punditry - and even those who are not - will have … Continue reading What defines medical research charities?
An Open Letter to Lord Mandelson
This week 'The Guardian' published an extract online of my response to Lord Mandelson's article in its pages about higher education funding. But I thought I would provide the full text here for interest. Dear Editor, The Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, presents a stout case for why universities should see tighter budgets as an opportunity for diversifying their … Continue reading An Open Letter to Lord Mandelson
Charity research in the recession
Today's article in the Law Society Gazette ('Charities may be in for a difficult year, but there remains cause for hope') prompts me to report on the results of AMRC's latest survey of its member charities and how they are faring in the recession. As you may remember AMRC's survey in March last year attracted … Continue reading Charity research in the recession
Research Impact
At some point I shall steel myself to write a lengthier blog on the subject of evaluating research impact. Not least because it is a subject dominating the higher education press right now. However, this week the following report by Action Medical Research - one of our members - came across my desk. And I thought it … Continue reading Research Impact
Science Debate
The defining difference between national preparedness for snow in a country such as the US and one that is less so, like the UK, is this: in the States they carry snow chains in their car; in the UK we carry cat litter if we are lucky. Preparedness - and more specifically preparedness for Government - is … Continue reading Science Debate
Clinical Trials
A Happy New Year to you all. Given that we are all likely to have to suffer several months of phoney elections wars not to mention the odd leadership coup that isn't I thought it would be refreshing to start the year off with a hard, solid fact. In 2008-2009, AMRC's member charities funded 166 … Continue reading Clinical Trials
Patient consent and research
A colleague in the office sent me a link this week to a piece by Professor Anthony Mathur on the BBC Online's 'Scrubbing Up' pages in which he argues that if people want treatment for a heart problem, they should be obliged to take part in the research. The very same day I got home to a … Continue reading Patient consent and research
'Health research cuts'
Today's 'exclusive' in the The Times online headlined 'Cancer research at risk in scramble for care funds' has caused understandable concern and outrage. It is an interesting piece based on comments made to The Times by the Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham MP. But some background may help us get a better perspective on … Continue reading 'Health research cuts'
Medical research in Scotland
Last week I was in Scotland to host a meeting of some of our member charities about how we might support their work to ensure science and research is firmly on the agenda of the Scottish Assembly. Held in a curtained-off room in a Starbucks cafe I couldn't help wonder whether this was how it felt in … Continue reading Medical research in Scotland
A Wellcome round-up to the research week
While the Home Office struggles to recover from its Nutt allergy the rest of us have been busy funding and promoting good science. Our communications officer, Sara, tells me that if I use more searchable terms in my blog headlines I will get more visitors. 'What, more than the million or so I receive each day?' I said. Anyway, … Continue reading A Wellcome round-up to the research week
An Open Letter to David Cameron
Dear David, I was pleased to read your speech at the Royal College of Pathologists earlier this week setting out your vision for the NHS and your five priorities for a Department of Public Health were you to form the next Government. Many us will be pleased to see you and your front bench colleagues … Continue reading An Open Letter to David Cameron
simondenegri.com 