There is an article in today's Times Higher Education (THES) about a report from Science is Vital campaign on the current crisis in the career structure for scientists entitled: Careering Out of Control: A Crisis in the UK Science Profession? You can also read more on the Guardian blog. Looking through a wider lense still, … Continue reading How long can the Government continue living in a box before UK science unravels completely?
medical research
NIHR Annual Report Published
A quick aside to alert you to the fact that the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has published its annual report for 10/11.
CERN revisited: The one in which I find domestic bliss with super broccoli and Einstein
Such is the wasteland of science funding, that I applied to Bromley Borough Council two weeks ago for a week's project grant to see if I could replicate the CERN experiment that has reportedly turned Einstein's theory of special relativity on its head. I am pleased to report that councillors were persuaded by this opportunity … Continue reading CERN revisited: The one in which I find domestic bliss with super broccoli and Einstein
New stem cell centre in the UK announced
This from The Guardian /Observer stable in the early hours of Sunday with a quote from the Science Minister, David Willetts MP. The article says the centre is likely to be located in the South East (Sandwich perhaps where Pfizer recently closed it's facility?). £30 million of funding from a mix of public and private … Continue reading New stem cell centre in the UK announced
EU clinical trials push by broad UK coalition
Good to see a broad coalition of UK organisations including AMRC issue this joint statement today urging for the ongoing revision of EU Clinical Trials Directive to culminate in less bureaucracy for funders and others when setting up and running trials. No one would argue with the need to put patient safety first but I … Continue reading EU clinical trials push by broad UK coalition
Medics lance the cancer care costs boil….Lancet Oncology Commission reports
....I've updated this since last night with a link [here] to the interview that Evan Davis did with Karol Sikora and Peter Johnson (Cancer Research UK) on 'The Today' programme this morning about the Lancet Oncology Commission. It really is worth a listen. It is a long time since I heard 10 mins being given … Continue reading Medics lance the cancer care costs boil….Lancet Oncology Commission reports
Ovarian cancer research: a new perspective and a great example of the impact of medical research charities on science
I do not normally devote the front page of my blog to the day job but on this occasion I hope you will agree that the news merits it. Today Nature Reviews Cancer have published online in their October 2011 issue a perspective piece entitled 'Rethinking ovarian cancer.' The article, co-authored by the leading international scientists in … Continue reading Ovarian cancer research: a new perspective and a great example of the impact of medical research charities on science
Government says a fatal error has occurred on the NHS IT Programme…SUS IT OUT
Woke up this morning to news of the Government's dismantling of the NHS IT programme. Is it me or does it feel like this policy has been dismantled more times than a tower of toy bricks on a nursery floor? Nicholas Timmins commented in his FT blog today that it isn't really a dismantling and … Continue reading Government says a fatal error has occurred on the NHS IT Programme…SUS IT OUT
The Information Standard and its part in my downfall
I get grumpier as I get older. Fact. Some things I have only recently become grumpy about. Like trolley bags; the fact that their owners always stop at the top of moving elevators trailing their bag in everyone's way as if it has suddenly been rendered immobile by a tranquilliser gun. Other things I have … Continue reading The Information Standard and its part in my downfall
Cancer Research UK does not have all the answers..and that’s an invitation to the rest of us
I see that Cancer Research UK last week put out a press statement about the need for the UK to have strategic vision for medical research. You can find further details on their blog and they also issued a document entitled 'Building the Right Environment for Medical Research.' Thoughtfully the announcement and document have been … Continue reading Cancer Research UK does not have all the answers..and that’s an invitation to the rest of us
CF Trust funding shortage first of many research charity SOS calls?
There is a story in the Observer today about the Cystic Fibrosis Trust issuing a funding SOS to raise #6 million to keep its gene therapy consortium on the road. I also heard from a friend this week who described to me a direct mailing they had from another charity with more or less the … Continue reading CF Trust funding shortage first of many research charity SOS calls?
Obama the inventor..and RCUK’s call on public engagement
Saw this on the Research!Amercia blog today and thought it was worth posting. It is a summary (taken from Lillyblog) of the Invent Act that President Obama signed into US law yesterday . There is more than a hint of some recent-ish UK initiatives such as the Office of Life Sciences blueprint in the US … Continue reading Obama the inventor..and RCUK’s call on public engagement
No research about us, without us
On my way back from the INVOLVE symposium replete with new ideas and fresh energy. Thanks to my fellow symposiastas. My blog headline is actually a rephrasing of the Government's mantra about the NHS reforms as expressed by one of our number this morning. I could not have put it better. The feeling of those … Continue reading No research about us, without us
The one in which I uncover the secret plan behind the NHS reforms
Thank goodness for INVOLVE. What a dispiriting week it had been until today and the first day of our annual symposium. From the gloom of a meeting on Monday in which all hope of progress on a beloved public engagement project seemed to evaporate - when did we all become consumed by the bean counting … Continue reading The one in which I uncover the secret plan behind the NHS reforms
From I Claudius to iLansley…phone apps in the new NHS
The summer break has clearly done the Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, a world of good. From beating a lone path as the libertarian Claudius in the face of a centralised health service, he has resurfaced this week as the man for all seasons to launch a competition for the best ideas for … Continue reading From I Claudius to iLansley…phone apps in the new NHS
Social media leaving doctors and researchers…virtually clinic bound
I suspect this has been picked-up by someone else but an article in the US publication 'Information Week' from 11th July this year provides further data on the rise of social media (twitter, blogs, Facebook etc) as a tool by which patients are seeking and sharing health information. It actually looks at a report by … Continue reading Social media leaving doctors and researchers…virtually clinic bound
From peer review to clinical trials
So there I was this morning talking about peer review, when what should come through the Ovarian Cancer Action letterbox but our certificate of best practice from the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) for our peer reivew practices. It's great to have this 'quality-mark' for all that we do as a research funder. If … Continue reading From peer review to clinical trials
Rising cancer rates and the NHS reforms…plus NIHR and ‘impact’
I suspect you have seen today's news bulletins covering Macmillan Cancer Support's report predicting a significant rise in the number of people who will get cancer. To quote the opening lines of their statement today: Cancer rates are increasing at such a rate that research shows 42% of people who die in this country will … Continue reading Rising cancer rates and the NHS reforms…plus NIHR and ‘impact’
‘Scroll down’ for clinical trials
To begin with, here's more on that Pfizer story about use of mobile phone technology etc in clinical trials. It seems to have piqued an interest among many of you anyway. Also on the subject of clinical trials, I was rather perplexed by this story running out of the NHS Confederation this morning. I'm delighted … Continue reading ‘Scroll down’ for clinical trials
Flying in the face of an interregnum
As a self-confessed member of the worried well, I ask that people think carefully before they throw strange words at me. Particularly on the day of a regular visit to my 'prescription-happy' doctor. A colleague asked me this morning how my interregnum was going. It sent me into a momentary panic. Is it treatable I … Continue reading Flying in the face of an interregnum
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