In Manchester at the Lowry Centre today for the NHS R&D Forum conference. I have fond memories of Manchester having spent some of my childhood growing up near Wilmslow. Indeed, it was on a hot sunny day such as this that I remember myself and umpteen other seven year olds sitting on a gym mat listening to … Continue reading UKCMRI and other news
politics
ReSET – a final word
Welcome confirmation on the Department of Health's website today, that they will not be going ahead with the implementation of the ReSET Guidance on the attribution of NHS non-commercial Research costs, Support costs and Treatment costs. As you'll know from my blog over recent months, ReSET was causing very real concerns within the charity sector … Continue reading ReSET – a final word
Science Minister Speaks
The new Science Minister, David Willetts MP, gave his first press briefing at the Science Media Centre yesterday. His comments have been reported in a number of places including the BBC. But Mark Henderson's blog at The Times is the most detailed. The Minister seems to have handled the funding question in the only … Continue reading Science Minister Speaks
Charities and peer review
I am often asked how medical research charities ensure that the funds they raise are awarded to the best science and the best scientists. It is a condition of AMRC membership that charities must be able to demonstrate a clear process for the independent external peer review and funding of research grants as well as … Continue reading Charities and peer review
The Coalition Government and Science
As a follow-up to my post yesterday before the formation of the Conservative/Lib Dem Coalition Government, you might want to look at this article by Geoff Brumfiel at naturenews which looks at the coalition agreement published today and speculates what it might mean for science. Interestingly I noticed on the Downing Street website this evening … Continue reading The Coalition Government and Science
Everything has changed, nothing has changed
It was only this week it dawned on me that, in our gripping and rapidly daunting state of statelessness, I had entered a self-imposed state of purdah with my blog. For no reason at all. No more... If you are looking for some insight on what a hung parliament will mean for science then you … Continue reading Everything has changed, nothing has changed
More on clinical research regulation
I have a faint recollection from my time living in the US, that Fox News channel ran a regular item on its late evening news programme which was called 'Information Overload' - a 30 second snippet of 'news you can use' - backed by heavy rock music. I pass the following on with the same … Continue reading More on clinical research regulation
ReSET – the costs of clinical research
ReSET, otherwise known as the Department of Health's guidance on the attribution of NHS non-commercial Research costs, NHS Support Costs and Treatment Costs, was published two weeks ago. Very simply it sets out who - the NHS, Department of Health, or research funder - should pay for which component of running a research study such as … Continue reading ReSET – the costs of clinical research
Good news on medical research regulation
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