Centre for Biomedical Modelling and Analysis
University of Exeter
Director: Professor Nick Talbot Co-Director: Professor John Terry
Dear All
Newsletter 1: Jan 2016
The start of a new year is a good time for reflection, so I thought I would write to you with an
update on the progress we have made towards our aim of embedding public involvement
within the Centre for Biomedical Modelling and Analysis since its inception in April 2015.
Back in July 2015 we ran our first public involvement workshops for people with long term
neurological conditions including epilepsy, schizophrenia and dementia. Improving the
diagnosis and prognosis of these conditions using mathematical modelling of the electrical
activity of the brain is one of our key research ambitions. Working with groups of people who
live with these conditions to understand their experiences around diagnosis was a
fundamental first step towards ensuring that any diagnostic tests or equipment we develop
are acceptable and relevant for the people who might benefit from them.
In partnership with the Northcott Theatre, and informed by the experiences of people with
epilepsy, we are planning a theatre workshop later in the Spring which will bring to life some
of our research into the role of networks in the generation of epileptic seizures.
Members of the local University of the Third Age have proved enthusiastic supporters of the
CBMA. We have now established a core public advisory group, the “Magpies” (Modelling
Advisory Group Public Involvement and Engagement) and a broader pool of people who
have expressed an interest in supporting our work. Some of you have already joined us for
the Santorio event (see below) and I hope that others will join events planned for 2016.
As always, setting up public involvement within a new Centre has not been without its
challenges and has taken rather longer than anticipated. We have recently recruited a
permanent Centre Manager, Chrissie Walker, who will be working with me to develop a clear
strategy for how we best use our public advisors throughout our work and how we
communicate with the public through our website and social media.
One of the Centre’s functions is to award small grants of up to £10,000 to promote
multidisciplinary biomedical research within the University. Just before Christmas the
academic applicants came together with the Centre Fellows (including me!) plus research
managers, impact and engagement officers and finance managers. Over two days stranded
in the middle of Dartmoor (fortunately in a hotel not tents!) the projects were worked up,
costed and approved by our Co-Director, Professor John Terry.
Nigel Reed, one of our Magpies, joined us for an afternoon and spent time with each
research group helping them think through their public involvement plans and, importantly,
helping them to write a summary in plain English! We hope to have these up on the website
soon so you can see the range of research the Centre is funding. Five of the six funded
projects will entail some public involvement within the next 6 months around dementia, cystic
fibrosis, use of anti-psychotic medication and skin cancer – I will be in touch with more
details for those interested in participating as the projects develop.
In October, about 30 members of the public, including students from the South Devon
University Technical College, came to an event to find out about the 16th Century Scientist
Santorio Santorio. Santorio was, in his day, a highly influential scientist who invented many
medical instruments and discovered what we now understand as our metabolism. Dr
Fabrizio Bigotti (medical philosophy) and Professor Jonathan Barry (medical history) are
academics who wish to bring Santorio’s laboratory back to life to help us understand how
medical science and its methods developed. My wish is to see this project develop with the
public as collaborators and lay researchers.
Since our first meeting I am delighted to report some significant progress! The school
students are soon to start reconstructing Santorio’s famous weighing chair and one of our
lay participants, David Taylor, has made some quite remarkable progress with the design
and function of the pulsilogium (a device to measure heart rate). I am not going to steal
David’s thunder here by telling you any more! We are arranging a workshop in February
(more details below) where we can come together and decide on how we might build the
rest of the project around these two instruments. Fabrizio and I will also be seeking funding
to support the public involvement in this project.
STOP PRESS…last week we were successful in obtaining £5000 from the College of
Engineering, Maths and Physical Sciences to support the project until July!
Also in October a group of us set up stall at Sidmouth Science Festival with some portable
equipment for measuring the electrical activity of the brain. Members of the public young and
old enjoyed discussing brain activity, controlling a computerised robot using facial
expressions and seeing a virtual brain experience an epileptic seizure. We are planning to
get involved with more Festivals (namely Honiton,and Cheltenham) and contribute to the
“Pint of Science” events to be held around Exeter in May.
Extremely exciting news arrived just before Christmas! Professor John Terry, was awarded a
grant of £2 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to
establish a Centre for Predictive Modelling in Healthcare. This will greatly increase our
capacity for developing new methods for managing and treating chronic health conditions
using predictive mathematical models. This new Centre’s remit is to develop individualised
patient treatments so public involvement will be central to helping guide the research
programme. To find out a bit more about the new Centre please follow the link:
http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/NGBOViewGrant.aspx?GrantRef=EP/N014391/1
I think this summarises most of our key public involvement achievements to date. I would
just like to thank all of you for your interest in, and support of, the Centre so far. It has been
a challenging but very exciting journey for me and I hope to see many of you over the next
few months at one or more of our workshops (details of upcoming workshops below).
Alternatively, If you have an interest in getting involved with the more computational aspects
of our work, we meet as a group for coffee once a week so please do not hesitate to get in
touch if you would like to join us for an informal chat.
With very best wishes from myself and the Centre team.
Jo
CBMA WORKSHOPS IN FEBRUARY!
Please note the following dates for your diaries. If you are interested in coming along and/or
receiving further details do drop me a line.
Communicating Curiosity or Basic Science Research to the Public: Who, What, When,
Where and How?
Come and hear about the CBMA’s research and advise us on how to design and produce
public facing web pages and communications for lay audiences. Travel expenses and a
“thank you” payment will be offered. Refreshments also provided. Date Friday 19th
February, St Luke’s Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter.
Santorio Project
Our second workshop will take place on Friday 26th February 2016, 11am-3pm at the
University (probably St Luke’s Campus on Heavitree Road, Exeter. Open to all including
those who were unable to make the first workshop. Travel Expenses will be paid to all
participants and refreshments and light lunch supplied.
Contact Us:
To find out more about the Centre and its work and personnel please see our website:
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/bma/
Follow us on Twitter: @CBMA_UoE
Dr Jo Welsman
Engaged Research Fellow
j.r.welsman2@exeter.ac.uk
07707 167793