News and Events
News from around our Region
March/April 2024
East of England Hubs form to deliver new vaccine studies
As you may know, the NIHR is gearing up to support the delivery of vaccine studies, including Moderna and BionTech, as part of a number of strategic agreements between industry and the UK Government. Building on the successful ‘Hub’ model used to deliver Covid studies, within the East of England we have established 6 vaccine hubs with a lead for each.
Our Senior Management Team are helping to coordinate the infrastructure to support this ongoing programme of work and look forward to working with our Partners to support these important trials.
January/February 2024
New Research Information Governance Statement issued
A new information governance (IG) update / awareness statement has been issued jointly by the Health research Authority (HRA), NIHR Clinical Research Network and the NHS R&D Forum. If you have any questions please contact Alison Knight, HRA Data and Privacy Specialist at Alison.Knight@hra.nhs.uk.
Increasing research inclusion together
One of the most effective ways to engage people in research is to get people from similar backgrounds to tell them about their experience. As a region, we need to increase diversity and inclusivity in research and our Communications team can help by developing participant stories to share widely. If you have any participants from under-served backgrounds who have had a positive research experience and are willing to share it with us, please let us know at crneoe.comms@nihr.ac.uk.
November/December 2023
NIHR Senior Clinical & Practitioner Award launches
The first round of the new NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award has now opened, closing on Tuesday 23 January 2024. The award is open to senior clinicians and practitioners who have previously obtained a PhD/MD and can provide 20-50% protected time to engage in research activities.
Regional research features at RCN Conference
Members of our CRN East of England community attended this year's Royal College of Nursing (CRN) Research Nursing Conference in Manchester on Thursday 7 September. Kate McCloskey, our Lead Community and Care Manager, Kirsti Withington and Linda Malloy, both Locality Managers, presented a poster Kate had developed with Clare Symms, Head of Research at NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) which highlights working at scale with One Norwich and Panoramic.
NIHR Research Support Service launches
The NIHR has awarded £97.5 million over 5 years to fund our new national Research Support Service (RSS), replacing the Research Design Service (RDS) as of 1 October 2023. The new service enables health and care researchers across England to access effective and consistent research support. The CRN Study Support Service will work in partnership with the RSS, and researchers will be able to access support from both services.
October 2023
ENRICH team reach out to care community
Kathryn Howlett, ENRICH (ENabling Research In Care Homes) nurse, and colleagues attended this year's Essex Care Conference in Colchester in June 2023, to spread the word about NIHR research and how care teams can get involved in it. Kathryn gave a talk on the ENRICH scheme and wider research opportunities for the 100-plus strong audience, and the team welcomed visitors to their exhibition stand where they were able to answer questions and give further information.
Celebration Awards 2023 see wins for research staff in the East of England
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the CRN East of England Celebration Awards 2023, held on Wednesday 12 July online and at St Andrew's Hall, Norwich. Congratulations to all Award Winners and well done to everyone who was nominated!
You can find information about all the winners, along with photographs from the day, on the Celebration Awards website and you can also watch a recording of the event. Please note, although we are unable to publish information on all nominations, please email us at crneoe.comms@nihr.ac.uk if you would like a list of all those who received nominations at your organisation.
August/September 2023
Be Part of Research improves recruitment to Cambridge study
Be Part of Research, the service that helps match public volunteers to recruiting health and care studies, is now available through the NHS App as well as through a link on the homepage of the NHS website.
One of the first five studies to benefit from improved recruitment efficiency using the 'match-making' service is the ADVANTAGE Visceral Pain Online Survey led by Prof Geoff Woods at the University of Cambridge. Visit the Be Part of Research website to find out more about how the service can improve recruitment to your study.
June/July 2023
Moderna Vaccine Platform
As you may know, the NIHR is gearing up to support the delivery of a platform of vaccine studies funded by Moderna as part of Moderna’s strategic partnership with the UK Government. Within the East of England, we already have a number of studies that are due to start recruiting over the next couple of months. We have set up a number of vaccine trial 'hubs' and their relative leads within the region, which we continue to develop, and will keep you updated as this platform grows.
NIHR awards £2m to NHS organisations in East of England
More than £2 million has been awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to NHS organisations in the East of England to pay for cutting-edge research equipment and technology. The investment is part of over £96 million awarded to 93 NHS organisations across England.
May 2023
Locality Manager passes Rosalind Franklin Programme
Congratulations to Jenny Johnson, our Locality Manager at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, who has passed the NHS Leadership Academy Rosalind Franklin programme. Jenny said: "Passing has made me feel I have the ability to enable a more collaborative approach within the wider research network."
April 2023
ICS Research guidance published
NHS England has recently published guidance for Integrated Care Systems (ICS) on research. There has been a lot of coordination and input into this from across the NIHR Clinical Research Network. The NHS Engagement team will be working on taking this forward in their discussions with ICBs.
East of England study shows vaccination halves risk of long Covid
Being vaccinated against Covid-19 halves people’s risk of developing long Covid, according to new research from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH) and the University of East Anglia (UEA). Overweight people, women, smokers and those over the age of 40 are also more likely to suffer from long Covid according to the study which includes more than 860,000 patients.
March 2023
EDI becomes 'Research Inclusion'
Please note, as part of the NIHR's commitment to inclusion and inclusive work practices, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team has changed their name to the Research Inclusion team.
Live PI Essential training course available
We are offering a live, three hour, PI Essentials live interactive Zoom course for staff who are: new to the role of Principal Investigator (PI); for those who are interested in becoming a more effective PI; for staff who are new to the role of Co-PI/Sub Investigators and Associate PI and for PIs who would like to refresh their knowledge. This course aims to develop leadership skills for delivering a research study at your site and is open to all those working on or with NIHR Portfolio studies who have completed ICH-GCP training.
February 2023
New Lead Community & Care Manager
We are delighted to announce that Kate McCloskey has now been appointed as our new Lead Community and Care Manager. Kate is someone many of you will already know in her previous role as the Primary Care Locality Manager for Norfolk. Kate said: "I am looking forward to joining the Agile team and working with the wider communities!". You can continue to contact Kate via email at kate.mccloskey@nihr.ac.uk.
NIHR Associate Principal Investigator (PI) Scheme Lectures
The NIHR Associate Principal Investigator (PI) Scheme has launched the Research Learning Lectures, a series of lectures for anyone working in Health and Social Care who is interested in learning more about research. The series of lectures cover a variety of topics relating to basic science, clinical trial methodology and statistics, and provide career advice for anyone who wishes to work towards a career in research or academia.
Other News
Guides to the NIHR in the East of England
We've created this handy guide to the roles played by the different NIHR arms in the region. We've also recently updated our Guide to the NIHR's Clinical Research Network in the East of England. Please feel free to share and signpost to them, as well as add to your R&D websites.
Reminder about the NIHR MOOCs
The NIHR's Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs):
What is Health Research and Improving Healthcare through Clinical Research, are free to access for anyone interested in health research. These courses are now provided all year round via the FutureLearn website so are available to start whenever is convenient.
Meet our Agile Team
We have created a feature to introduce our Agile Team members on the CRN East of England Hub Home. Our Agile team supports the delivery of health and social care research in the wider community setting. They work with care homes and social care organisations to help them deliver research to improve treatments and care for service users, as well as improve environments for those working in the field.
Events in our Region
Local Research Forums
Norfolk and Waveney
The next "virtual" Forum will be held on Tuesday 13 February, 13:30-15:30, contact clifford.cox@nhs.net to register for the link to join
Suffolk and North East Essex
The next local Research Forum will be held on Wednesday 15 May, 13:30-15:30, to register to attend send an Email to crnresearcheoe@esneft.nhs.uk
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
The next GP Forum will be held on Wednesday 15 May, 10:30-12:30, to register to attend send an Email to jenna.marshall4@nhs.net