2019 Allied Health Postgraduate Research Conference

On Thursday 19 September we held the 2019, cross-faculty postgraduate research conference at ESLC, University Park. The event aimed to bring together PGR students from the School of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy and the Division of Rehabilitation, Ageing and Wellbeing in the School of Medicine, although it was open to interested postgraduates from other areas.

The day was led and organised by academic team Dr Holly Blake, Dr Jon Aylott, Dr Fiona Moffatt and Anne Canning, working with student engagement officers and research administrators, and a team of 11 PhD students co-ordinated by Martina Sykorova.

The event was opened by conference chair, Dr Holly Blake, giving an overview of research at the University of Nottingham, and the contribution of PGR students to global research excellence. Holly and Dr Jon Aylott chaired the day’s sessions.

First up were Prof Phil Williams, Dr Sarah Goldberg, and Prof Neil Coulson with brief keynote speeches in which they described the research strategies and direction in the School of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy and the Division of Rehabilitation Ageing and Wellbeing.

Next, Sarah Hinds from the Counselling service led an interactive session on issues of self-care, imposter syndrome and perfectionism – all about what to do when you experience intellectual self-doubt. The focus on wellbeing continued with welfare stands, and a number of lunchtime wellbeing sessions including ‘papel picado’ crafts by Abigail Tronco and Sovereign Secondus, a lakeside walk, relaxation with Kirsty Hyndes and mini-massage delivered by one of our sports rehabilitation students, supervised by Fiona.

We heard flash research presentations from 11 speakers across all areas, showcasing the diversity of our allied health research around the use of medicines in various populations, drugs in space, antibiotic resistance, drugs in space, care of older people, physical and mental health in the workplace, and digital interventions for health and education.

We heard about the high profile 4* research impact case studies led by Prof Alexander Morgan with post-doc Dr Andrew Hook, and Prof Heather Wharrad with PhD students Asiya Hasni and Hadeel Lamphon, highlighting the contribution of early career researchers to the generation of impact from research.

In a session on careers and transferable skills, 4 of our doctoral alumni gave presentations about their career pathways from PhD to their current roles in policy, clinical academic careers, academia and industry.  Stephen Kenny, Louise Bramley, Claire Diver and Valeria Ciarnelli and reflected on challenges and opportunities in their careers, with a Q&A session facilitated by Pauline Maden, Careers Consultant.

Our new award scheme was launched at the event.  A judging panel of academics and students selected the Allied Health Rising Star for 2019.

The 2019 winner is PhD student Andrew Grundy from the School of Health Sciences. Our runner-up for this award is Akmal Bin Sabri from the School of Pharmacy.

Conference delegates showcased posters of their research projects. They were reviewed by a cross-faculty student-led scoring panel. We awarded the 2019 Best Academic Poster prize to Phoebe McCrorie and the runner-up was Josephine Bardi.

The student conference organising team included Martina Sykorova, Rachael Drewery, Talaso Barako, Paapa Ampiah, Sovereign Secondus, Abigail Tronco, Evelyn Reindorf, Mohammed Alsahli (Health Sciences), Athina Liaskoni, Inas Mohd (Pharmacy), Alison Cowley (Rehabilitation, Ageing and Wellbeing). Our administration team included Julia Carson-Little, Mariead Ward, Beth York and Jonathan Roe.

For more information about the day, look at Twitter (#AHPGR2019) and our conference website.