Remote drug monitoring, virtual outpatient clinics and artificial intelligence were just some of the projects at this year’s Annual Research Showcase (ARS).
The ARS, now in its fifteenth year, is an established part of Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust's research calendar, with the event offering an exciting opportunity for non-medical staff to showcase their cutting-edge research.
Due to the pandemic, this year the event was run things a little differently with posters made available digitally for a few weeks before a virtual event was held on Tuesday 15 December, with specially selected presentations.
Dr Claire Nolan, specialist pulmonary rehabilitation physiotherapist, was invited as give a keynote speech, sharing her extensive experience of being a researcher and some top tips for those starting out in research.
Two poster submissions were also selected to be presented at the event; Gemma Stanford for her research on cystic fibrosis, and Ivy Suen for her work on immunosuppressants for lung transplants.
The posters were judged by well-established senior staff who have a wealth of research experience and this year included Dr Isabel Skypala (consultant allergy dietitian), Catherine Renwick, (consultant nurse), Dr Claire Nolan, Haifa Lyster (consultant pharmacist), Alison Pottle (consultant nurse in cardiology) and Dr Sam Irving (chief paediatric respiratory research physiologist).
The judges were tasked with choosing winners in three categories; Most Innovative, Greatest Patient Impact and Early Career Researcher.
There were also two other awards up for grabs; Director’s Choice, selected by Keith Thompson, (chief pharmacist) and Staff Favourite, which was voted for by staff. All the winners are listed below.
Dr Skypala, who also co-chaired the event, was impressed with the submissions despite the difficulties of this year due to the pandemic. She said;
“The standard of entries was excellent. It always is, but doubly so this year with all of the difficulties people have faced.
“I was delighted to see so many people virtually attend the event; all of the speakers were absolutely terrific and really highlighted the calibre of non-medical research within the Trust. I’m looking forward to next year’s event already!”
The winners
Most Innovative
Lisa Nwankwo for “Evaluation of remote triazole capillary blood testing to facilitate remote Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM): a validation study”
Greatest Patient Benefit
Ivy Suen for “Adherence to immunosuppressants and Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis prescribing in patients who underwent lung transplants at Harefield Hospital in accordance with local Transplant Prescribing Guideline”
Early Career Researcher
Sarah Fitzgerald for “A patient evaluation of the physiotherapy telephone review within Adult Cystic Fibrosis (CF) virtual outpatients’ clinics”
Director’s Choice
Shirlene Ho for “Incidence and Risk Factors for Neutropenia in Adult Heart Transplant Recipients: Single Centre Experience”
Gemma Stanford for “Outcome Measures for Airway Clearance in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis (CF): A Randomised Controlled Crossover Trial”
Staff Favourite
Alison Pottle for “Lipoprotein apheresis in pregnancy”
To view all the poster submissions for this year’s event please click here (for staff only).
If you would like to find out more about any of our research events please contact us.