27 November 2024
COPD, pacemaker dependence and dietetic interventions were just some of the fascinating topics on offer at this year’s Annual Research Showcase (ARS).
Now in its 18th year, the ARS is a staple of the research calendar at our hospitals and is an opportunity to celebrate some of the incredible research undertaken by NMAHPP staff (nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, healthcare scientists, pharmacy staff and psychologists) across adult and paediatric heart, lung and critical care research.
The event took place on Tuesday 26 November 2024 and was held at Guy’s Hospital for the first time, drawing a diverse crowd of staff across various specialties and sites.
The event was chaired by Fiona Cathcart, associate director of rehabilitation and therapies, with a keynote speech given by Dr Joanna Cull, head of nurse and midwife led research at the Centre of Research for Nurses and Midwives (ACORN).
Dr Cull gave a thoughtful and engaging talk on her own research journey providing advice for junior and aspiring researchers, including finding inspiring mentors and taking up opportunities when they present themselves.
The poster submissions this year were varied and included topics such as heart failure, staff psychology services, dilated cardiomyopathy, severe asthma and mechanical ventilation.
The posters were judged by dedicated members of senior staff including Professor Michael Polkey (consultant chest physician), Geraldine Sloane (head of research workforce), Dr Deborah Ford (consultant clinical psychologist), Dr Thomas Burgoyne (senior ciliary function scientist), Dr Sam Irving (chief paediatric respiratory research physiologist), Dr Haifa Lyster (consultant pharmacist) and Dr Gemma Stanford (specialist physiotherapist in adult CF).
Two posters were selected by the judges as exceptional projects, and the authors were invited to present at the event: Rasleen Kahai, respiratory dietitian and Irene Berrar Torre, asthma nurse specialist.
Rasleen’s project focused on a trial looking at diet specialist dietetic support for patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Her study found that individualised dietary care provided by a specialist dietitian significantly reversed ongoing weight loss in ILD patients compared to the standard of care (a dietary leaflet).
Irene’s project looked the effectiveness of biologic therapies in allergic treatment of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), a hypersensitive reaction to the fungus known as Aspergillus fumigatus and affects asthma patients. Her study demonstrated a significant reduction in exacerbation frequency, oral corticosteroid use and improvement on symptom control in patients.
The judges jointly chose winners across three categories: Most Innovative, Greatest Patient Benefit and Early Career Researcher.
There were also two other awards; Director’s Choice, selected by Fiona Cathcart, associate director of rehabilitation and therapies, and Staff Favourite, which was voted for by staff.
All the winners are listed below.
The winners
Most Innovative: Rachel Buchan, genomics research associate, for her poster titled “The Heart Hive: Building a community of researchers and people with heart muscle disease.”
Greatest Patient Benefit: Rasleen Kahai, respiratory dietitian, for her poster titled “Dietetic intervention in malnourished patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD): a pilot trial”.
Early Career Researcher: George Edwards, research practitioner, for his poster titled “Estimation of the minimal important difference for the 1 repetition maximum in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease”
Staff Favourite: Christian Wise, cardiac physiologist, for his poster titled “Identification and analysis of predicting factors for long term pacemaker dependence following implantation post transcatheter aortic valve intervention”.
Director’s Choice: Irene Berrar Torre, asthma clinical nurse specialist, for her poster titled “Real world effectiveness of biologic therapy in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis”.
To find out more about our research, please contact us.
Read more of our research stories or sign up to our research newsletter.