The Elizabeth Blackwell
Institute for Health Research
Building new research communities
‘None of us can know
what we are capable
of until we are tested.’
Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)
bristol.ac.uk/blackwell
An inspired start
Elizabeth Blackwell’s remarkable story as the
first woman to qualify as a doctor in the USA
and the first woman on the UK Medical Register
is rooted in Bristol, where she was born. Her
pioneering work in preventative medicine and
medical education created a lasting legacy
that remains an inspiration as we tackle the
challenges of the 21st century.
Our goal at the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute
for Health Research (EBI) is to provide an
environment for researchers, clinicians,
industry, healthcare practitioners and the public
to collaborate. By identifying talented clinical
and non-clinical health researchers, we are also
investing in the future of healthcare research.
Since our inception in 2012, thanks to £3.75m
in Wellcome Trust funding matched by the
University of Bristol, we have steered efforts to
identify new approaches to current biomedical
and health challenges by providing expert
support and funding for interdisciplinary
workshops and pilot projects.
At heart, ours is a collective endeavour
to ensure the basic sciences that underpin
our understanding of health and disease,
as well as clinical, social and population
sciences can be translated into tangible
outcomes through projects that will make
a difference to people’s lives.
bristol.ac.uk/blackwell
Investing in the future
Over half of our funding has been spent
on supporting early career researchers
and clinicians, enabling young, talented
people to secure major prestigious awards
and fellowships.
Expert supervision, mentoring schemes and
assistance with funding applications are all part
of a package aimed at providing a springboard
for the health researchers and practitioners of
the future.
Our Clinical Primer scheme gives the most
exceptional medical and veterinary graduates
from across the world a chance to develop the
skills and knowledge required for an academic
career by experiencing life in a world-leading
research environment.
“I’ve been inspired by being in a highly
ambitious and competitive lab setting.
The Clinical Primer allowed me to gain the
necessary research knowledge and technical
skills for subsequent funding applications.”
Adam Chambers, trainee surgeon
For researchers who wish to further their career
by applying for externally funded fellowships,
our Early Career Fellowships give them an
opportunity to develop their research vision
with the support of senior academic staff.
Discipline Hopping Fellowships provide an
opportunity for successful postgraduate
students to diversify their interdisciplinary skills
by spending time in different research groups.
“The flexibility and interdisciplinary nature of
the award has allowed me to explore innovative
lines of research and establish myself as
an independent researcher.” Dr Rebecca
Pearson, School of Social and Community
Medicine, University of Bristol
Adam Chambers
Dr Rebecca Pearson
bristol.ac.uk/blackwell
Developing networks
We have been pivotal in encouraging new
configurations of people, expertise and ideas.
Our workshops encourage academics from
every school across the University – from Arts
and Social Sciences to Biomedical Sciences
and Engineering – to tackle health challenges
in novel ways.
Subjects covered range from health and
environment to infectious disease modelling,
and from nanosystems for biomedical
applications to school food programmes.
Almost £300,000 has been invested via
our Catalyst Funds in pilot projects and new
interdisciplinary collaborations. Each project
has the potential to secure further external
awards, develop into a major research
programme, and ultimately lead to
significant improvements in health.
Our Translational Acceleration and Knowledge
Transfer (TRACK) Awards support preliminary
studies to assess new approaches for
developing a device, diagnostic or therapeutic.
Several projects have secured further
investment of over £4.5m from the Wellcome
Trust, the National Institute for Health Research
(NIHR) and commercial partners.
“The Catalyst Award really opened up a new
avenue of research. It allowed us to bring
together preclinical and clinical experts and
have them working side by side. This means
our investigations into understanding the
growth of the prematurely-born brain are truly
guided by what is important to the doctors
who look after these babies.” Dr Mike Ashby,
School of Physiology and Pharmacology,
University of Bristol
“With TRACK funding, we developed a novel
detector system to monitor the X-ray therapy
beam shape and intensity in cancer treatment.
EBI’s support was vital to our project and
laid the groundwork for further research.”
Dr Jaap Velthuis, University of Bristol physicist
Dr Mike Ashby
Dr Jaap Velthuis
bristol.ac.uk/blackwell
Addressing practical challenges
Our Research for Health Challenge gives
practitioners a unique opportunity to
formulate problems they face on a daily
basis, and encourages them to build long term
collaborations with University researchers
to explore innovative approaches.
Working with colleagues across the South
West’s health research network, including
Bristol Health Partners, West of England
Academic Health Science Network and the
NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied
Health Research and Care West, ensures we
reach the wider healthcare community.
Health practitioners have posed 80 challenges
for researchers to explore issues such as
decision-making processes in intensive care,
patient responses to immunosuppressive
treatment, physical and psychological
interventions to improve postoperative
recovery, and the connections between
anxiety disorders in young people and time
spent using screen technology.
The scheme provides practitioners with
invaluable access to knowledge and ideas,
while physicists, psychologists, engineers,
social scientists and biomedical experts have
been able to ensure their science is guided by
real-world needs.
“This initiative is a fantastic example of
getting colleagues in the NHS and the
University working together to achieve
better patient outcomes.” Dr Sanjoy Shah,
Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine,
University Hospitals Bristol NHS
Foundation Trust
Dr Sanjoy Shah
bristol.ac.uk/blackwell
Public engagement
Engaging with the public and patients is key
to our goal of supporting a culture where
health research is informed by their views,
and ensuring that we support initiatives that
will meet patients’ needs at the regional,
national and international level.
Our Public Advisory Group (PAG) comprises
stakeholders in health and social care as
well as representatives of public and patient
involvement groups linked to the University.
The group has given researchers access to
valuable feedback on how their work relates to
the needs of the community, while presenting
opportunities to expand their evidence base
and enhance their grant applications.
Dr Helen Cramer
Using funds donated to us by the Elizabeth
Blackwell family, we have revived the spirit of
the Penny Lectures that were part of the work
of the National Health Society, founded by
Elizabeth Blackwell in 1871. These talks were
designed to encourage new thinking and ideas.
Today, our annual lectures are based on the
same principle. Our inaugural 2014 Elizabeth
Blackwell public lecture was given by Dame
Sally Davies.
“It was really good to hear PAG ideas about
making better links to social prescribing
practices and make some better contacts
there. Discussions about the stigma of mental
health in different communities and what this
might mean for our research were also very
interesting and useful.” Dr Helen Cramer,
Research Fellow, University of Bristol
bristol.ac.uk/blackwell
Contact
The Elizabeth Blackwell Institute is always
looking for fresh ideas and new opportunities
to work with practitioners, academia and
industry that will help us advance our vision
for innovative health research.
[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)117 331 8293
Printed October 2015
Do you have a project you would like to
discuss? Are you involved in a regional, national
or international organisation that could benefit
from some academic expertise? Would you
like to join our Public Advisory Group? If so,
we would be delighted to hear from you.
Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research
University of Bristol
Royal Fort House
Tyndall Avenue
Bristol UK
BS8 1UH
Royal Fort House