REDiC Activity Update

Key highlights of 2025 so far…

The REDiC team have attended and supported a number of events aimed at engaging students in research careers. You can read reports from the NIHR Student engagement event “Is a career in research for me?”, held in Nottingham and the Birmingham Widening Access to Medical Sciences, Research Rodeo below.

We continue our collaboration with the MRC ‘Black in Biomedical Research Advisory Group’ (MRC-BBRAG) and REDiC will be attending the ‘Minoritised Life Sciences Future Forum’ conference at the end of March. The ‘James Lind Alliance – MRC-BBRAG Priority Setting Partnership’ will also be launched at the conference, the focus of which will be chronic respiratory diseases in Black children and adults in the UK. Further details of the conference are included in this edition.

Professor Bhuvaneswari Krishnamoorthy, REDiC Steering Group member based at the University of Salford is leading on the delivery of a workshop to increase the diversity of the health and care research community. This interactive day aims to EMPOWER and will include hearing the lived experience of leading ethnic minority researchers and a ‘Meet the experts’ speed dating style session – one not to be missed. For details on how to sign up, keep reading…

In other news, a new REDiC website is coming soon! Details to be shared in our next edition.

EMPOWEReD: Promoting Inclusive Medical Education at the NIHR Student Conference

23rd January 2025

Report by Sangamithra Ravi
Intercalating Medical Student (BSc Urgent and Emergency Care),
University of Plymouth

Co-Chair, SIMBA-CoMICs, DEVI Collaboration

Project Lead, EMPOWEReD initiative

Caption:
Sangamithra Ravi at the NIHR Student Engagement conference in Nottingham

At the recent NIHR Student Conference “Is a Career in Research for me?”, I had the opportunity to collaborate with the NIHR-Supported Race Equity and Diversity in Careers (REDiC) Incubator to promote the EMPOWEReD project (Empowering Medical Professionals through Peer-led, Work-based Education for Real-world Development).

Engaging with students and graduates at the event provided a valuable platform to explore how inclusive, sustainable education can bridge learning gaps and support career development in healthcare.

A key takeaway from the conference was the vital role of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in research and education. Attending the PPI in Research workshop reinforced how integrating patient perspectives enhances both academic projects and clinical practice, making education and healthcare delivery more impactful.

Overall, the conference served as a powerful reminder of the importance of mentorship, diversity, and interdisciplinary learning in shaping the future of medical education and professional development.

Birmingham Widening Access to Medical Sciences (BWAMS) Research Rodeo

25th January 2025

Caption:
The 2025 BWAMS Committee

Report by Alicia De Vidal
BWAMS Committee

What is a Research Rodeo? A Research Rodeo is a conference connecting healthcare students with researchers and medical professionals from various specialties, offering networking opportunities and avenues for research involvement, such as audits and systematic reviews.

On Saturday 25th January, Birmingham Widening Access to Medical Sciences (BWAMS) society hosted such an event at the University of Birmingham Medical School. With support from NIHR’s Incubator in Race Equality and Diversity in Careers (REDiC), healthcare students were educated on entering research and the potential challenges they may encounter.

The day included oral presentation competitions, poster displays of student research, and workshops introducing research methodologies and essential skills, such as creating a research question and statistics.

The event was a resounding success and could not have been achieved without the support from REDiC (Prof Yemisi Takwoingi and Tamara Freeman) and the BWAMS committee (Sam Sherratt-Mayhew, Andeep Ghataure, Alicia De Vidal, and Zahirah Shahnawaz).

Parliamentary Multidisciplinary and Multiprofessional Healthcare Forum: Shaping the Future of the NHS

Professor Patel, through the Centre for Research Equity at University of Oxford, led a House of Commons Parliamentary event with 90 healthcare professional leaders from across the UK in attendance. One of three themes focused on the importance of driving forward inclusive research and the need for more ethnic minority professionals to engage in research and a commitment by the health and care regulators to support that. The report from the event is now available to read in summary and full.

MANSAG Research Manifesto

Following on from the Annual Conference held in October 2024, the Research manifesto which was developed by Professor Patel in collaboration with MANSAG has now been published. You can read it via the link below:

University of Oxford Centre for Equity Research & MANSAG Manifesto doc

Cultivating Academic Research Empowerment (C.A.R.E.)

A workshop for Racially Minoritised Health and Care Professionals

Monday 12th May 2025

Hyatt Regency, Manchester

Do you want to engage more actively in research and increase the diversity of the health and care research community?

This interactive programme has been designed to EMPOWER racially minoritised health and care professionals, early career researchers and those interested in clinical and applied research; with the tools, insights and support needed to advance your career.

Includes an overview of the NIHR Academy Fellowship Programme and the opportunity to learn from lived experience of leading ethnic minority researchers.

Faculty includes:

• Prof. Bhuvaneswari Krishnamoorthy, Prof. Heather Iles-Smith (University of Salford)
• Prof. Yemisi Takwoingi (University of Birmingham and REDiC lead)
• Ms. Humaira Abbas and Dr. Henry Mbawa Jr (NIHR Academy)
• Dr. Fozia Ahmed (NIHR BRC, Manchester)
• Dr. Angela Kelsall (NIHR CRF, EDI co-lead)

For further details please see the Minoritised Life Scientists Future Forum conference website

New Directors appointed for 5 NIHR programmes

Congratulations to Professor Dilu Wijeratne, REDiC Steering Group member who is one of six new Programme Directors appointed to lead 1 of 15 research programmes.

Professor Wu who holds the William R Lindsay Chair of Health Economics and is Co-Director of the Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment (HEHTA) Research Unit at the University of Glasgow will lead the National Research Collaboration Programme (NRC) She has also been appointed as Director for the Better Methods, Better Research (BMBR) Programme.

You can read the full News Article on the NIHR website.

NIHR SPCR Bitesize Monthly showcase Webinars 2025

The NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) have developed a new series of lunchtime sessions designed to highlight the real-world impact of SPCR research. These one-hour events will feature short researcher presentations focusing on key findings, policy and practice impacts, and future directions, followed by a live Q&A chaired by a member of the SPCR Board.

Further information, including registration can be found on the NIHR SPCR website.

ROK-UK Smart Clinical Trials Collaboration Award

A new award, run by NHR in partnership with the Health Industry Development Institute, will enable up to build working relationships with researchers based in the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Interdisciplinary teams based in both the UK and the ROK can receive up to £100,000 to support placements, co-workshops, partnership-building activities and visits.

By undertaking these activities, you build relationships and enable research into smart clinical trial delivery.

Applications will open mid-January 2025, closing date 1st April 2025.

NIHR funds new incubators to support research careers

The NIHR has awarded funding to 5 new incubators to address areas where there is a need to build research capacity on a national level.

The new incubators are:

• Knowledge Mobilisation for Research Inclusion, led by Professor Kay Guccione and Dr Alice Moultrie.
• General Paediatrics, led by Dr Katrina Wade and Dr Lee Hudson.
• Acquired Brain Injury Social Care Network, led by Professor Andrew Bateman and Dr Alyson Norman.
• Palliative and End of Life Care, led by Professor Christina Faull and Professor Michael Nott.
• Oral Health Research: unlocking policy across the UK, led by Professor Zoe Marshman and Professor Chris Vernazza.

February 2025 edition of the NIHR Academy Newsletter

New NHS England research toolkit

NHS England have recently published a research toolkit offering practical information and support for matrons and other health and care leaders, with specific guidance on:

• how to recognise key components of research leadership
• how to reflect on individual research leadership and create a research development action plan
• how to access communities of practice and share ideas with peers