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Health leaders urge conference attendees to ‘Mind the Gap’ at ONE BioHub in Aberdeen
2nd October 2024
The NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Reproductive Health and Childbirth Network will be asking conference attendees to ‘Mind the Gap’ this week as it aims for unified action in accelerating vital research
This overarching theme will be a significant part of the NHS Grampian Research Conference, now in its 9th year, which will take place in-person across two days – Friday 4 and Saturday 5 October – at ONE BioHub in Aberdeen.
NHS Grampian R&D Director and conference co-convener Professor Seshadri Vasan said: “We are pleased to be joined by 50 experts from across Scotland speaking on a range of challenges facing the NHS, with the keynote address to be delivered by Scotland’s Chief Scientist (Health), Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak.
“We will be asking how reducing gaps across specialties might be achieved through approaches such as working collaboratively with other groups; accelerating public and patient involvement; building a proactive research culture throughout; and weaving together NHS, academia and industry.
“It is great that the Reproductive Health and Childbirth Network has the opportunity to explore those approaches as part of this year’s joint format conference.”
He added: “We are grateful to ONE BioHub – which continues to enable clinicians, business leaders, and academics to realise their ambitions – for hosting and supporting the event.
“Indeed, we are thankful to all our sponsors – Lincoln IP, Studyline from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Thermo Fisher Scientific, NHS Grampian Charity, Heriot-Watt University, Aberdeen Convention Bureau, P&J Live, and The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.”
The second day of the conference will have a focus on activities led by the Reproductive Health and Childbirth Network – emphasising the need for a holistic approach. A range of expert speakers and engaging sessions will inspire delegates on this theme.
The Network’s Clinical Lead and conference co-convener Professor Abha Maheshwari said: “This is a call to action for all sub-specialities – including preconception, early pregnancy loss, endometriosis, fertility, gynae-oncology, menopause, obstetrics, urogynaecology, and sexual health – to come together.”
The network says the two days are a key opportunity to ‘meet up, network, and learn’ and that the ‘Mind the Gap’ theme will explore opportunities for heightening collaboration when securing funding, transitioning from funding to findings; and finally, from findings to implementation.
Professor Maheshwari continued: “We believe that a joint Reproductive Health and Childbirth Speciality Group and annual Grampian R&D conference across two days represents a positive step.
“Both used to be separate events, but as themes are similar and we need to work collaboratively across all specialities, we have come together with our wider research and development colleagues to hold this progressive-minded joint gathering.
“The conference’s unique venue allows for a highly interactive format which encourages networking opportunities and we’re also excited to be taking advantage of the chance to have a face to face gathering.
“In doing so, we hope to identify common challenges and look at how we can work through them together, analyse what is new in areas such as data science and genomics, and consider how we can make the best use of enablers. These include our Biorepository, the Community Health Index (CHI), the Safe Haven Artificial Platform (SHAIP), and the Scottish Health Research Register (SHARE). We can do this while encouraging and mentoring the next generation of research leaders.
“We’re also delighted to have a great range of guest speakers and panel experts joining us to spark that discussion and no doubt offer important learnings.”
The network’s role is to support delivery of high-quality clinical research in Reproductive Health and Childbirth and manage participant recruitment to time and target for studies led from Scotland and other nations where Scottish sites are participating.
Over the last year, almost 1600 women have taken part in studies seeking to better understand and improve treatments and diagnosis for endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome and other common conditions that impact women and affect quality of life.
The network is also supporting a wide variety of research areas including STOPPIT-3 – a study to find out if the drugs called antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) given to women with a twin pregnancy prior to a planned birth of twins after 35 weeks of pregnancy reduces breathing difficulties in the babies – and The POPPY study, which aims to better explain why some women develop pre-eclampsia and other conditions, with the goal of improving women’s long-term cardiovascular health after pregnancy.
