Midlands Health Events

Bringing together Medical and Life Science expertise

Each year, MI Health runs targeted events to engage and grow key aspects of our research and innovation community, provides organisational support for partners and sister networks, and promotes other collaborative events across the Midlands (and virtually) covering a wide range of subject areas. Our aim is to:

   ■  Increase knowledge sharing across the region
   ■  Encourage the creation and furthering of collaborations between institutions
   ■  Open more opportunities for external stakeholders to engage with MI Health partners and the wider Midlands R&I community

To find out more about our upcoming and past events, please see below:

Midlands Racial Equality in Medicine

The Midlands Racial Equality in Medicine (MREM) network aims to build connections between regional medical schools (with the ambition to broaden to all health disciplines) to provide both staff and students with a platform to share upcoming initiatives, disseminate research and create joint ventures.

MREM delivers an Annual Conference on behalf of the network partners each year. To find out more about each conference, click the links below.

■  Prof Peter Coventry (University of Keele)
■  Dr Ramat Ayoola (MREM Chair)
■  KEYNOTE: Dr Amitava Ganguli (AscensionQ)
■  KEYNOTE: Rebecca Gonyora (East of England and North East London NHS Trust)
■  Student Panel and Elevate Grant winners
■  Workshops

■  Prof Kate Williams (University of Leicester)
■  Ramat Ayoola (MREM Chair)
■  Kiran Bhavra (University of Warwick)
■  Takunda Nhiwatiwa (University of Leicester)
KEYNOTE: Dr Annabel Sowemimo (Reproductive Justice Initiative)
■  KEYNOTE: Dr Evelyn Mensah (London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust)
■  Student Panel and Elevate Grant winners
■  Workshops

 

Read more about the Conference HERE

■  Prof Sudhesh Kumar (University of Warwick)
■  Ramat Ayoola and Charlotte Simms (MREM Conference Directors)
■  KEYNOTE: Dr Enam Haque (ED&I Alliance)
■  KEYNOTE: Kulbir Shergill (University of Warwick)
■  KEYNOTE: Professor Olanrewaju Sorinola (University of Warwick)
■  Student Panel and Elevate Grant winners
■  Workshops

Health Data Research UK Midlands

HDR UK Midlands is a regional network that aims to improve health through uniting the healthcare and data science communities across the region This enables our teams to improve the quality of health data and to drive forward new technologies to equip our front line clinical staff to deliver excellent care

The HDR UK Midlands Data Grand Round takes place each month at lunchtime for one hour and participants discuss a specific research topic at each meeting. The research topic of interest is presented at each meeting, followed by a Q&A session which usually leads into an in-depth discussion. The meetings are online [virtual meetings] and are recorded for any members of our community that are unable to join us, which are then made available to view via the HDR UK Midlands website.

 

Data to drive change for patients living with cancer Data Grand Round: 22 July 2024 (Register Here)
■ Alastair Mobley, PhD Student at University of Birmingham

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and the association with Vascular Dementia Data Grand Round: 20 June 2024 (Watch Now)
■ Alastair Mobley, PhD Student at University of Birmingham

Multimodal Data in Sports Concussion Data Grand Round: 22 May 2024 (Watch Now)
■ Mr Sheikh Momin, Neurosurgery Academic Clinical Fellow at the University of Birmingham

More past events (View Here)

To a packed room of 150 delegates from the Midlands and beyond, including Taiwan and Australia, this year’s Annual Conference highlighted the region’s crucial role in advancing health data research. The conference featured a brilliant agenda, insightful talks, and dynamic discussions, showcasing the Midlands’ contributions to improving healthcare through data.

Intro & Session 1
■  Fiona Pearce & Alastair Denniston, Co-Directors at HDR UK Midlands  
■  Anthony May OBE DL, Chief Executive Officer at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust   
■  Andrew Morris, Director of Health Data Research UK       
■  Hilary Fanning MBE, Senior Responsible Officer, Data for R&D Programme at NHS England     
■  Firoza Davies, a Patient Representative from the East Midlands 

Session 2: 
■  Andrew Morris, Director of Health Data Research UK  
■  Hilary Fanning MBE, Senior Responsible Owner, Data for R&D programme at NHS England
■  Suzanne Horobin, Head of Innovation Pipeline Development, Health Innovation East Midlands  
■  Yi-Hsin YANG (Connie), Deputy CEO of National Biobank Consortium of Taiwan
■  Alastair Denniston, Director, HDR UK Midlands  
■  Philip Quinlan, Director of Health Informatics, University of Nottingham
■  Robert Free, Director of Informatics, Leicester BRC
■  Nicola Adderley, Associate Professor, Birmingham BRC
■  Simon Ball, Senior Responsible Officer, West Midlands SDE
■  Andrew Haw, Programme Head for interoperability, East Midlands Secure Data Environment
■  Laila Tata, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Nottingham

Session 3: 
■  Amanda Sullivan, Chief Executive, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board 
■ Tanya Pankhurst, Director of Digital Healthcare at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
■ Jeremy Lewis, Chief Clinical Information Officer, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust     
■ Lisa Faria, Director of Healthcare Data Research, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
■ Kevin Dunn, HDR UK Midlands Programme Manager
■ Keith Abrams, Professor of Statistics at University of Warwick
■ Eiman Kanjo, Professor of Pervasive Computing, Nottingham Trent University
■ Sarah Cadman, Programme Director for Capacity Building at HDR UK
■ Claire Lawson, Associate Professor and Advanced NIHR Fellow at the University of Leicester
■ Andrew Barraclough, Head of Quality, Safety and Improvement Analysis, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
■ Glen Howard, Head of Analytics & Evaluation at Health Innovation East Midlands
■ Grazziela Figueredo, Associate Professor, University of Nottingham
■ Jeffry Hogg, Clinical Research Associate at the NIHR Incubator for AI and Digital Healthcare at University of Birmingham
■ Fiona Pearce & Alastair Denniston, Co-Directors at HDR UK Midlands 

Read the full write up HERE.

HDR UK Midlands kicks off its quarterly insight sharing webinar series with a huge successful event joined by people from all over the world

Intro & Session 1
■  Fiona Pearce & Alastair Denniston, Co-Directors at HDR UK Midlands  
■  Paola Quattroni, Head of Alliance Strategy and Engagement, HDR UK  
■  Keith Abrams, Professor of Statistics at University of Warwick  
■  Ash Routen, Research Fellow, University of Leicester    
■  Jane Lyons, Data Scientist, Swansea University Medical School
■  Mark Rutherford, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, University of Leicester  
■  Joseph Alderman, AI and Digital Health Clinical Research Fellow, University of Birmingham
■  Maxine Mackintosh, Programme Lead for Diversity, Genomics England

Session 2: 
■  Martin Levermore MBE, Non-Executive Director at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
■  Suliat Yusuf, HDR UK Intern & Francesca Crowe, Lecturer in Epidemiology and Health Informatics, University of Birmingham
■  Eiman Kanjo, Provost’s Visiting Professor, Imperial College London and Head of Smart Sensing Lab, Nottingham Trent University
■  Ralph Akyea, Senior Research Fellow, University of Nottingham
■  Neil Cockburn, Clinical Research Fellow, University of Birmingham
■  Sam Cusworth, Research Associate and PhD Student, University of Birmingham
■  Fiona Pearce and Alastair Denniston, Co-Directors, HDR UK Midlands

Read the full write-up HERE.

Midlands Extracellular Vesicle Network

The Midlands Extracellular Vesicle (EV) network is a new activity aiming to bring together the key academic researchers and facility managers across the Midlands Innovation partnership to:

■ Develop a vibrant multidisciplinary research community, bringing focus to the diverse EV research activity in the Midlands.
■ Facilitate inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral research collaborations, to develop the next generation of EV based research programmes.
■ Share best practice and provide a platform for collaborative rather than competitive bids, strengthening submissions to research councils for funding.
■ Train, support and inspire the next generation of outstanding leaders in EV research.

We anticipate these meetings will evolve in content and theme as the network grows and would love to engage the community around this as we move forward. If you are interested in joining the network or suggesting a focus area, please get in touch.

The inaugural (half day) virtual conference focussed on ‘Health and Inflammation’ and provided an opportunity for presentations, discussions, and conversations around this exciting and growing area of EV research.

Intro & Session 1: Methods, models and analysis (Watch Now)
■  Dr Vicky James (University of Nottingham)     ■  Dr Saskia Bakker (University of Warwick)
■  Thomas Page (Aston University)                           ■  Davis Tucis (University of Nottingham)

Session 2: The industry view (Watch Now)
■  Dr Dimitri Aubert (Vesiculab)                                 ■  Dr Rob Tempest (NanoFCM)
■  Harry Newberry (Cell Guidance Systems)        ■  Dr James Gavin (Evolution Therapeutics)

Session 3: EVs in Immunology (Watch Now)
■  Dr Ivana Milic (Aston University)                          ■  Nancy Gomez (University of Nottingham)
■  Amon Hackney (De Montfort University)         ■  Rachel Butler (Aston University)

Midlands ICS Health Inequalities, Research and Innovation Workshops

As the region continues to progress the development of its Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), particularly their health inequalities priorities, MI Health is convening a series of events on behalf of the Midlands Health Inequalities Policy Commission. The aim is to discuss the critical role that research and innovation plays in this. Research is a core part of an innovative and forward-thinking health and care system and learning from the pandemic shows that embedding research within the NHS is achievable and delivers both for patients as well as for the NHS.

To enable this, in conjunction with key regional stakeholders, MI Health brings together regional colleagues via a virtual bi-annual workshop to explore how ICSs, with their wider partners, can further consider research and innovation as a key element of planning, developing, and improving services.

To register interest in attending the next workshop please get in touch

The presentations given to open discussions have been made available below.

■ Welcome – Dr Chris Weiner 
■ Session 1: Connecting across systems – John Vesey (WM5G) 
■ Session 2: Midland Health and Care Inequalities Policy Commission – video to be released after report launch

■ Welcome – Professor Patrick Vernon OBE – VIDEO 1
■ Session 1: Diabetes Joint Strategy: creating a joint strategy – Professor Melanie Davies – VIDEO 1
■ Session 2: Workforce Challenges: Health Inequalities – Dr Chris Weiner – VIDEO 2

■ Update on ICS Health Inequalities Strategies and Boards – Prof Patrick Vernon OBE (Birmingham and Solihull ICS) – VIDEO 1
■ Collaborative working with the University of Nottingham – Prof Ian Hall (University of Nottingham) – VIDEO 2
■ Academic Health Science Network facilitated discussion on how Innovation and Real-World Evidence plays an integral part in the NHS – Tim Robinson / Chris Taylor (East Midlands AHSN) – VIDEO 3
■ The Midlands Diabetes Blueprint – Prof Melanie Davies (University of Leicester) – VIDEO 4

Midlands Innovation Immunology Network

MIIN aims to encourage immunology-focused research collaboration and stimulate the building of new research, innovation and training opportunities. This includes utilising our assets and ensuring the region is attracting the necessary state-of-the-art research facilities and staff to the region.

Session 1: Prof Jim Brewer, Glasgow
Vaccine Adjuvants: where they go, how they get there, what they do and why should you care

Session 2: Prof David Sansom, UCL
Differences between CD80 and CD86 affect both the CTLA-4 and PD-1 checkpoints

Session 3: Prof Menna Clatworthy, Cambridge
Tales of tissue immunity

Find out more about BSI Midlands

Intro Dr Lucy Fairclough (University of Nottingham) and Session 1: Antibody Measurement (Watch Now)
Session Chair: Dr David Bending (University of Birmingham)
■  Nina Garrett (Abingdon Health)                                   ■ Dr Adrian Shields (University of Birmingham) 

Session 2: Cell-mediated Immune Responses (Watch Now)
Session Chair: Dr Lucy Fairclough (University of Nottingham)
■  Bruce MacLachlan (Cardiff University)                     ■ Prof Andrea Cooper (University of Leicester)

Session 3: Long COVID (Watch Now)
Session Chair: Dr Ella Maysami (Keele University)
■  Prof Danny Altmann (Imperial College London)   ■ Prof Paul Moss (University of Birmingham)

Session 4: Long COVID (Watch Now)
Session Chair: Professor Dave Cousins (University of Leicester)
■  Prof Imre Berger (University of Bristol)                  ■ Dr Lucy Fairclough (University of Nottingham)

Intro Dr Lucy Fairclough (University of Nottingham) and Session 1: Antibody Measurement (Watch Now)
Session Chair: Prof Mark Drayson (University of Birmingham)
■  Prof Max Crispin (University of Southampton)                       ■ Prof Alex Richter (University of Birmingham)
■  Dr Alexander W. Tarr (University of Nottingham)     

Session 2: Cell-mediated Immune Responses (Watch Now)
Session Chair: Dr Lucy Fairclough (University of Nottingham)
■  Dr Mark Wills (University of Cambridge)                                     ■ Dr Heather Long (University of Birmingham)
■  Dr Zubair Nizamudeen (University of Nottingham)    

Session 3: Long COVID (Watch Now)
Session Chair: Dr Graham Taylor (University of Birmingham)
■  Prof Imre Berger (University of Bristol)                                        ■ Prof Lindy Durrant (University of Nottingham)

Session 4: Systemic Immune Responses (Watch Now)
Session Chair: Prof Lawrence Young (University of Warwick)
■  Prof Dimitris Grammatopolous (University of Warwick)      ■ Dr John Pearl (University of Leicester)

Midlands Mass Spectrometry Group

The MMSG was established by Midlands Innovation, and affiliated Midlands institutions, in order to coordinate knowledge transfer and equipment sharing among universities based within the region. It brings together representatives of mass spectrometry facilities and research groups across the Midlands, applying a diverse range of knowledge and expertise including key academic researchers and facility managers.

Welcome to the Midlands Mass Spectrometry Group 
Professor Andrew Pitt, Chair of MMSG and Visiting Professor (Aston University)

Steroid profiling in a clinical and preclinical setting 
Dr Natalie Homer, Senior Research Fellow, Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, the Queen’s Medical Research Institute (University of Edinburgh)

Panel Discussion
■  Dr Irundika Dias, Lecturer in Biomedical Science (Aston University)
■ Dr Pankaj Gupta, Consultant, Co-Director National Centre for Adherence Testing (University Hospitals Of Leicester NHS Trust)

Welcome to the Midlands Mass Spectrometry Group 
Professor Andrew Pitt, Chair of MMSG and Visiting Professor (Aston University)

Overcoming challenges in detecting molecular ‘glues’ for protein–protein interactions 
Dr Jeddidiah Bellamy-Carter, Research Fellow in Biological Mass Spectrometry at the Leney Lab

James Hughes, Research Fellow at the Cooper Mass Spectrometry Group
Nano-DESI imaging of intact proteins and protein complexes from human liver samples of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

 

Welcome to the Midlands Mass Spectrometry Group 
Professor Andrew Pitt, Chair of MMSG and Visiting Professor (Aston University)

Developing and implementing plasma COVID MS diagnostics for clinical use 
Dan Lane, University of Leicester

Driving National Activity

MI Health also worked with networks across the UK to deliver and support nationally-facing events. This activity ensures that the region is fully represented in key strategic, policy and thematic discussions.

■ UK Life Science Investment Summit 2023 – The Crick Institute, London (click here to read the article)

■ Midlands Engine APPG: Midlands Health & Care Inequalities Policy Commission – Westminster, London (click here to read the article)

■ Midlands Health and Life Science Symposium:

Sponsored by Midlands Engine Health, the Midlands Health and Life Science Symposium was a virtual event series, culminating in an in-person conference. This regional showcase highlighted the powerhouse of Health and Life Sciences research strength that is the Midlands, as well as the role it can play in supporting the delivery of national innovation policies, achievement through the place agenda and adoption/innovation within the NHS.
 
Conference recordings:

Virtual events:

  • The Midlands COVID-19 Response Report Launch Watch Here
  • Midlands Innovation Immunology Network Launch | COVID-19 Research Showcase Watch Here
  • Innovation Friday Online | Health Innovation for Leicester Life Sciences
  • INTERFACE | Science + Art + Health Event Details
  • Beyond COVID-19 | New directions for Public Involvement in Health and Social Care Research in the Midlands Event Details
  • Midlands Innovation Immunology Network Informal Fridays
  • Midlands Mass Spectrometry Group – Virtual Seminar Series: April – Watch Here; Nov – Watch Here; Dec – Watch Here
  • Research on Mental Health Recovery: Co-Created with Survivors of Modern Slavery Event Details
  • Mood Disorders Centre of Excellence Research Meeting Event Details
  • 14th UK & Ireland Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Society Meeting Event Details
  • CANDAL seminar series 2021 Watch Here
  • Centre for Dementia Seminar Series Event Details
  • Cabin Fever: How does isolation affect our mental health? Event Details
  • Neuroscience in forensic mental health: Is it translatable? Event Details
  • Midlands Innovation Immunology Network (MIIN): COVID-19 Research Showcase 2 Watch Here

To find out more about how MI Health can help to support your event, please get in touch.

Find more Midlands networks

Midlands Innovation delivers collaborative engagement activity across a wide range of both thematic and cross-cutting disciplines.

Health
Energy
Inclusive Transformation
Space
Research Infrastructure & Culture
Powering
Skills

Find out more about the full range of MI Health coordinated or supported networks in the region, including who to speak to if you wish to join.

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Our universities work with industry partners to help solve and accelerate energy solutions and low carbon technologies to tackle today’s real-world challenges. The Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) is a long-standing partnership dedicated to enabling research and innovation in energy.

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Our research community is developing place-based, interdisciplinary and co-created ideas to tackle the challenges impacting communities. We’re enabling new insight and social research that will help to enhance wellbeing and prosperity.

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The space research collaboration explores opportunities to help shape the future of space technology. We form one of the largest collections of space-related expertise in the world and support research, development and training within industry and academia.

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We unlock research opportunities by facilitating research  equipment sharing within our partnership. By strengthening our research infrastructure, we’re developing innovative remote training opportunities for researchers and improving research culture.

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Our university partners collectively contribute to economic growth and through collaboration we drive enterprise and innovation. We support and strengthen opportunities for spin-outs and work to attract foreign investment into our R&D portfolio.

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We work together to develop the research and innovation workforce of tomorrow, by supporting career development and learning skills to create a pipeline of talent from technicians to PostDocs and research enablers.

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