faculty and research update - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Brookes Students Attend CAIPEConferenceOn the 9th November 2012, threethird year Children’s nurses attendeda student conference focusing oninterprofessional learning, run by theCentre For The Advancement OfInterprofessional Education (CAIPE).The day consisted of various speakersand a breakout discussion in smallgroups. A highlight was the speakerKylie Jarvis, who has Down’s syndrome,demonstrating perfect public speakingskills on the importance of usinglanguage that is suitable for eachindividual patient and how to supportself-advocacy in people with a learningdisability using a MDT approach.The conference was also an excellentnetworking opportunity, we had thechance to meet and work with studentsfrom different universities, from varyingcourses. We would recommend joiningCAIPE for the conference opportunitiesand to stay up to date with IPE andother students.Public Health Student Gains Prestigious ScholarshipA student on the Masters in Public Health programme has received an award from the JohnHopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Evelyn Akinbunu, who is a full time internationalstudent from Ontario, Canada, received a scholarship to study for a Vaccine Policy Issuescourse taught in partnership with The Public Health Agency of Barcelona.Designed specifically for public health professionals, the course was an intensive three-daycourse that featured renowned professionals in the area of vaccine, including guest speakersfrom organizations such as WHO, LSHTM, Novartis, and the University of Barcelona.Evelyn commented:As a current student and novice in the field of public health, I was unsure ofwhat to expect. However, the course took me on something I would like tocall a “vaccine journey”. Within the span of 72 hours, I was able to have anin-depth understanding of immunization programmes, the role of the internetin low uptake, research and design, vaccine safety, the debate of compulsoryvaccination, the challenges faced by developing countries and how to tacklethe general public’s lack of confidence in immunization.‘In between the talks, group activities were implemented to facilitate discussions,tackling vaccine policy case studies, and creating our own immunization program.I was unsure of what I would take away from this course, but I acquired a wealth ofknowledge about a field unknown to me. It also made me aware of my ignorance inthe area of vaccinations. I took away many valuable lessons, but the one that stoodout to me is the need for better public health communication to the general public.This will restore the public’s confidence in vaccines and increase uptake.EventsFirst International SpiderWeb Meeting23-24 February, 2013Oxford Brookes University, UKDept. of Biological and Medical SciencesSpiderWeb is an alliance led by Dr. AlistairMcGregor (OBU), Dr. Evelyn Schwager(Havard University) and Dr. Niko Prpic-Schäper(Göttingen University) of severalresearch groups who are interested in thedevelopment, evolution, phylogeny anddiversity of spiders. SpiderWeb servesas a way to share and discuss ideas,knowledge, resources and materials. Datasharing and joint meetings further increasethe synergy, support common scientificprojects, and help to manage all availableresources economically.SpiderWeb will host its first meeting atOxford Brookes University in February, withinterested researchers from around the world!The meeting will include talks by membersof the consortium, additional contributedtalks and posters, and two workshops todiscuss current and future progress in spidergenomics and functional tools.Organizers: Alistair McGregor, Evelyn Schwager,Niko Prpic-SchäperPlenary presentations: Hiroki Oda, Michael AkamConfirmed speakers: Yasuko Akiyama-Oda, Jonathan Coddington, Wim Damen,Cassandra Extavour, Franziska Anni Franke,Beate Mittmann, Matthias Pechmann,Siegfried Roth, Evelyn Schwager, PrashantSharma, Angelika StollewerkworkshopResearch that breaks your heart: The emotional impact of research on the researcher11 March, Marston Road CampusMarta Wanat (Department of Clinical Health Care) and Tracy McAteer (Department of Psychology, Social Work & Public Health) who areboth PhD Researchers have managed to secure funding from The Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group to run a one day workshop.It is aimed at postgraduates who are currently conducting research on emotionally sensitive topics.The invited speakers include Dr Juliet Rayment (City University London), Bridget Taylor, Marta Wanat, Tracy McAteer (Oxford BrookesUniversity) and Ben Hicks (Bournemouth University).If you would like more information, please email Marta Wanat (marta.wanat-2011@brookes.ac.uk) orTracy Mcateer (tmcateer@brookes.ac.uk) who are organising this workshop.March 2013 9