Blog post: The NIHR Newcastle BRC Showcase of Research Excellence

By Professor Miles Witham, Professor of Trials for Older People

Spring seems to be the new conference season, and the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Showcase of Research Excellence took place on the 13th of March 2024. The event was held at the Catalyst building in the heart of Newcastle – a venue that is rapidly becoming a second home for the AGE Research Group! AGE members are central to the Ageing, Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity Theme of the BRC, and were out in force, delivering talks and activities and helping to ensure the smooth running of the day.

We were treated to a series of inspiring presentations covering the history, breadth and context of the research that the BRC supports. Contributors included Professor Chris Day (vice chancellor of Newcastle University and director of the first Newcastle BRC back in 2007) and colleagues from both Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Trust and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust. Other notable highlights included BRC lead for patient and public involvement Professor Sian Robinson describing the central role of patients and the public in the work of the BRC, in partnership with John Bedlington, one of our patient and public advisory group members.‌

Plenary sessions were followed by breakout sessions, giving each Theme an opportunity to share both their achievements to date and their plans for the next few years. In the afternoon we heard from a series of early career researcher colleagues (including our own Dr Karen Suetterlin) highlighting the importance of capacity development and training  within the BRC. At lunchtime, there were guided poster tours, with posters from all eight themes showcasing the outstanding and innovative work within and across the Themes. Demonstrations of wearable technology for measuring physical activity, and the opportunity to benchmark your handgrip strength against normal values were popular, with the latter generating considerable competition between delegates!

So what did we all take away from the day? Firstly, the energy. There was a fantastic buzz at the event and a real sense of excitement about the work of the BRC, both in terms of its quality and innovation, but also a sense of direction and purpose. Secondly, the degree to which Themes were already collaborating and interacting with each other was striking – a BRC has to be more than the sum of its parts, and this was very much in evidence. Both the mix of researchers at the event and the work presented spoke to the interdisciplinary nature of much of the BRCs work – so important in tackling the complex challenges surrounding ageing and multiple long-term conditions.

Finally, the sense of community and of growing connections amongst both research and clinical colleagues was evident. This was an event with a lot of conversations – both between talks but also within sessions. This degree of collegiality was heartening to see. As co-lead for the Ageing, Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity Theme, I was pleased to see the tremendous turnout and engagement from members of our Theme, who seemed to be everywhere and talking to everyone. The work of our Theme can only benefit from deepening these connections with colleagues, and hopefully their work will benefit from our expertise as well.

Perhaps the last word should go to our patient and public contributors Joan and John Bedlington, who encapsulated the spirit and content of the event as follows: “We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were blown away by the incredibly wide scope of the studies, networks and the obvious expertise of the speakers and teams”. Putting together events such as this requires significant time, planning and effort, and the organisation on the day was second to none – a credit to Professor Avan Sayer’s leadership, Leanne Cork’s organisational skills as Performance Manager for the BRC, and the contributions of all those within the BRC Core Team and Themes.

Last modified: Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:26:45 GMT