Experts Matter. Find Yours.
Connect for media, speaking, professional opportunities & more.
ChristianaCare Launches Supplier Diversity Program
Making the organization more reflective of the patients and communities we serve To advance its commitment to diversity and inclusion, ChristianaCare has launched a supplier diversity program – the first among hospitals in Delaware – that supports greater equity among suppliers and provides equal access to purchasing opportunities at the health system. The new program opens the door for small and diverse businesses owned and operated by ethnic minorities, women, veterans, service-disabled veterans, LGBTQ+ individuals and persons with disabilities to do business with ChristianaCare. “ChristianaCare’s commitment to expand and strengthen our partnerships with diverse vendors and suppliers is integral to our strategic plan to embed equity throughout our operations and culture,” said Jennifer Garvin, vice president of Supply Chain at ChristianaCare. “As the largest private employer in Delaware, we want to continue to grow and develop our diverse network of suppliers and vendors and obtain the best products at the best price. “This program gives us a platform to connect with smaller, historically disadvantaged firms. “We often look to the suppliers and business partners in our supply chain to bring new ideas and fresh insights to the table – and we believe everyone should have a seat at that table,” Garvin said. “By formalizing our commitment to supplier diversity, we are making ChristianaCare more reflective of the patients and communities we are privileged to serve.” By emphasizing a culture of diversity throughout their business operations, organizations tend to attract and retain top talent, increase employee satisfaction, outperform competitors and make better business decisions, according to research published by McKinsey & Company on the impact of diversity on businesses. “By being purposeful where we purchase our goods and services, we can make a meaningful, measurable and lasting impact on the wellbeing of our neighbors and our local economy,” said Etmara Offe, senior program manager of Supplier Diversity at ChristianaCare, and the first person to hold a position dedicated to supplier diversity at a health system in Delaware. “We want to ensure that a wide range of diverse suppliers and vendors have opportunities to work with us by growing and developing our network through outreach and educational programs,” she said. Offe said that plans are in the works for a supplier mentoring program and outreach events in the year ahead. For more information, visit ChristianaCare Supplier Diversity – ChristianaCare. Diverse businesses can apply using the Potential Supplier Intake Form on the website.
Psychology students launch creative sessions to support wellbeing through art
The Aston Creative Wellbeing Group is run and facilitated by Aston University psychology students The group brings students together outside of class with an aim of supporting health and wellbeing through art The group will be running another nine sessions in spring 2023 due to its popularity. A student-led creative wellbeing group has been set up by psychology students at Aston University, with the help of their tutor, to connect student participants through art and help enhance their wellbeing. The Aston Creative Wellbeing Group, which showcases its creative work on its Instagram page, was so well attended in the autumn term - with more than 120 participants - it is now planning another nine sessions meeting weekly during the spring term to continue its mission to bring students together and support wellbeing. With some initial funding from the University welfare team to purchase ‘start up’ materials, the group ran a range of sessions including rock painting, making postcards, learning to crochet, painting and drawing and making festive decorations during the autumn 2022 term. Dr Kate Nicholls, senior personal tutor and teaching fellow in psychology at Aston University, explained why she supported the group to set up. Kate said: "I was keen to develop some student-led initiatives to support health and wellbeing in the School of Psychology. I also hoped it would help the students develop their professional skills and the practical application of their psychological knowledge. "It was art making and creative activities that sparked an interest from some final year psychology students and the Aston Creative Wellbeing Group was born. The group wanted to use the arts to enhance wellbeing, using creative activities to explore sense-making, aesthetic appreciation, provide entertainment and friendships.” Karla Hitchins, a final year psychology student who set up the group, said: “Running the group slides in nicely with my interests in art psychotherapy, but I also really enjoy arts and crafts in my own time. It has been great fun to facilitate this group. “The aim of the sessions is for people to have a safe space where they can connect with their creative side, as well as with other students. At the University, there are wellbeing and counselling services, but I don’t think there is anything quite like this. “Having somewhere to express your feelings, or to just have a creative outlet is incredibly important and I hope that eventually there will be more arts-based interventions for mental health and wellbeing at all universities.” Psychology student and group facilitator, Molly-Emma Taylor, said: “I've experienced a few mental health wobbles during this term, so having the wellbeing sessions has helped me a lot. "For example, the painting session was an amazing way to let out some pent-up feelings and it gave me time to connect with friends. I don't think I would have got so much out of it had I simply painted alone. “I think that the theme of everyone banding together every two weeks and making art, in whatever form it may be, is pretty awesome. It's always fun to see what everyone makes. “The social media aspect of the group on Instagram is nice too, because it means even if someone wasn't able to make it to a session they can still feel like a part of group and see what other people created.” Jacqueline Maloney, mental health specialist at Aston University said: "As a mental health specialist at the University, I have been thrilled to help promote and support our psychology Students’ initiative to provide creative wellbeing activities for our students. "I am a big believer in the therapeutic potential of the arts and through participation in these sessions I have witnessed students relaxing, laughing, trying new crafts, and enjoying time in creative endeavours. I am so pleased that this session will be continued into 2023." For more information about studying psychology at Aston University, please visit our website.
Social media engagement style may be linked with perceived social connectedness – new research
A novel experimental task measuring behaviour on a social networking site identifies key differences between passive, reactive and interactive usage 526 users were observed on the mock platform to monitor usage according to frequency of likes, shares, and scrolling More interactive users reported greater social connectedness and social capital Researchers at Aston University have developed a new experimental task, involving a mock social networking site, which grouped people into three distinct styles of social media use—passive, reactive and interactive. Led by Dr Daniel Shaw and Dr Charlotte Pennington in the School of Psychology, at Aston University, the new findings also suggest that interactive users reported greater feelings of social connectedness than passive or reactive users. Despite the wealth of research into the psychological impact of social networking site (SNS) usage, inconsistent findings have prevented any firm conclusions from being drawn. While some studies have concluded that social media usage was associated with increased social connectedness and reduced loneliness, others reported detriments to loneliness and wellbeing with greater use of such platforms. In their new work, published in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers administered the Social Networking SiteBehavior Task (SNSBT) online to 526 individuals, who also completed questionnaires on their levels of loneliness, sense of belonging, social connectedness, online social capital and answered questions about their Facebook usage and friendship network. The SNSBT grouped users into three discrete groups depending on how often they clicked “Next,” “Like,” or “Share” on 90 images presented to them on the mock SNS. On average, passive users, about 39% of those in the study, clicked “Next” most often (on 85% of images). Reactive users, 35.4% of the study, most often clicked either “Next” (59% of the time) or “Like” (36% of the time). Interactive users, 25.7% of participants, mostly clicked “Like” (51% of the time) or “Share” (20% of the time). Analysis of the data revealed that interactive users had, on average, more Facebook friends, spent more time on Facebook, and reported greater feelings of social connectedness and social capital than passive or reactive SNS users. However, this study could not determine if any causal or directional link between these factors exists. The researchers are planning to carry outfurther work in this area. The authors concluded that the simple SNSBT tool they developed, now publicly available, could help researchers quantitatively differentiate between different SNS usage styles and overcome the limitations of self-report data, enhancing future research in the field of cyberpsychology. Dr Daniel Shaw said: “This study introduces a new tool with which researchers can measure different styles of engagement on social networking platforms and indicates that our style of engagement can be more important for our psychological wellbeing than the amount of time we spend on social media.” Dr Charlotte Pennington added: “Individuals displaying more interactive styles of usage on our platform reported stronger feelings of social connectedness and social capital compared with those who showed more reactive or passive behaviour. Our team has developed the first mock social networking site that can be used to measure natural styles of usage, free from the ethical concerns that arise when people log into their own phones.”
Aston University and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWCH) have pledged to work together to address health provision in the city by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to co-develop paediatric health initiatives and the health services workforce of the future to deliver them. The strategic partnership between the University and BWCH aims to develop the health services workforce of the future together (particularly focusing on course development and delivery, including placements). It will also invest in shared posts that support closer links between academic, education and healthcare provision and support honorary appointments and initiate collaborative projects including joint research, to develop world-leading research and provision in the field of paediatric health and wellbeing. The partnership will make the most efficient use of resources and reduce duplication by providing a range of shared services, as well as continuously developing new ways to work together, with a view to supporting innovation in the field of healthcare. These activities will build on the existing joined up work taking place between Aston University and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, such as shared use of the MRI scanning services in the Aston Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment and joint research projects examining topics including epilepsy in children, eating behaviours and neurodevelopment. Both organisations are also members of Birmingham Health Partners, the city’s clinical-academic research alliance, which includes maternal health as one as its key strategic focus areas. Professor Anthony Hilton, pro-vice-chancellor and executive dean of the College of Health and Life Sciences at Aston University, said: “The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding formalises the existing relationship between our two organisations and represents a strong joint commitment to improving healthcare provision in our city. “Working collaboratively enables us to bring together world-leading research with outstanding clinical provision, for the benefit of our students, patients accessing BWCH services and our city and region. I look forward to developing the many ways in which our organisations can work together to improve healthcare provision in Birmingham.” Matthew Boazman, deputy chief executive officer of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The partnership between BWCH and Aston University represents a wonderful opportunity for us to ensure that Birmingham has access to world-class healthcare provision and that those entering the workforce are as ready as they can be.”
Research suggests nutrition education should be on the curriculum of all medical students as well as other healthcare professionals Association for Nutrition develops new curriculum ready for medical students Aston University is one of the pioneers in delivering and embedding nutrition education as part of its medical school undergraduate programme. All healthcare professionals should study a curriculum of nutrition education during their studies in order to help better support public health – new paper suggests. Nutritional researchers from Aston University, with colleagues from other universities and leading nutritional groups, worked with the Association of Nutrition (AfN) to help develop a curriculum that can be rolled out amongst all undergraduate medical school students with potential for modules to be taught to other healthcare professional courses. The paper jointly published in the British Journal for Nutrition and BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health examined the development of a new curriculum aimed at undergraduate medical students and made recommendations on its roll out nationally, with a view to it subsequently being implemented into other healthcare courses. The AfN Undergraduate Curriculum in Nutrition for medical doctors has been designed to be presented to medical students as an integral part of their general undergraduate training, making it clear how nutrition interrelates with the study of other systems and contributes to an inclusive understanding of health and disease. Dr Duane Mellor, clinical dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston Medical School at Aston University and co-author on the paper, said: “At present, lifestyle related health problems from living with obesity, through to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and several cancers can all be linked to diet across our communities. Whereas in hospitals around a third of patients coming in can be undernourished. “Nutrition and food play a key role to both keeping us healthy and helping to manage disease, which is why it is imperative we educate our future doctors and other health professionals about the role of nutrition in patient care.” The paper sets out not only the need for nutrition education and the gaps, but how it can be included as part of what is already a very busy and content heavy curriculum. It builds on areas of the curriculum where nutrition could even be used to help teach concepts such as epidemiology. It highlights how historically medical education along with the education of many health professionals not specialising in nutrition often have only a few hours of teaching on the subject. Dr Glenys Jones, deputy chief executive at the Association for Nutrition, who led the curriculum development project and is co-author on the recent paper, said: “Nutrition is a key and modifiable determinant of health and wellbeing, therefore it is essential our future medical and healthcare professionals are equipped to be able to identify when nutrition could be involved in a patient’s condition in order for this to form part of their care. “The curriculum is not designed to turn our doctors into nutritionists or dietitians, but to give them the knowledge and skills to be able to think about whether nutrition could be playing a role and having the confidence and knowledge of who, when and how to refer on to suitable nutrition professionals when this is needed.” Aston University is a pioneer in the key area of nutrition education of the future healthcare workforce. As one of few UK universities with a dietitian or nutritionist as part of the teaching team within its medical school, these skills are now being developed to benefit the training of other health professionals. Dr Mellor added: “As one of a few dietitians and nutritionists embedded into the teaching team at Aston Medical School, we have been able to integrate nutrition across our curriculum. “It is great to be able to highlight how nutrition links to the basic science areas such as biochemistry through to how you can encourage a patient to think about changing their diet in clinical skills". Aston University has also started to explore with the Association for Nutrition the potential need for nutrition education in other professions. From this an outline of a core curriculum for nutrition for a range of health professionals is in development. Dr Mellor also plans to work with colleagues to further develop nutrition teaching at Aston University, thus helping students across subjects such as optometry and pharmacy to gain a better understanding of nutrition and how it impacts on their areas of expertise. For more information about Aston Medical School please visit our website.
• Menopause: Continuing the Conversation will premiere at 12 noon on 18 October • The news-style programme features key industry interviews and news-style reports along with sponsored editorial profiles • It includes a film of Aston University staff telling their own stories. Aston University has joined forces with the British Menopause Society and ITN’s bespoke production hub, ITN Business, to contribute to a programme which raises awareness of the menopause for World Menopause Day. Menopause: Continuing the Conversation features key industry interviews and news-style reports, along with sponsored editorial profiles. It is anchored by television presenter and journalist Louise Minchin and will premiere at 12 noon on 18 October 2022 on the British Menopause Society's YouTube channel. The programme takes a holistic look – from lifestyle to changes in workplace policy - to support and empower women embarking on the perimenopause and beyond. Staff from Aston University tell their own stories in a film which forms part of the programme. World Menopause Day is held every year on 18 October. The day was designated by the International Menopause Society (IMS) to raise awareness of the menopause and to support options to improve health and wellbeing for women in mid-life and beyond. The theme for World Menopause Day 2022 is cognition and mood. According to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), three out of five working women between the ages of 45 and 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work, nearly two-thirds of women surveyed said they were less able to concentrate, more than half said they experience more stress, 30 per cent of women said they had taken sick leave because of their symptoms and only a small minority said they told their managers about the real reason for taking sick leave. Beth Lloyd, associate director of organisational development at Aston University, said: “We are excited to announce our involvement in a news-style programme Menopause: Continuing the Conversation in partnership with ITN Business and the British Menopause Society for World Menopause Day. “Menopause is not just a gender or age issue; it is an organisational issue. It can impact on colleagues both directly or indirectly. Awareness on this topic is fundamental to reduce the stigma attached to it so that more people will talk openly about it so it can begin to be normalised and people can get the support they need. “Aston University has taken a proactive approach to raising awareness of the topic including hosting a range of workshops for managers and staff, introducing menopause mentors and creating an informal networking group. Our hope is that these activities will create a truly inclusive workplace and achieve our goal of becoming a recognised menopause friendly employer.”
Expertfile Spotlight on National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being
ChristianaCare Participates in National Academy of Medicine National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being and Calls for Collective Movement to Address Burnout Crisis The capacity and well-being of the U.S. health workforce has been under threat for years by an epidemic of burnout, and two years of the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated this systems issue. Now at least 40% of nurses, 20% of physicians, and more than 25% of state and local public health department employees are considering leaving their professions. Recognizing that the function of the U.S. health system is at stake due to dangerously mounting health care system pressures, the National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being by the National Academy of Medicine calls for immediate action to safeguard this precious national resource dedicated to protecting the country’s health. ChristianaCare is proud to have contributed this publication. “The NAM Clinician Well-Being Collaborative’s National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being will drive urgently needed collective action to strengthen health workforce well-being and reverse existing alarming trends in burnout and turnover,” said ChristianaCare Chief Wellness Officer Heather Farley, M.D., MHCDS, FACEP. “ChristianaCare has served as a strategic network partner with the NAM to design this National Plan, which will coordinate action across several priority areas, including understanding the effects of COVID-19 on the health care workforce, recruiting of the next generation, and increasing access to much-needed mental health resources.” The National Plan calls on multiple actors to work together to drive policy and systems change to better support the health workforce and the health of all communities – including health care and public health leaders, government, payers, industry, educators, and leaders in other sectors. A draft of the National Plan was made available for public feedback and received nearly 2,000 constructive comments. To date the final Plan has received endorsements from over 25 organizations representing the diverse organizational membership of the Clinician Well-Being Collaborative and the various actors needed to collectively advance the practical strategies laid out in the Plan – including ChristianaCare. ChristianaCare has been engaged in all National Plan priority areas, such as: The creation and sustaining of positive work and learning environments and culture. Efforts in this priority area include development of the Center for WorkLife Wellbeing, which utilizes a comprehensive, multimodal approach to foster caregiver work-life meaning, connection, and joy. The Center offers multiple support services and culture change initiatives, including the implementation of resident well-being rounds, OASIS rooms for caregiver restoration, and opportunities for caregivers to develop long-standing mutual support systems. The support of mental health and reduction of mental health stigma, which included the championing of the physician mental health bill that became law this year. It also includes psychological first aid training that ChristianaCare has implemented for health system leaders and managers. Additionally, ChristianaCare offers free comprehensive behavioral health support services and an individual peer and group support program to help caregivers when they experience stress in the workplace. The commitment to well-being as a long-term value, which includes integration of caregiver collective well-being as a systemwide strategic goal. The National Plan visualizes that, when all actors take responsibility, we can create a health system in which care is delivered with joy and with meaning, by a committed care team, in partnership with engaged patients and communities. The National Plan identifies a range of actions for the near-, medium-, and long-term to achieve seven priority areas for health workforce well-being, clearly naming associated goals and responsible actors. Access the full National Plan here to learn more about the priority areas for action. For more information on the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, of which ChristianaCare is a member, visit this site.
Ask an expert: Are children mentally rebounding back to a sense of normalcy?
With kids heading back to class and schools facing a new normal, there's a lot to consider about life post-pandemic, especially when it comes to America's children. Recently, we sat down with Augusta University's Dr. Dale Peeples, a child and adolescent psychiatrist who treats young patients and educates parents on psychological disorders such as anxiety, ADHD and depression. Throughout the pandemic, Peeples has also been the go-to psychiatrist for media and parents, providing tips to maintain mental wellbeing. Q: Are children mentally rebounding or adjusting back to a sense of normalcy? I think we are seeing an impact from the pandemic that’s continued even though life is getting much closer to what we consider normal. The impact with kids largely focuses on school, both through education and through those social interactions. I still see kids who are struggling to make up for things after falling behind during the pandemic and struggling to work back to that classroom setting when they developed a little bit of anxiety for such extended periods. You also are seeing kids dealing with a lot of regret having missed out on life, on friendships and connections, and some kids have been really struggling with how to deal with a bunch of people again. Q: Is there a certain age group that you’ve seen that may be struggling more than others? I think the older kids are, because when they were going through this, the more impact it had. A couple of reasons for that: Peer relationships become a lot more important as you become a teenager as compared to when you are little bit younger. Also, school becomes more demanding and sometimes that catch-up on work that was missed is going to be a little more challenging than younger grades. Q: What would your advice be to parents to help their children mentally in these increasingly challenging times, specifically as we begin the new school year? Communication, obviously, is still ideal. Families want to make sure that they are still getting together, having dinner as a family, discussing how the children's day went, so parents are in the loop about what kids are dealing with, trying to maintain that open line of communication. Parents also want to kind of generally be on the lookout for symptoms of depression. Obviously that's the changes in mood, feeling sad, feeling down, but also when kids kind of socially withdrawal and they lock themselves in their rooms and they don't want to go out, be around other people, do things they enjoy. When you see grades begin to decline, those are warning signs that there might be a little bit more going on here. Q: What can children do to help themselves and make sure they feel heard? Any time I'm sitting down with a patient for the first time and we're talking about treatment options, we'll talk about medication sometimes. We generally talk about talk therapy, behavioral and cognitive interventions. They also always talk about lifestyle interventions, healthy lifestyle, and there is a ton there that people can really do to make a big difference. The biggest thing I see kids struggle with, honestly, is sleep. Sleep has a huge impact on mood and anxiety and getting proper sleep is really tough in this day and age, when you've got cell phone notifications going off around the clock. Q: We know kids are resilient. Those who have struggled the most over the last two years, can they turn the corner and get better? Absolutely, I 100% agree that the kids are resilient. I'd say almost always, I share that optimistic attitude that if they have a hard time, they're going to get better. Sometimes it's just putting out the safety guards to support them and make sure that they keep on that right track. Q: Unfortunately, school shootings are again in the news and seem to be on the rise in recent years. Are you seeing more concern and stress for children or maybe even from their parents as it relates to safety in school? I try to remind my patients that part of the reason they get a lot of national attention is because they're infrequent and they're rare. So part of it is parents kind of controlling media for younger kids. Teenagers, obviously, they understand what's going on, and it's going to be a little bit harder for parents to monitor the media, but having those open dinner table discussions can let parents know when their kids are having worries. This is an important topic, especially as students are heading back to school and beginning a fresh start to a new academic year. If you're a reporter looking to cover this topic, then let us help. Dr. Dale Peeples is available to speak with media. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.
Could eating fruit more often keep depression at bay? New research
Study found frequent fruit eaters had greater positive mental wellbeing The study surveyed 428 adults and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savoury food snacks and their psychological health The more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental wellbeing. People who frequently eat fruit are more likely to report greater positive mental wellbeing and are less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who do not, according to new research from the College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University. The researchers’ findings suggest that how often we eat fruit is more important to our psychological health than the total amount we consume during a typical week. The team also found that people who eat savoury snacks such as crisps, which are low in nutrients, are more likely to report greater levels of anxiety. Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the study surveyed 428 adults from across the UK and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savoury food snacks, and their psychological health. After taking demographic and lifestyle factors such as age, general health and exercise into account, the research found that both nutrient-rich fruit and nutrient-poor savoury snacks appeared to be linked to psychological health. They also found that there was no direct association between eating vegetables and psychological health. Based on the survey, the more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental wellbeing, independent of the overall quantity of fruit intake. People who frequently snacked on nutrient-poor savoury foods (such as crisps) were more likely to experience ‘everyday mental lapses’ (known as subjective cognitive failures) and report lower mental wellbeing. A greater number of lapses, was associated with higher reported symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression, and lower mental wellbeing scores. By contrast, there was no link between these everyday memory lapses and fruit and vegetable intake or sweet snacks, suggesting a unique relationship between these nutrient-poor savoury snacks, everyday mental lapses, and psychological health. Examples of these frustrating little everyday mental lapses included forgetting where items had been placed, forgetting the purpose of going into certain rooms, and being unable to retrieve names of acquaintances whose name was on the ‘tip of the tongue’. Lead author, PhD student Nicola-Jayne Tuck commented: “Very little is known about how diet may affect mental health and wellbeing, and while we did not directly examine causality here, our findings could suggest that frequently snacking on nutrient-poor savoury foods may increase everyday mental lapses, which in turn reduces psychological health. “Other studies have found an association between fruit and vegetables and mental health, but few have looked at fruit and vegetables separately – and even fewer evaluate both frequency and quantity of intake. “Both fruit and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, fibre and essential micronutrients which promote optimal brain function, but these nutrients can be lost during cooking. As we are more likely to eat fruit raw, this could potentially explain its stronger influence on our psychological health. “It is possible that changing what we snack on could be a really simple and easy way to improve our mental wellbeing. Conversely, it is also possible that the forthcoming restriction of processed snack foods at checkouts, due to come in this October, could not only improve the country’s physical health, but mental health too. “Overall, it’s definitely worth trying to get into the habit of reaching for the fruit bowl.” For more information about the School of Psychology, please visit our website.
Aston University wins share of £118m funding to accelerate its research impact
The Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) investment over three years focuses on maximising impact, knowledge exchange, translation and commercialisation potential within research organisations Funding allows researchers to unlock the value of their work, including early-stage commercialisation of new technologies The University will receive over £580,000 ‘to accelerate UK bright ideas into global opportunities'. Aston University has won a share of £118m in UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding. The Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) investment over three years focuses on maximising impact, knowledge exchange, translation and commercialisation potential within research organisations. Funding allows researchers to unlock the value of their work, including early-stage commercialisation of new technologies and advancing changes to public policy and services such as NHS clinical practice. UKRI, a government body responsible for delivering £8bn research and innovation funding each year, is investing £118 million in the latest round of IAAs to translate research across 64 universities and research organisations. Aston University was successful in gaining both Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) IAA funding – the latter one of only 15 IAA full awards nationally. Luke Southan, technology transfer manager at Aston University, said: “This funding will be transformational for Aston University’s capacity to get the best good from the research it carries out. “We have a pipeline of world-changing inventions, medical treatments, net-zero initiatives and spinout companies that we can give the greatest chance of success through these highly prestigious pots of funding.” UKRI director of commercialisation, Tony Soteriou, said: “The UK is home to some of the brightest, most innovative and creative research teams in the world. They have the ideas and they have the entrepreneurial energy to create businesses and services that could turn sectors on their head. “What they need, what every great commercial idea needs, is support in the critical early stages. The Impact Acceleration Account is the catalyst that allows projects to grow to the next level, attracting investment, forging partnerships and creating jobs. “The breadth of UKRI allows us to work right across the UK’s world-class research and innovation system to ensure it builds a green future, secures better health, ageing and wellbeing, tackles infections, and builds a secure and resilient world.”