Mental health is much in the news these days, and in some of these stories a shift in emphasis can be discerned.

Head and neck cancer patients may no longer have to undergo invasive post-treatment surgery to remove remaining cancer cells, as research shows that innovative scanning-led surveillance can help identify the need for, and guidance of, neck dissection.

Congratulations to Professor Aileen Clarke who will take up the role of Chair of the Faculty of Medicine from 1 May 2016.

Aileen joined Warwick Medical School in 2007 and has served in a variety of roles, including as Head of the Populations Evidence and Technologies and later as Head of the Division for Health Sciences.

Scientists at WMS have discovered that a lack of stem cells in the womb lining is causing thousands of women to suffer from recurrent miscarriages.

The academics behind the breakthrough are now to start research into a treatment which they believe could bring hope to those who have suffered failed pregnancies.

WMS research findings into the impact of mental illness on young people and their families, has been translated into a powerful play by Santé Theatre.

Researchers from WMS have discovered how cells in the human body build their own ‘railway networks’, throwing light on how diseases such as bowel cancer work. The results have just been published in Nature Scientific Reports.

The University of Warwick has been selected to be a partner in the largest miscarriage research centre in Europe.

Our MB ChB student awards ceremony takes the opportunity to recognise the hard work and achievements of our student body over the academic year. Awards are made to all year groups in a number of different areas.

This year the awards took place on Tuesday 1 December at our Medical Teaching Centre. The event was opened by our Pro-Dean Education Professor Lesley Roberts, and the evening was led by Professor Colin Macdougall, Head of Medical Education. Dean Professor Sudhesh Kumar presented certificates to the winners.

WMS has received rave reviews for the online course ‘Babies in Mind: Why the Parent’s Mind Matters’, which focussed on how parents’ minds shape their babies’ mental health development

A study conducted at University of Warwick suggests that most GPs are considering quitting general practice or having a career break in the next five years.

Researchers from the University of Warwick have won a prestigious award for their work on diabetes.

The paper, entitled Influence of primary care practices on patients’ uptake of diabetic retinopathy screening: a qualitative case study, was named Research Paper of the Year in the diabetes category, by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). The RCGP award recognises an individual or group of researchers who have undertaken and published an exceptional piece of research relating to general practice or primary care.

The huge challenges of caring for a teenager with psychosis is being brought to the stage in a new play by an Olivier award-winning writer.

Mike Kenny has based Cracked on a study conducted by Professor Swaran Singh of Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick. Professor Singh’s work examines the first stages of psychosis, its early warning signs and the symptoms experienced by sufferers such as isolation, fear and confusion.

A dad whose wife conceived after receiving treatment from a University of Warwick professor is raising awareness about the effects of miscarriage on men.

Leeds couple Matt and Kayleigh Burton lost four babies in two years but became parents a year later after receiving pioneering treatment in Coventry. They were treated by Siobhan Quenby, joint Professor of Obstetrics at Warwick Medical School, the University of Warwick, and University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire and in April 2014 their son Blake was born.

A World Health Organization adviser is calling for the government to stop food manufacturers and distributors producing and selling unhealthy, cheap, salty junk food.

Francesco Cappuccio, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Epidemiology at Warwick Medical School, is making the appeal after conducting 30 years of research into the diets of populations around the world.

What is expected to be the biggest UK study on the effect of physiotherapy on women after breast cancer surgery is to be led by Warwick Medical School in partnership with University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust.

The Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, which is part of the University of Warwick, has been awarded £1.4milion to conduct the trial. Funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) it will explore whether physiotherapy has a beneficial impact for women having treatment for breast cancer.

A new study conducted by the University of Warwick links being born premature with low wages.

Researchers have identified a link between being born preterm and decreased intelligence, reading and in particular mathematical ability and have highlighted an effect on earnings into adulthood.

Dr Olalekan Uthman, assistant professor in research synthesis at the University’s Warwick Medical School, has received the award for co-authoring the most cited article in the prestigious journal AIDS.

Graduation is a special event in the medical school’s calendar, not only for the students graduating and the family who have supported them, but also for the education and support staff that have seen these students develop during the four-year MB ChB programme. July saw our final year MB ChB students graduate alongside PhD and Masters students and celebrate all that they accomplished during their time here at Warwick.

Nobel prize winner and University of Warwick honorary doctor, Prof Harald zur Hausen, has called for more emphasis on cancer prevention.

He received his honorary title at one of the University's graduation ceremonies held on 16 July. Speaking just before he was presented with the honour he stated that the medical profession and governments should not underestimate the importance of preventative measures as well as cancer treatments.

University of Warwick researchers have discovered a cell structure which could help scientists understand why some cancers develop.

For the first time a structure called ‘the mesh’ has been identified which helps to hold together cells. This discovery, which has been published in the online journal eLife, changes our understanding of the cell’s internal scaffolding.

Two academics from the University of Warwick say more research is needed to understand why patients are more likely to die in hospital at the weekend.

Professor Richard Lilford and Dr Yen-Fu Chen of the University’s Warwick Medical School, raised the issue following a study that states hospital weekend death risk is common in several developed countries – not just England.

Tests have shown that a new cancer drug, FY26, is 49 times more potent than the clinically used treatment Cisplatin.

Based on a compound of the rare precious metal osmium and developed by researchers at the University of Warwick’s Department of Chemistry and the Warwick Cancer Research Unit, FY26 is able to shut down a cancer cell by exploiting weaknesses inherent in their energy generation.

Engineers and imagers from the University of Warwick’s Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and anatomists from Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick are helping Art historians from the University of Cambridge to try and understand how the two mysterious Renaissance bronzes were made and why they look the way they do by making accurate replicas of the originals.

Registration opens today for a brand new on line course, Babies in Mind produced by FutureLearn and featuring WMS academic, Professor Jane Barlow. This exciting course, aimed at those working with parents and infants during pregnancy or the first year of life, focuses on the way in which parents’ minds shape their babies mental health development. The course will introduce participants to key concepts and recent research regarding the way in which unborn and newborn babies are shaped by the behaviours of their key care givers. Participants will also gain an understanding of how to work effectively with parents during the perinatal period in order to promote the wellbeing of the baby and infant mental health in general. You can find out more by watching our introductory video and can now register direct with FutureLearn.

A clinical trial run by the University of Warwick, in partnership with the University of Surrey and four UK ambulance services, which examined the effectiveness of mechanical versus manual chest compression for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has been awarded Trial of the Year.