We've just launched a new network, in partnership with University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) and Bruntwood SciTech, called the West Midlands Health and Wellbeing Innovation Network. The Network will find and develop the next big innovations in healthcare transformation.

Using the expertise and resources of the University and hospital, businesses in the healthcare, technology and wellbeing sectors can benefit and grow, and ultimately help us to take on new and existing healthcare challenges. The Network has also received £100,000 funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority's Innovation Programme to create and develop responses to health challenges that will impact our region. Read on below to find out more about the Network.

The impact of high breathing efforts on the lungs of patients suffering with acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19 has been investigated by researchers at the University of Warwick, who assessed the likelihood of resulting lung injury.

The Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing has been awarded £3,608,627 in NIHR funding to undertake an asset-based approach to improve access to mental health care in slums, entitled 'The TRANSFORM Project.'

Slum populations in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have high rates of serious and enduring mental disorders (SMDs – psychotic disorders and severe mood disorders, often with co-occurring substance abuse) and very poor access to mental health care. Sufferers and their families often choose traditional and faith-based practices since these are more accessible, considered affordable, and are in tune with their cultural beliefs and traditions. Faith-based and traditional healing can play an important part in delivering care in LMICs, especially for common mental disorders like anxiety and depression, both in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent but those with SMDs require additional biomedical treatment and follow-up.

The TRANSFORM project aims to improve access to care and outcomes of SMDs in slums, by developing an innovative collaborative care model involving traditional/faith healers, mental health professionals, primary care practitioners and community health workers (CHWs). This multidisciplinary research programme is being conducted across two slum communities in two ODA-eligible countries.

We are conducting in-depth studies to understand local communities' awareness and understanding of SMDs and sit with traditional and faith healers to understand who seeks care, how care is given and how healers identify and could refer those with treatable SMDs to medical care. We will develop an understanding of the explanatory models of illness and care in relation to SMDs from the perspectives of community members, healers and health professionals.

Based on these findings, we will develop two training packages, one for healers and one for CHWs, focused on identification, referral to local psychiatric services and ongoing support for patients (18+) with SMDs. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the training programmes in increasing referrals to and the provision of community mental health care of cases of SMDs and conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of the intervention and its outcomes.

The proposal was developed in detailed discussion with local research teams, slum community leaders, CHWs and local traditional/faith healers, who will be ongoing partners of the project. Besides disseminating findings through the usual channels of scientific publications and policy papers, we will develop street theatre and documentary films on our findings to increase the impact of our research and to further engage slum communities, raise awareness, reduce stigma and provide information on plural health care for SMDs.

Cancer services at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust are set for a ground-breaking advancement, with major funding secured to develop technology that can detect tumours and guide robots to remove them.

The Terabotics project, which is being led by Professor Emma Pickwell-MacPherson at the University of Warwick, will use probes that use terahertz (THz) radiation, or T-rays, to scan for tumours under the skin.

Welcome to all the latest news, event and funding information from the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network.

• Medics training to be GPs reported positive improvement in burnout and resilience after completing a mindfulness course specially designed for doctors
• The participants in the study by Warwick Medical School also saw improvements in their wellbeing and stress
• By improving the mental wellbeing of trainees the researchers hope to better prepare them for the challenges of general practice and the impact of Covid-19 on the profession
• Supports the wider adoption of mindfulness in medical training and the need for larger studies

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and at Warwick, and our mental health research is helping to influence healthcare and improve lives. Discover how our research is influencing national mental health policies, developing workplace mental health initiatives and helping improve live of millions of psychosis sufferers. Our collaborative research is helping to improve the quality of mental health care across a range of service settings and contexts.

A new video offering practical strategies to medical teams as they adapt to working in restrictive Level 3 PPE has been released today by the University of Warwick and the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

The video is believed to be the first resource of its type and draws on empirical research between Sociolinguistics and Emergency Medicine studying the negotiation of leadership and teamwork in trauma settings.

PathLAKE Spring 2021 Newsletter

The Monash Warwick Alliance welcomes expressions of interest in the Alliance Co-Fund. Designed to empower Monash and Warwick researchers to develop strong and competitive joint external funding applications, the Co-Fund provides a contribution towards international research costs, incurred due to collaboration within the Alliance. The Co-Fund can be requested in support of a variety of external funding opportunities including challenge-led calls and responsive mode grants, offered by both domestic or international funders.

Expressions of Interest will be accepted and evaluated on a rolling basis, subject to availability of funds. The outcome of the Expressions of Interest will typically be communicated within two to four weeks of receipt by the Alliance Project Team.

We are carrying out a Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) to understand the needs of the Coventry and Warwickshire adult populations. As part of this we want to hear from residents aged 16 and over and professionals about their own mental health and wellbeing.

The purpose of the JSNA is to analyse the current and future health and wellbeing needs of the local population to inform the commissioning of health, wellbeing and social care services.

Academic colleagues are invited to submit an expression of interest to join the research leadership team for this programme, which aims to deliver interdisciplinary AMR research training across the Warwick and Monash campuses to six newly recruited postdoctoral fellows. Further information about the goals and structure of the programme can be found here, and details of how two submit an expression of interest can be found here. The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is the 12th of April 2021.

The International Strategy and Relations Team is welcoming applications to three funds that initiate new projects or strengthen existing collaborations with our international partners.

Professor Matthew Gibson from University of Warwick’s Department of Chemistry and Warwick Medical School has been awarded the 2021 McBain Medal by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of Chemical Industry