Somers Clinical Research Facility - University College London

www.ich.ucl.ad.uk/bulletin 

research & development news 

issn 1364-8306 ● april 2009 

volume 16 ● issue 3 

r&dbulletin 

from the UCL Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust 

Hip 

Concerns 

in this 

issue: 

● The Editor Writes p 2 ● News in Brief p 3 ● Awards and Donations p 4 

● Concerns Over Hip Screening p 5 ● Somers Clinical Research Facility - 

Official Opening p 7 ● Research and Development News - EU Funding 

Opportunities / Travel Awards / Ethics News / Honours & Awards p 8 

● How to Get Funds for Clinical Study p 10 ● Noticeboard p 12-11

The R&D Bulletin 

is published by the 

R&D Office – 

UCL Institute of Child 

Health & Great Ormond 

Street Hospital, 

30 Guilford Street, 

London WC1N 1EH 

ISSN: 1364-8306 

April 2009 

Volume 16, Issue 3 

Editor: 

James King 

020 7905 2846 

j.king@ich.ucl.ac.uk 

The R&D Bulletin 

is prepared in the 

R&D Office. 

The views expressed 

herein do not necessarily 

reflect official 

ICH/GOSH policy. 

Data Protection 

Statement: 

If you receive this 

magazine by post details 

of your name and address 

are held on our mailing list 

database. If at any time 

you would like to have 

these details updated or 

removed please do 

contact us 

Deadline for Submission: 

Friday 17 April 2009 

Stories for the Bulletin: 

If you would like to submit, 

or there is something you 

would like to feature in 

a future issue please 

email the editor: 

j.king@ich.ucl.ac.uk 

r&dbulletin 

the editor writes... 

Welcome to the April edition of the R&D Bulletin – and it would 

appear that Spring has finally sprung. 

In this packed issue we have an interview 

with Dr Roposch on a report 

commissioned by the charity STEPS on 

the effectiveness of the national 

screening programme to detect 

Developmental Hip Dysplasia (DHD). In 

addition Dr Stephen Barnett reports on 

Design: Kavita Graphics, 

020 7252 1915, dennis@kavitagraphics.co.uk 

2 issue 3 ● april 2009 ● research&developmentnews 

developments at the Somers Clinical 

Research Facility, and there is a report 

on the winners of the the John 

Lipscombe Memorial Travel Awards. 

Enjoy! 

James King 

Editor 

Printed by: Russell Press, Russell House, 

Bulwell Lane, Basford, Nottingham NG6 0BT

newsinbrief ... newsinbrief ... newsinbrief ... 

Two year old with rare disease treated at GOSH 

The Daily Telegraph reports that two-year old Kian 

Baker, diagnosed with Purine Nucleoside 

Phosphorylase (PNP) Deficiency, is being cared for at 

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Dr Graham 

Great Ormond Street Hospital and the UCL Institute 

of Child Health will play a key role in the new alliance 

for health research delivering benefits for patients. 

This news is covered in the London Evening 

Standard. 

UCL Partners (UCLP) has been designated as one of 

the UK’s first academic health science centres 

(AHSC). The Partnership is one of just five bids which 

satisfied the Department of Health’s rigorous 

selection process, demonstrating that it possessed 

excellence in research, education and patient care. 

The application process involved rigorous peer 

review by a panel of international experts. 

UCLP comprises five of London’s biggest and best 

known hospitals and research centres: University 

College London (UCL)/University College London 

Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), Institute of 

Child Health (ICH)/Great Ormond Street Hospital for 

Children NHS Trust (GOSH), Moorfields Eye Hospital 

NHS Foundation Trust/Institute of Ophthalmology 

(IoO), and the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust. 

Davies, consultant immunologist at GOSH, is quoted 

in the piece as saying: “PNP is an extremely rare 

metabolic condition which can affect the nervous 

system, leading to problems with movement.” 

UCL Partners one of “UK’s first academic health 

science centres” 

Baby Bio Bank 

Professor Gudrun Moore is jointly leading a new 

research resource which will help address the four 

key complications of pregnancy; recurrent 

miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction 

(abnormally small babies), pre-eclampsia (high blood 

pressure in pregnancy) and preterm delivery. 

This unique global resource is being funded by 

Wellbeing of Women, the only UK charity dedicated 

to solving the health issues that solely affect women. 

The research will involve collecting blood samples 

from the parents and placenta from the babies 

Child Health will be one of the major areas of focus 

for the Partners, building on the existing strength of 

the relationship between Great Ormond Street 

Hospital for Children and the UCL Institute of Child 

Health. The Partnership will bring together the 

combined skill and expertisein three key areas – 

clinical care, research and development, and teaching 

and learning, to focus initially on seven areas: 

infectious diseases; neurological disorders; eyes and 

vision; cardiovascular; child health; women’s health; 

and immunology and transplantation. 

Commenting on the award of AHSC status, Sir Cyril 

Chantler, Chairman of UCL Partners, said: “This is 

fantastic news, and a great tribute to the skill, 

expertise and team work of clinicians and 

researchers within UCL Partners.” 

● For further information please visit the UCL 

Partners website at www.uclpartners.com or 

contact Neil Goodwin, Project Director, UCL 

Partners, on +44 (0)7831 886 834 or at 

neil.goodwin@uclh.nhs.uk 

affected by any of these complications. This will be 

the first study of its kind and the most extensive, as it 

will analyse not only maternal but paternal 

inheritance patterns. 

The project is being headed up by Professor Lesley 

Regan, (St Mary’s, Imperial College London) 

internationally acclaimed Obstetrician and 

Gynaecologist and researcher into recurrent 

miscarriage and Professor Gudrun Moore, (Institute of 

Child Health, University College London) international 

researcher into the genetic aetiology of intrauterine 

growth restriction and pregnancy complications. 

issue 3 ● april 2009 ● research&developmentnews 3

awards&donations 

Approx £ 1,990,531 awarded in February and March 

Arthritis Research Campaign 

via Belfast Health and Social 

Care Trust 

Dr Clarissa Pilkington, Dr D Sen, 

Dr N Hasson and Dr C Lowry 

received funding for the project: 

“Prevention and treatment of 

steriod-induced osteopaenia in 

children and adolescents with 

rheumatic diseases”. 

● Value of Award: £64,000 

Arthritis Research Campaign 

Dr P Brogan, Dr L Wedderburn and 

Dr C Pilkington received funding 

for the project: “Investigating the 

pathogenic mechanisms of 

juvenile dematomyostasis (JDM): 

the vasculopathy of JDM”. 


Action Duchenne 

Dr J Morgan received funding for 

the project: “Muscle-derived stem 

cells to treat Duchenne muscular 

dystrophy”. 


BECTA 

Dr K Price received funding for the 

project: “Outcomes for children 

with complex communication 

needs assessed for 

communications aids”. 


NHS Blood and Transplant Tust 

Professor N Klein and Dr J Hartley 


“Transfusion transmitted infection 

in the immunonaive/immunocompromised 

childhood recipient”. 


Biomedical Research Centre 

Dr L Rees and Dr R Schroff 


“Vitamin D levels in paediatric 

renal transplant recipients – a 

cross sectional study”. 


Dr W Qasim, Professor B Gaspar 

and Dr P Veys received funding for 

the project: “Antiviral cell therapy 

after allogeneic stem cell 

transplantation”. 


Professor Christine Kinnon and 

Professor A Thrasher received 

funding for the: “Pilot study: to 

investigate the feasibility of gene 

therapy for Wilson’s disease”. 


Dr K Hussain, Professor R 

Hennekam and Dr S Eaton 


“The role of the nucleoside 

transporter gene SLC29A3 in 

pancreatic endocrine and 

exocrine tissue”. 


Dr L Wedderburn and Dr P Hunter 


“Development of cellular and 

molecular tools to predict 

outcome of childhood arthritis 

(juvenile idiopathic arthritis, JIA) to 

sever disease”. 


Dr J Rahi, Miss A Solebo and Mrs I 

Russell-Eggitt received funding for 

the: “National study of primary 

intraocular lens implantationin 

children aged

medical treatment versus 

gastrostomy with fundoplication 

in children with neurological 

impairment”. 


European Union (EU) 

Professor B Neville, Professor H 

Cross, Dr S Aylett and Dr M Clark 


“European network of expertise 

for rare paediatric neurological 

disorders (NEUROPED)”. 


(€104,067) 

Children with Leukaemia via 

Great Ormond Street 

Children’s Charity (GOSHCC) 

Dr Q Wasim, Professor A Thrasher 

and Dr N Goulden received 

funding for the project: “T cell 

receptor therapy against 

leukaemia”. 


Olivia Hudson Cancer Fund 

Dr A Sala received funding for 

the project: “Assessment of the 

biological significance of thhe 

B-MYB/MYCN axis in human 

neuroblastoma”. 


Newlife Foundation 

Professor P Beales has received 

funding to support Dr A Diaz- 

Font for the project: “Defining 

molecular heterogeneity in 

ciliopathies”. 


Ipsen Ltd 

Dr K Hussain received funding 

for the study: “Ipsen Increlex 

EU registry”. 


concernsoverhipscreening 

Developmental Hip Dysplasia (DHD) is a 

developmental disorder affecting infants and young 

children and is the most common inborn musculo 

skeletal disorder. A national screening policy was 

introduced in the UK in 1969 to identify and treat 

infants with a hip abnormality at an early stage. 

Detection in the first few weeks of life leads to a 

simple outpatient treatment that has been shown to 

have good outcomes for the patient. 

by James King 

Areport commissioned by STEPS, 1 a national 

charity supporting children and adults with 

lower limb conditions, such as DHD, was 

launched at the House of Commons in February. The 

charity also launched Baby Health Hip Week to 

coincide with the release of the report. James King 

spoke to Dr Andreas Roposch about the reports 

findings. 

The report found that policies and clinical 

guidelines of Acute Trusts and Primary Care Trusts 

(PCT) for the infant hip examination (part of the 

UK hip screening programme) to identify DHD in 

infants in were inconsistent. STEPS asked Acute 

Trusts and PCTs in England to submit existing 

guidelines and formal policy on baby hip checks. 

Of those who responded, it was revealed 57 per 

cent of PCTs and 10 per cent of Acute Trusts have 

no formal policy in place for hip evaluation. The 

report found that PCT polices tended to be more 

generic with less detailed reference to hip 

examinations , for example when to use 

ultrasound as a diagnostic tool, when compared 

to Acute Trusts. 

Dr Andreas Roposch was asked to provide expert 

feedback in advance of the report’s launch, and 

was present at the launch at the House of 


Commons to provide his expertise at a discussion 

of the report’s findings. 

Dr Roposch explained that it was important that 

the established national hip screening guidelines 

should be adhered to, in order to guarantee an 

early diagnosis and provide treatment where 

needed. If diagnosed at this early stage, Dr 

Roposch said: “The first choice of treatment 

would be removable splints”. The success rate, he 

says, is very high: “…the likelihood of a hip not 

responding to early treatment is remote and an 

infinitesimal proportion of the clinical problem.” 

One issue raised by the report was that many 

PCTs are not taking responsibility for screening for 

DHD, and leaving it with the local GP. This has 

lead to inconsistency in the procedure for 

checking for the condition. Dr Roposch points out, 

that in some cases the check can be performed 

by a junior member of staff. He said: “…hips 

should be checked in all newborns in routine 

examinations performed by well-trained health 

professionals, especially in those with known risk 

factors”. 

In cases where diagnosis is made late the 

treatment can involve lengthy hospital stays and 

invasive procedures that affect not only the 

patient but also on the families. This can place 

both a financial and psychological burden on 

families. He said: “Even after treatment the 

condition can be quite disabling and can lead to a 

hip replacement later in life.” 

Dr Roposch believes that the report’s findings are 

very concerning. National guidelines have been 

established to screen all babies for DHD, but the 

report suggests that there could be problems in 

the way these guidelines are actually carried out 

in day-to-day practice. 

He said: “Research has shown that what clinicians 

believe they do and what they actually do is often 

not consistent. I think this also applies here with 

regard to the PCTs. Further research is needed to 

understand how rigorously the national screening 

guidelines are actually followed.” 

Note 

1 Baby Hip Screening Report: A survey of neonatal 

hip screening policies of NHS Acute and Primary 

Care Trusts, STEPS, February 2009 


GCP Training for Clinical Trials of Medicines 

All GOSH/ICH staff involved in the conduct of a clinical trial 

of an investigational medicinal product (CTIMP) must 

receive training in GCP. This is a legal requirement under the 

UK legislation on clinical trails. You need to attend GCP 

training if you are a: 

● Principal Investigator/Co-investigator ● Research Nurse 

● Trial Coordinator ● Data Manager ● Trial Pharmacist 

● Member of a laboratory involved in data analysis related 

to the trial 

Our one day GCP course has been accredited by the Royal 

College of Physicians, London at 6 CPD points and is open 

to all GOSH/ICH staff irrespective of which organization is 

sponsoring the trial. A certificate of attendance is issued 

after completion of the course. GCP certificates are 

subject to audit and inspection by the regulatory authority, 

the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory 

Agency (MHRA). GCP courses are scheduled for 

6th May and 3rd June 2009. 

Refresher GCP Course for 

Clinical Trials of Medicines 

If you attended a GCP course between 2004 and 2006, 

you need to attend a refresher course to update your GCP 

Training and to gain knowledge of the amendments to the 

UK legislation of the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical 

Trials) Regulations 2004. If your GCP training certificate is 

now more than two years old, we invite you to attend our 

GCP refresher course, which lasts approximately 1½ hours, 

followed by a ½ hour question and answer session at the 

end. The topics covered are: 

● General update on the regulations and the amendments 

● Pharmacovigilance (Safety reporting) 

● Essential documentation ● End of Trial 

If you would like to hear about topics not listed above, 

please let us know in advance! The course is accredited 

with 2 CPD points from the Royal College of Physicians and 

certificates will be handed out at the end. The next dates 

for the GCP refresher course is the 22 June 2009. 

● Please contact Paul Cross on 020 7905 2863 

(pcross@ich.ucl.ac.uk) or Dr Sabine Kläger on 020 

7905 2249 (s.klager@ich.ucl.ac.uk) to book your place. 

GCP course for Research Teams 

If you would like to have GCP training for your team, either 

as introduction, advanced or refresher GCP course, or as a 

GCP training session on some specific issues, like 

pharmacovigilance, please contact Dr Sabine Kläger on 

020 7905 2249 (s.klager@ich.ucl.ac.uk) to arrange GCP 

training for your specific needs.

Somers Clinical 

Research Facility – Official Opening 

London’s first clinical research facility 

dedicated to children was officially 

opened at Great Ormond Street Hospital 

for Children (GOSH) on 6 March 2009 by 

Mrs Phyllis Somers, who generously 

helped to fund the facility, writes 

Stephen Barnett. 

The Somers Clinical Research Facility (CRF) 

has been hosting research studies since 

December 2008, and since that time more 

than 70 children have visited the facility as part of 

over 150 patient visits. The CRF, a state of the art, 

purpose built facility, is located on level one of 

the Frontage building in Great Ormond Street 

Hospital (GOSH) and is available to all staff 

undertaking clinical research. The CRF is staffed 

by a Specialist Children’s Research Nursing Team 

and dedicated support staff. 

At present the CRF has nine studies underway, 

with a further 10 in the process of being set-up. 

The research being undertaken covers a wide 

range of specialities, illustrated by the chart on 

page seven. 

On 6 March 2009, Mrs Phyllis Somers was 

present, accompanied by her granddaughter 

(pictured on page seven), to officially open the 

facility. A long time friend of the Hospital, Mrs 

Somers has previously supported the Somers 

Medical Day-care Centre (Kingfisher Ward) in the 

Octav Botnar Wing, and generously helped to 

complete the fundraising to fund the Jersey and 

Guernsey floors in Weston House. 

■ If you are interested in conducting a clinical 

research study/trial within this facility you 

should initially contact the R&D Office, if you 

would like further information on the CRF 

please contact Fiona Bell, the Clinical 

Manager (Tel: 020 7762 6899, Email: 

fiona.bell@gosh.nhs.uk) or Stephen 

Barnett, Business and Operations Manager 

(Tel: 020 7762 6898 Email: 

stephen.barnett@gosh.nhs.uk). 

■ If you are considering the use of the CRF, 

please alert the R&D department to this as 

soon as possible. 

Left to right: Dr Jane Collins, Dr William v'ant Hoff, Mrs Phyllis Somers, 

Ms Fiona Bell and Ms Kate Somers) 

Somer CRF studies by speciality 

■ If would like to find out more about the CRF 

you can visit the webpages here: 

http://tinyurl.com/c3ox3s 


esearch&developmentnews 

EU funding opportunities in eHealth 

In January 2009 the 

European Commission 

published a call for 

proposals under the 

Competitiveness and 

Innovation Programme 

(CIP) 2007 – 2013. 

Through the CIP the European 

Commission aims to: 

● Encourage the competitiveness 

of European enterprises 

through greater use of 

Information and 

Communications Technologies 

(ICT) 

● Assist the development of the 

information society. 

The recipients are as follows: 

(1) Chiara Beilin of the Molecular 

Immunology Unit who presented a 

poster entitled “Dendritic Cell 

Function in Severe Combined 

Immunodeficiency” at the 10th 

International Symposium on 

Dendritic Cells held in Kobe, Japan. 

(2) Halima Moncrieffe of the 

Rheumatology Unit who presented 

a poster entitled “Effects of drug 

withdrawal on the regulatory/ 

proinflammatory balance in 

childhood arthritis” at the World 

Immune Regulation Meeting held in 

Davos, Switzerland. 

The awards, each of £250, are 

used to reimburse the Dean’s Travel 

Fund and are named after the late 

The Commission’s ICT Policy 

Support Programme (PSP), under 

which this latest call falls, is part of 

the CIP and aims to stimulate 

innovation and competitiveness 

through the wider uptake and best 

use of ICT by citizens, governments 

and businesses. The budget for this 

call is €99.5 million and includes 

two topics which may be of 

relevance to NHS organisations: 

● ICT for patient-centred health 

service (funding for one largescale 

pilot project with EU cofinancing 

of €7 million) 

● Innovative eHealth tools and 

services in real life – learning 

together (funding for one 

thematic network with EU cofinancing 

of between €300-500k) 

father of Richard Lipscombe who 

completed a PhD with Professor 

Mac Turner in 1995. We 


To apply for funding under this call, 

organisations hoping to submit a 

project application must join 

together to form a consortium. The 

minimum number of partners in a 

consortium depends on the type 

of project. 

All NHS organisations are eligible 

to apply. Please contact the NHS 

European Office for further 

information: neha.dave@nhs 

confed.org. The deadline for 

proposals is 16:00, 2 June 2009 

(UK time). 

● Full details of this briefing are 

available on the intranet: 

http://tinyurl.com/cvhjgr 

Travel Awards in the Infection & Immunity Theme 

The John Lipscombe Memorial Travel Awards, for travel 

undertaken in 2008, have been made in the Infection and 

Immunity Theme, writes Professor Mac Turner. 

(from left) Chiara Beilin and Halima Moncrieffe, recipients 

of the John Lipscombe Memorial Travel Awards in 2008. 

congratulate the recipients and 

gratefully acknowledge the 

generosity of the Lipscombe family 

in creating these travel awards.

Ethics News 

Local Allocation System 

The National Research Ethics 

Service (NRES) has introduced 

new rules concerning the booking 

of ethics applications into 

Research Ethics Committees 

(RECs) through a new allocation 

system. Taki Austin explains. 

Now researchers within London 

are asked to book their ethics 

applications into Research Ethics 

Committees centrally. 

In order to do this, please contact 

the Local Allocation System (LAS) 

on 0208 846 7289 from 09:00 to 

17:00. If you wish to book into a 

particular REC, you are able to 

request one. This information will 

appear on the NRES website 

(http://www.nres.npsa.nhs.uk/) 

shortly. 

Please note that applications that 

would normally be booked in via 

Central Allocation System (CAS) 

should still be booked into a REC 

via CAS. If you would like more 

information on whether you should 

be applying via CAS or through the 

new LAS, assistance is available 

here: http://tinyurl.com/d3vstu. 

New statement for consent forms 

RECs have been asked to check 

that all consent forms contain the 

following paragraph to ensure that 

any inspection or monitoring 

procedures are included: 

“I understand that relevant sections 

of my medical notes and data 

collected during the study, may be 

looked at by individuals from 

[company name], from regulatory 

authorities or from the NHS Trust, 

where it is relevant to my taking 

part in this research. I give 

permission for these individuals to 

have access to my records.” 

Please note that if this clause 

needs to be added to a consent 

form, provided that this is the only 

change, the REC can process this 

as a minor amendment. 

Compliance with Human Tissue Act 

Researchers are reminded that for 

existing research they must submit 

a Section 30 approval to ethics 

committees as below to comply 

with the Human Tissue Act. 

Intrusive research involving adults 

unable to consent for themselves, 

which has ethical approval and 

starts prior to 1 October 2007, is 

not required to comply with 

sections 30-33 until 1 October 

2008. If the research is expected 

to conclude prior to 1 October 

2008, the researcher may opt not 

to apply for section 30 approval at 

all. However, if there is any 

possibility that the research could 

continue after 1 October 2008, 

researchers are strongly advised to 

apply for section 30 approval by 

no later than 1 April 2009. 

honours 

&awards 

Congratulations go to: 

● Professor Helen Cross 

(Neurosciences) who has been 

appointed as clinical advisor to 

the update of the National 

Institute of Clinical Excellence 

(NICE) guidelines for the 

diagnosis and management of 

the epilepsies in primary and 

secondary care. 

● Dr Richard Chin 

(Neurosciences) has been 

chosen as the winner of the 

Young Investigator of the Year 

Medal for 2009. The award is 

generously funded by SPARKS 

(Sport Aiding Medical Research 

for Kids) and is given annually 

for excellence in research to an 

outstanding medically qualified 

research worker in British 

paediatrics. A presentation will 

be made to him on Tuesday 3lst 

March 2009 during a plenary 

session, at the Spring Meeting 

30th March – 2nd April 2009, at 

the University of York. 

Congratulations for the award 

of Research Degrees: 

● Dr Louise Elizabeth Coats 

(Cardiac Unit) 

Title of Thesis: “Physiological 

adaptation to acute relief of 

adverse right ventricular 

loading conditions” 

Awarded 28 February 2009 

● Miss Nisha Vastani 

(Neural Plasticity Unit) 

Title of Thesis: “Mechanisms of 

thermal sensitivity in rodent 

primary afferent neurons 

innervating the skin” 


● Miss Kate Sadler 

(Centre for International Health 

and Development) 

Title of Thesis: “Community - 

based therapeutic care: treating 

severe acute malnutrition in 

Sub-Saharan Africa” 



how to get funds for service and infrastructure 

support for your clinical study 

Your clinical research project may be eligible for support 

costs if adopted by UK Clinical Research Network 

(UKCRN) portfolio, i.e. needs to be either adopted by 

specific research networks like the Medicine in Children 

Research Network (MCRN) or by the comprehensive 

research network. Dr Tracy Assari and Dr Sabine 

Kläger explain further. 

What does adoption by the 

UKCRN portfolio mean? 

NHS Trusts used to obtain 

research support funding through 

Culyer funding. This has now been 

changed to a revised system via 

the Best Research for Best Health 

implementation plans whereby 

Government research support 

funding will only be available to 

studies adopted by the UKCRN. 

Studies funded by an external 

organisation(s) therefore subjected 

to peer review, are generally 

eligible for adoption. Adopted 

studies appear on the UKCRN 

Portfolio database which is 

accessible to the wider research 

community and the general public. 

What are the benefits of studies 

being in the UKCRN Portfolio? 

Studies included in the UKCRN 

Portfolio have access to service 

and infrastructure support via the 

Comprehensive Clinical Research 

Network (CLRNs), and, where 

relevant, the Topic Specific 

Research networks, for example, 

the Medicine in Children Research 

network (MCRN). This 

infrastructure support covers study 

promotion, set up, recruitment and 

follow up by Network staff. 

Only those studies that are part of 

the UKCRN Portfolio will have 

access to this infrastructure 

support and to NHS service 

support costs, therefore it is 

crucial that all studies which are 

eligible are included. 

How do you know if your study will 

be adopted by the UKCRN? 

As a general rule, if your clinical 

study is funded by an external 

organisation and subsequently 

peer reviewed, it may be eligible 

for adoption. This is regardless of 

whether it involves one or many 

sites. 

Has your study secured funding: 

● as a result of open competition 

across England with high 

quality peer review (e.g. 

Medical Research Council 

(MRC), Wellcome Trust); 

● from overseas governments 

(e.g. US NIH, EU Framework 

Programmes). 

● by a commercial organisation 

(e.g. a pharmaceutical, 

biotechnology or devices 

company) 

If you have answered YES to any 

of the above, your study may be 

eligible to be adopted by the 

UKCRN and subsequently receive 

service support costs. 

UKCRN have published eligibility 

criteria (which can be found here: 

http://tinyurl.com/d26sx9) which 

lists types of eligible studies 

according to priority. 

How do I get my study on the 

UKCRN Portfolio? 

This is done through the new 

NIHR Coordinated System for 

gaining NHS permission. 


There is a question on the IRAS 

form (A5) asking if I want my NHS 

R&D application to be processed 

through the NIHR Coordinated 

System for gaining NHS 

permission. What does this mean? 

From 18 November 2008, 

submission through IRAS / NIHR 

Coordinated System for Gaining 

NHS Permission (CSP) will be the 

primary route through which new 

studies will be considered for entry 

onto the UKCRN Portfolio. 

If you have a new clinical study 

and you have yet to apply for 

NRES approval, you should do this 

via the IRAS / NIHR Coordinated 

System for Gaining NHS 

Permission (CSP). Completing the 

Portfolio Adoption Form (PAF) on 

IRAS, followed by the completion 

of the R&D Form, will provide the 

information required for a decision 

on Portfolio eligibility to be made 

and you will be informed of this as 

part of the NIHR CSP process. 

If your study does fall into the 

above mentioned funded category 

and is due to take place at Great 

Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), 

investigators are strongly advised 

to tick NIHR Coordinated System 

for Gaining NHS Permission (CSP) 

question via IRAS (A5) and submit 

the associated PAF on IRAS. 

This will automatically be 

forwarded to our local CLRN coordinating 

centre at Barts. Formal 

adoption is confirmed by a letter 

from the UKCRN to the main

contact on the form, Principle 

Investigator (PI), and is copied to 

our local CLRN. 

What’s the catch? 

Accrual data are part of the key 

performance indicators which are 

being used to demonstrate the 

success of the networks, and will 

also feed in to the process of 

allocating future funding to the 

CLRNs to ensure that 

infrastructure resources are 

directed to where they are 

required. Once your study has 

been confirmed as being accepted 

into the UKCRN Portfolio, you will 

be asked to provide them with 

accrual data on an ongoing basis. 

The Accrual Upload System is an 

online tool, accessed through the 

UKCRN Web Portal, which provides 

a secure means of uploading your 

data to the UKCRN database. The 

R&D Office can help you with this. 

How do I find out more? 

● Comprehensive Research 

Networks 

http://www.ukcrn.org.uk/index/ 

networks/comprehensive.html 

● UKCRN Portfolio 

http://www.ukcrn.org.uk/index/ 

clinical/portfolio_new.html 

● Best Research for Best Health 

implementation plans 

http://www.nihr.ac.uk/about_ 

implementation_plans.aspx 

● NIHR Funding schemes 

http://www.nihr.ac.uk/links_nihr_ 

research_programmes.aspx 

noticeboard 

continued from backpage 

● systems-based neuroscience 

research; 

● senses and cognition and behavioural 

neuroscience; 

● pain, pain relief and anaesthesia; 

● neuroimaging; 

● dementia, neurodegenerative disease, 

transmissible spongiform 

encephalopathies and other areas of 

neurology; 

● mental health, addictions and 

psychiatry. 

Grants are open to UK-based 

researchers. Applicants must be of 

postgraduate status and should normally 

have a PhD. 

Deadline: 4pm, 03 June 2009 

Contact Details: Neurosciences and 

Mental Health Board, MRC, 20 Park 

Crescent, London W1B 1AL 

Tel: 020 7636 5422 

Fax: 020 7436 6179 

Email: Rob.Buckle@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk 

Web: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Funding 

opportunities/Grants/Researchgrant/ 

index.htm 

● Neuroscience and mental health 

collaboration grants 

The Medical Research Council invites 

applications for its collaboration grants 

in the area of neurosciences and mental 

health. These are available to holders of 

MRC research grants, new investigator 

research grants and senior fellowships, 

who wish to promote and enhance 

collaboration between themselves and 

other researchers working in 

complementary scientific areas. Awards 

may last between two and five years and 

provide funding at a rate of 80 per cent 

of full economic costs to cover: 

● shared activities, such as shared 

research infrastructure (equipment or 

staff) and seminars and workshops; 

● indirect costs or overheads on staff 

salaries awarded through the scheme. 





Tel: 020 7636 5422 

Fax: 020 7436 6179 




index.htm 


new investigator research grants 


applications for its neurosciences and 

mental health new investigator research 

grants. These assist clinical and nonclinical 

researchers to establish 

themselves as independent principal 

investigators. 

Eligible research areas are: 

● basic neurobiology, for example, 

molecular and cell biology and 

developmental neurobiology; 

● systems-based neuroscience 

research; 

● senses and cognition and behavioural 

neuroscience; 

● pain, pain relief and anaesthesia; 

● medically relevant psychology; 

● neuroimaging; 

● dementia, neurodegenerative disease, 

transmissible spongiform 

encephalopathies and other areas of 

neurology; 

● mental health, addictions and 

psychiatry. 

Applicants must be based at a UK 

institution and hold a PhD, DPhil or an 

MD. 





Tel: 020 7636 5422 

Fax: 020 7436 6179 




index.htm 


www.ich.ucl.ad.uk/bulletin 

noticeboard 

WELLCOME TRUST 

● Wellcome biomedicine science 

equipment grants 

The Wellcome Trust invites applications 

for its biomedical science equipment 

grants. These provide support for multiuser 

items of equipment, including 

equipment required to create a central 

resource for a number of disparate 

scientific programmes. 

The scheme is open to applicants based 

in the UK and RoI, as well as to 

researchers working in a developing or 

restructuring country, if they can 

demonstrate that they have established 

a strong independent track record of 

research accomplishment. 

Awards will range between £75,000 and 

£1 million and will cover costs for the 

equipment, the staff necessary to 

run/manage the apparatus or central 

resource (but not for experimental 

research personnel), and for essential 

running and maintenance costs of the 

equipment for up to five years. 

Deadline: preliminary applications may 

be submitted at any time; invited full 

applications are processed on a rolling 

basis for consideration at funding 

committee meetings four times a year 

Contact Details: Grants Management 

Helpdesk, Wellcome Trust, Gibbs 

Building, 215 Euston Road, London NW1 

2BE 

Tel: 020 7611 2020 

Fax: 020 7611 8352 

Email: contact@wellcome.ac.uk 

Web: http://tinyurl.com/cs6dwf 

MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 

● Methodology research programme 

(MRP) 

The Medical Research Council, in 

partnership with the Department of 

Health's National Institute for Health 

Research, invites proposals for 

investigator-led research under its 

methodology research programme. The 

programme supports research on 

methods development to underpin the 

biomedical sciences, experimental 

medicine, clinical trials, population 

health sciences, health services research 

and health policy, including: 

● methods for the design and analysis 

of primary descriptive and evaluative 

studies; 

● methods for the design and analysis 

of secondary studies involving reviews 

and evidence synthesis of descriptive 

and evaluative studies; 

● the design, process and analysis of 

clinical trials including improved 

methods for the assessment of risk, 

efficacy, safety and other issues 

related to regulatory approvals for new 

medicines, devices and diagnostics; 

● methodologies in the applied 

disciplines underpinning research in 

health science, for example, health 

economics, biostatistics and 

quantitative analysis, modelling, 

decision sciences, epidemiology, 

behavioural sciences and health 

psychology, qualitative analysis and 

mixed methods, medical sociology, 

organisational and management 

science and bioethics; 

research & development news 

● the measurement and validation of 

health, health outcomes and 

satisfaction. 

The remit of MRP does not include 

research projects aimed at technology 

development, but may support analytical 

approaches and research methods 

linked to new technology. MRP’s focus is 

on research with methods development 

as its primary purpose and 

methodological outputs that are 

applicable beyond a specific case-study. 


Contact Details: MRC, 20 Park Crescent, 

London W1B 1AL 

Tel: 020 7636 5422 

Fax: 020 7436 6179 

Email: jane.fisher@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk 


opportunities/Initiatives/MRP/ index.htm 


research grants 


applications for its neurosciences and 

mental health research grants. These 

support short and long-term focused 

projects and also broader-based 

programmes. In addition, they can be 

used to support method development or 

development and continuation of 

research facilities, and collaborations of 

more than one group, or more than one 

institution. Eligible research areas are: 

● basic neurobiology, for example, 

molecular and cell biology and 

developmental neurobiology; 

continued on page 11 

for more details on these and other funding opportunities please visit: 

● www.researchresearch.com or ● www.rdinfo.org.uk

Somers Clinical Research Facility - University College London

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