Events 2024

Antagonism of muscarinic receptors drives peripheral nerve repair to reverse neuropathic disease in rodents and humans
Paul Fernyhough, from the St Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre and Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba.

Bio:
Paul performed PhD in biochemistry in the department of Biochemistry at University of Sheffield. Then carried out postdoctoral research at Colorado State University, Kings College London and as a Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellow at St Bartholomew’s Medical College and then Queen Mary and Westfield College. He subsequently worked as a tenured lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester. Dr. Fernyhough moved to Winnipeg in 2004 and contributed to setting up a neuroscience research group at St Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre and holds a tenured professorship in the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at University of Manitoba. Dr. Fernyhough’s research interest is in the cell biology underlying neurodegenerative disorders of the peripheral nervous system with a focus on the impact of diabetes. A biotech start-up, WinSanTor Inc, has been established and is directing phase 2 clinical trials in diabetic neuropathy and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Abstract:
Distal dying-back of nerve fibers is observed in many diseases including diabetic neuropathy, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated neuropathy. The impact on human health is significant and rising. There are no therapies for any of these neuropathies. Our recent studies have revealed a novel therapeutic target for preventing and even reversing neuropathy-induced nerve loss. We have found that muscarinic acetylcholine type 1 receptors (M1Rs) regulate sensory axonal plasticity. We have discovered that antimuscarinic drugs selective or specific for the M1R can drive axonal outgrowth and prevent/reverse neurodegeneration in rodent models of peripheral nerve disease. I will discuss the multiple mechanisms triggered by antimuscarinic drug action at the M1R to modulate ion channel function and enhance neuronal metabolism and axonal outgrowth. Furthermore, I will present data from a recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved phase 2 clinical trial in persons with type 2 diabetes and mild-moderate diabetic neuropathy revealing significantly improved quality of life (Norfolk-QOL-diabetic neuropathy total score) and raised nerve fiber levels in skin in response to 6 months of topical delivery of the M1R selective drug, pirenzepine.

Join Zoom Meeting

A drinks reception with non-alcoholic drinks and nibbles will also be provided at the seminar. Please feel free to forward this invitation to colleagues and networks. 

Please note the deadline for the poster competition has been extended until Friday 26th April.

We are pleased to inform you that registration is now open for the third Annual Symposium of the Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Research Network. The event is open to everyone with an interest in research into children and young people’s wellbeing, so please share it with your departments, forum’s, classes and networks. Refreshments and lunch will be provided.

It is a great opportunity to network with other researchers with different backgrounds and methodologies but the same central interest and many interdisciplinary collaborations have started here. The programme includes progress and discussion on our key Themes: meaningful involvement of children and young people in research, bio-psycho-social-cultural mechanisms of mental health, mental health and education and adverse childhood experiences and hear more about work funded directly by Network. Please register to attend via EventBrite

NEW THIS YEAR is our ECR Poster competition and there are prizes available!

This is a chance to display your work relating to CYP’s wellbeing and for discussion with other researchers and people interested in this field. The Network will cover the cost of poster printing and there are £50 Love2shop vouchers available for the top two posters. Posters will be displayed and prizes awarded during the day.
 
To enter please complete THIS form and email your poster design to cypwellbeing@exeter.ac.uk.  There are limited places available and these will be awarded on a first come first served basis. The deadline for applications and receipt of posters is Friday 26th April.  

Please spread the word through your networks and forum.

Supporting Autistic people through pregnancy and the fourth trimester. What does the evidence say?
Dr Aimee Grant -
 
The CYP Wellbeing @Exeter Research Network are pleased to invite you to the next seminar in our seminar series with Dr Aimee Grant, Senior Lecturer in Public Health at Swansea University & Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow. This will be an online presentation which will be live streamed to locations on Penryn, Streatham and St Luke’s Campuses. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available at all three venues.
 
Bio: Aimee Grant is a Senior Lecturer and Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow at Swansea University Centre for Lactation, Infant Feeding and Translation. She has researched marginalised pregnancy and early motherhood for the past decade, including those living in poverty, stigmatised locations and Disabled women. Aimee's current research is an 8 year Wellcome Trust funded longitudinal study using visual methods to understand Autistic experiences "from menstruation to menopause". She is the author of two Documentary Analysis texts (Routledge, 2019; Policy Press, 2022), and is currently writing The Autism Friendly Guide to Pregnancy (and the fourth trimester), Managing Your Research Project, with Pat Thompson, Helen Kara and Inger Mewburn (Routledge), and is editing Using Documents in Research, with Helen Kara (Policy Press).

Abstract: Autism is a normal part of cognitive diversity, and around 1 in 125 of births in the UK are to those with a diagnosis of Autism. In this presentation, I will discuss my research on Autistic people’s experiences of maternity care, and the entirely Autistic-developed resources “Autistic pregnancy, birth and beyond: your questions answered.” I will end by arguing that good maternity care for Autistic people follows the principles of universal design, and would benefit all service users.
 
Please register to attend here or email cypwellbeing@exeter.ac.uk for more information. Please feel free to forward this to your colleagues and networks. Please note these events are open to all students as well as staff. Thank you.

Researcher-led Initiative Workshop: Fostering Cross - Discipline Early and Mid-Career Collaboration

Join us for a 2-day in-person event (Monday 22nd April 2024 and Monday 20th May 2024)  aiming to help Early and Mid-Career Researchers across the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences collaborate, prepare and submit funding applications. The workshops will involve discussion of ideas, talks around patient and public involvement, funding sources, processes and timelines to consider before submission, and group work. You will preferably have a research idea to work on during the workshops, however, the event also offers an ideal opportunity to network, develop ideas, discuss plans and collaborate with other attendees.

Read more and Register

The organising committee in HLS is pleased to invite you to the first Decolonising Medicine and Health Conference 2024, on the 12th of June at the RILD Building, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. This full day conference will be an opportunity for staff, students and healthcare professionals from the faculty to discuss decolonising healthcare and chart a bold path forward.

The website includes details of speakers, panels and workshops taking place during the day and details of the organising committee. Please register your attendance and select your preferred workshop on the registration form via this link:

https://sites.google.com/exeter.ac.uk/dmhc?usp=sharing

There is also an opportunity for staff and students to submit an abstract for poster presentations on their EDI work within Medicine and Healthcare.

The conference is open to both the faculty and external academics/practitioners within the fields.