Recently, visitors to Oxford’s Westgate Centre were able to learn about the world-class healthcare research taking place in the city.
The annual Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Open Day, hosted by Oxford Health BRC and Oxford BRC, held over 40 interactive stands showcasing the latest research into the diagnostics and treatment of health conditions including respiratory disease, diabetes, dementia, sleep problems, endometriosis and many other conditions.
Researchers from the two BRCs, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford presented their research on the day.
With the event taking place during May half term, there was a good turnout from families, and the event offered a great opportunity for children and young people to speak to researchers, try out medical diagnostic equipment on models and learn more about healthcare research.
Oxford Health BRC Director Professor John Geddes said: “It was great to be back at the Westgate, once again partnering with Oxford BRC, to showcase Oxford’s vast range of health research and expertise across different scientific themes. It’s always a pleasure to see members of the public asking questions about our important research and finding how they can take part in our studies. It was particularly encouraging this year to see so many young people at the event, speaking to researchers and learning how we make our discoveries through research.”
Lucy Jobbins, DPhil Candidate and member of the Oxford Health BRC Better Sleep theme said: “This was a wonderful day to meet with many members of the public and share our interest in neuroscience and sleep. We particularly loved showcasing our new sleep board game “the race to sleep” which saw many children wanting to play over and over again. A particular highlight was showing teenagers live brain activity and them responding with “That’s very cool”! We can’t wait till next year…”
NIHR BRCs are collaborations between universities and NHS organisations that bring together academics and clinicians to translate scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies that benefit NHS patients.
The NIHR Oxford Health BRC is a partnership between the University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the NIHR Oxford BRC is a partnership between the University and Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the UK’s largest funder of health and care research.
To contact the Oxford Health BRC, email us on: ohbrcenquiries@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk.
