CMHW Annual Research Meeting 2023
Almost 30 delegates from across the UK were in attendance at P&J Live, Aberdeen, for the event
This March we were delighted to mark the official handover of CMHW administration to Aberdeen with our Annual Research Meeting 2023 on Tuesday 22nd March 2023. This event invited our academic collaborators, funding partners and some very special guests to join together in the resumption of our face-to-face research gatherings after the past few years’ COVID-imposed restrictions, and was a fantastic opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues, as well as meet some who had only previously met in a virtual context.
The event kicked off with a pre-meeting dinner at Hilton TECA here in Aberdeen on the Monday evening, where attendees were treated to some fantastic food, followed by a post-dinner talk from Benjamin Ellis from Versus Arthritis. Benjamin gave us his thoughts on what it means to generate impact from our research (a key focus of the remaining part of the Centre’s grant period) and gave much food for thought to all in attendance in addition to the fine food and conversations digested over dinner.
Benjamin Ellis from Versus Arthritis gave a fantastic post-dinner talk on what it means to deliver ‘impact’ from research
The next morning delegates assembled at our designated meeting space in the new P&J Live venue, which adjoins the hotel. After making sure all of our guests were settled in and ready for the day, our programme was soon underway.
Dame Professor Carol Black presenting her excellent keynote speech on ‘Health, wellbeing and work: progress in the past 15 years’
Our event was kicked off with a fantastic keynote lecture from Dame Professor Carol Black, advisor to successive UK Governments on work and health from 2006 to 2016. As a rheumatologist and one of the most eminent experts in the field (and author of the 2008 report ‘Working for a healthier tomorrow’) Dame Professor Black led us on a journey through the recommendations, challenges and progress in the past 15 years of ‘Health, well-being and work’, with a key message that while much has moved in a positive direction during that period there is still much to be done, and now is a key time for us to continue with the Centre’s focus on maximising the effectiveness of the impact of the great research produced so far under the collaboration.
Carrying on with the theme of research impact, Dr Elaine Wainwright then provided updates on our latest plans to turn research policy into practice (also one of our key cross-cutting themes) before we were treated to programme and theme updates across all of the rest of the Centre’s work. Centre Co-Director Professor Karen Walker-Bone from University of Southampton (currently based in Melbourne Australia) was on hand to ‘beam-in’ via pre-recorded video with updates from our workplace setting programme, before Dr Rosemary Hollick of University of Aberdeen provided the latest from the public health work package. We were also happy to host a virtual presentation and live Q-and-A from Margarita Ravinskaya of UMC Amsterdam, whose PhD work under the supervision of Professor Ira Madan (King’s College London / Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust) on work outcome measures forms another of the Centre’s cross-cutting themes.
‘Research impact’ is a key focus of the Centre moving forward; Dr Elaine Wainwright spoke on current plans and next steps in influencing policy and practice from CMHW research
We rounded out the remaining programme updates after a fantastic buffet lunch, with Professors Gwenllian Wynne-Jones and Ross Wilkie of Keele University giving us the latest from the healthcare settings programme, and Doctors William Whittaker and Martin Eden providing an overview of the latest from work from the University of Manchester on building the business case for workplace interventions. We completed our schedule of events with a series of mini ‘pitch presentations’ with various aspects looking to the future of the Centre and beyond. This included a look at our new website and communications channels presented by Stuart Anderson, our Centre Manager (University of Aberdeen); a look at some key upcoming problems and future capacity in occupational medicine by Professor Ira Madan (King’s College London / Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust), details of the recently-formed London Centre for Work and Health by Dr Vaughan Parsons (also King’s College London / Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust) and some words on upcoming study plans by Dr Elaine Wainwright (University of Aberdeen) and Professor Ross Wilkie (Keele University).
The event featured a number of fantastic presentations on our work programmes and cross-cutting themes, including some lively debate on key issues surrounding Centre work
We wrapped up with Centre Co-Director Professor Gary Macfarlane, who outlined some exciting plans for how to continue the legacy of the Centre after the current grant comes to a conclusion, before wishing everyone well and safe travels on their journey back form Aberdeen to points all across the UK.
All in all, the event was a great success, with everyone relishing the chance to get together and engage and discuss our various research projects, future plans and potential synergies in a face-to-face setting at this fantastic venue. We’re already looking forward to our next full-group meeting in 2024, and hopefully there will be many interactions across the whole Centre team, both in person and virtually, between now and then, wherever it may be.
Looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2024!
All of us at the Centre would like to extend a huge thanks to all of the staff at both Hilton TECA and P&J Live for making sure both the dinner and the event ran incredibly smoothly, and all went above and beyond to make sure this was a fantastic day for all involved. A massive thanks also to Professor Dame Carol Black for her fantastic keynote speech, our friends from Versus Arthritis for their attendance, ideas and opinions (in addition to their continued funding support) and to all CMHW delegates, researchers and other staff members who have contributed to all the great work produced so far whether they were able to attend the event or not.
Finally a big thanks to Jisha Babu, Administration Coordinator at the University of Aberdeen Epidemiology Group, for her fantastic coordination of event logistics, who made sure everyone got from A to B and were kept well informed at all stages.
We look forward to seeing you all again next year!