News in 2022

How could research assessment recognise the ongoing impact of the pandemic on researchers?

The immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on researchers and scientists have been regularly explored during the most extreme period of the pandemic. As well as responding to the pandemic with research that helped the immediate effort, researchers also sought to understand the impact of the pandemic on research and researchers themselves. This included work to understand disruption to researchers’ work, wellbeing, work-life balance and the nature and frequency of scientific outputs.

Involving the public with health research: in conversation with epidemiologists

Find out how seed funding enabled three researchers to develop their projects by including the ideas and experience of patients and the public.

Openness and transparency - supporting researchers seeking funding

We are identifying ways to create greater openness and transparency for applicants seeking funding opportunities, and to explore concrete ways by which equality, diversity and inclusion can be improved in access to funding opportunities for researchers at all levels.

Climate Changes Health with Kristie Ebi

We were honoured to welcome Professor Kristie Ebi as our 9th Elizabeth Blackwell Annual Public Lecture speaker on 3 November 2022 at City Hall, Bristol.

Reprogramming of immune cells shown to fight off melanoma

A new way of reprogramming our immune cells to shrink or kill off cancer cells has been shown to work in the otherwise hard to treat and devastating skin cancer, melanoma. The University of Bristol-led discovery, published in Advanced Science today [31 October], demonstrates a new way to clear early stage pre-cancerous and even late-stage tumour cells.

Climate change and health research: Films explain how we can find solutions for a healthier future

A series of short films developed by Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research and Cabot Institute for the Environment explain how the health of our planet is linked to human health, and how University of Bristol research will help us to understand these complex and interwoven issues.

Pioneers, school pupils and poetry

In summer 2022, we teamed up with a poet, a theatre maker and a community workshop facilitator, to deliver a project focusing on the contribution of women in health. Listen to our podcast for National Poetry Day (6 October) with Jo Stubbs, Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Public Engagement Associate, in conversation with Poet, Rachel Bentham, reflecting on these creative sessions.

Investing in our future: welcoming new fellow in climate change and health

We are delighted to announce Dr Eunice Lo as Research Fellow in Climate Change and Health. This new fellowship is funded by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research, and Cabot Institute for the Environment as part of a new collaboration at the University of Bristol looking into the impacts of climate change on human health. The Climate Change and Health research programme brings together experts from different disciplines to understand and address the complex and interwoven areas of climate and health. 

Schools and community groups invited to get creative for brain art competition

Schools and community groups across Bristol and the surrounding area are invited to take part in the University of Bristol's brain art competition and have their work displayed in public.

Discover how research is helping to support autistic students at university

The transition to university can be a difficult time for autistic students. At the University of Bristol, we’re invested in collaborative research, to learn and better understand the challenges that students face so that we can continue to improve help and support. A new interactive infographic on autism research explains how understanding the issues experienced by autistic students is shaping our research.

Bristol Science Film Festival 2022 health prize winners

We are pleased to announce winners of the Bristol Science Film Festival Elizabeth Blackwell Institute health film prize 2022.

Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Bulletin 6 July 2022

Keep up to date with our latest health research news, events and opportunities.

Bringing our health heroines to life

In 2021 we celebrated the life of Elizabeth Blackwell with a year of reflection on the contribution she and other women in history have made to current healthcare. Conversations sparked with artists, creatives and the community led us to an exciting project we delivered with three local schools this summer term. The project has been a chance to share stories, celebrate our heroines, and learn from one another through discussions, drawing, plasticine modelling, and dressing up!

Cognition and anxiety in the pandemic – the impacts on young people

University of Bristol researchers have been working to determine the extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people and the relationship between anxiety and cognitive function. Understanding this will help to inform a joined-up approach to develop targeted interventions for vulnerable young people in both clinical and educational settings.

Infectivity of airborne SARS-CoV-2 could decrease by 90% within 20 minutes of exhalation, new laboratory study finds

The SARS-CoV-2 virus can lose 90% of infectivity when in aerosol particles within 20 minutes, according to new University of Bristol findings. The study, published in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is the first to investigate the decrease in infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosol particles over periods from seconds to a few minutes. The aim of the study was to explore the process that could change viral infectivity over short timescales following exhalation.

Primed for life… as a researcher

Our Clinical Primer scheme gives people the opportunity to experience life as a researcher before deciding on a career as a clinical academic. We recently caught up with our 2022 Clinical Primer scheme cohort to learn more about what they will be researching in the coming months. Here, we spotlight the current projects and hear how this first-of-its-kind scheme has provided a valuable springboard to people wanting to try out a career in research.

Survey reveals benefits and drawbacks of remote incontinence assessments

A survey of 65 community continence services in England has revealed the benefits and drawbacks of phone assessments, published in BMC Health Services Research.

Novel host cell pathway hijacked during COVID-19 infection uncovered by Bristol researchers

An international team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, has been investigating how the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, manipulates host proteins to penetrate into human cells. After identifying Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) as a host factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection, new findings published in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) today [14 June] describe how the coronavirus subverts a host cell pathway in order to infect human cells.

Bristol Network one of six new NHS brain tumour centres awarded Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence status

The Bristol Network, which includes North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, has been recognised as a “Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence” following rigorous expert-led assessments by the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM).

Antimicrobial resistance study begins on Welsh farms

Bacterial sampling is now underway to assess the abundance and types of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria on Welsh dairy, beef and sheep farms.

Pioneering new Gambling Harms Research Centre launched at University of Bristol

A £4 million Gambling Harms Research Centre (GHRC) has been launched to build greater understanding and evidence around the growing and diverse impact of gambling harms across Great Britain.

Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Bulletin 19 May 2022

Keep up to date with our latest health research news, events and opportunities.

Open and transparent research

We are delighted to welcome Ian Penton-Voak, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Bristol, as our lead for Open and Transparent Research.

COVID, schooling and mental health

The extraordinary responses to the outbreak of COVID-19 profoundly affected great swathes of society. From the colossal burdens put onto the healthcare system, the damage done to the economy and to the everyday lives of everyone in the country, the impact to every stratum and community has been unprecedented.

Bristol Neuroscience awarded £6.5 million to nurture mental health by keeping young brains on track

We need to look after young brains: threats including early life adversity, sleep disruption, drug addiction and genetic mutations can all challenge brain development and lifelong mental health. Thanks to funding of over £6.5 million for new brain research, neuroscientists at the University of Bristol hope to alleviate these threats and their burden on patients, carers, clinicians and society.

Mental health and recovery in a time of COVID

Researchers from the University of Bristol uncover patterns of mental illness during lockdown and beyond.

Mood Music: what do music listening patterns tell us about how we feel?

For Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 (9-15 May) we are highlighting research exploring the relationship between our listening habits and our mental health. Researcher, Nina Di Cara, takes us on a musical journey into our moods... are you all ears?

Calling all EDI practitioners, academics and researchers...

What do you think about institutional equality, diversity and inclusion interventions for research careers?

New TV series co-designed by Bristol mental health expert aims to find out if living a simpler life means a happier and healthier life

Could living a simpler life with no modern comforts, cut off from the modern world be better for us? Bristol mental health researcher, Dr Myles-Jay Linton has contributed to a new Channel 4 series, The Simpler Life, which follows a group of 24 Brits who have given up all their worldly possessions to see whether living a simpler life off grid, without any form of technology, mains electricity or gas, benefits their health and wellbeing.

Discovery of novel brain fear mechanisms offers target for anxiety-reducing drugs

A new target in the brain which underpins the eliciting of anxiety and fear behaviours such as ‘freezing’ has been identified by neuroscientists. The University of Bristol researchers say the discovery of a key pathway in the brain, published in the journal eLife, offers a potential new drug target for treating anxiety and psychological disorders, which affect an estimated 264-million people worldwide.

New research shows virus plays ultimate game of ‘hide and seek’ with immune system

SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals could have different variants hidden in different parts of the body.

Researcher awarded ‘Unsung COVID Heroes’ award for outbreak control work across schools

Dr Amy Thomas, a Research Associate at Bristol Medical School, has been awarded an ‘Unsung COVID Heroes’ award from WISE, an organisation that promotes women in science, maths and engineering (STEM), for her work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Science of Happiness students beat lockdown blues

Students who took the University of Bristol’s ‘Science of Happiness’ course during the pandemic reported markedly better mental health than students not on the course.

SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein binds to heart’s vascular cells potentially contributing to severe microvascular damage

A new study has shown how SARS-CoV-2 may contribute to severe microvascular damage seen in severely-ill COVID-19 patients by transforming human heart vascular cells into inflammatory cells, without infecting them. The University of Bristol-led research, published in Clinical Science, indicates blocking antibodies could represent a new treatment to alleviate cardiovascular complications.

Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Bulletin 26 January 2022

Celebrating three women trailblazers of modern medicine

In January 1859, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first ever woman on the British Medical Register. She was born in Bristol on 3 February 1821, and throughout last year we celebrated her bicentenary. Here we reflect on the lives of three women trailblazers of modern medicine.

Different approaches to medical science strengthens confidence in findings

Researchers working in bioscience, which focusses on discovery science, and researchers studying health at a population level seem worlds apart... so why is important that they work together? Think about how we solved some of the pandemic puzzles we faced – understanding the immune response to vaccines alongside the spread of the virus in the population. There is strength to be gained from sharing knowledge from these two different fields of science when discoveries are confirmed by findings from different research approaches.

Masking in autism

Imagine feeling like you had to hide or change who you are to fit in. For many autistic people, masking or camouflaging your autistic characteristics is an every-day reality, and the impact on mental health can be profound. Here, our new Early Career Fellow, Laura Hull, explains why research is so important in improving our understanding of masking in autism, and we hear from one autistic student about what life is like when you feel you have to ‘act normal’.

2021 Clinical Primer scheme awardees

With our 2022 Clinical Primer scheme funding call open (until 9 Feb 2022) we thought we’d share details of current awardees and the research they are focusing on. Our Clinical Primer scheme offers doctors, vets or dentists at the early stage of their clinical career the chance to experience working as a researcher for the first time.

New environment-friendly shield could offer better protection during dental surgery

Dental patients and practitioners could be better protected from COVID-19 and other airborne viruses and bacteria thanks to the development of a new environment-friendly shield by a multidisciplinary team from the University of Bristol and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW). The shield could also increase the number of patients seen by dentists and help reduce procedure wait times.