News in 2020
- Breaking down, dropping out: supporting mental health and academic achievement among autistic students 17 November 2020 Researchers at the University of Bristol have been working to understand the issues faced by autistic people in the university setting.
- Online support in crisis - reviewing mental health support services for young people 17 November 2020 A team of researchers at the University of Bristol is investigating ways to improve mental health services for students and young people in the UK.
- Impact of race and racism within the NHS through literature 12 November 2020 A new study assesses the impact of race and racism within the NHS through literature. This interdisciplinary research from the University of Bristol will also address the impact of culture and society on the health of black populations.
- AboutFace - How an app could revolutionise emotion recognition training in autism 21 October 2020 A Bristol University team is developing a new app-based emotion recognition training app for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
- Finding more pieces for the Nephrotic Syndrome puzzle 21 October 2020 Research at the University of Bristol is leading the way towards new understanding of a difficult-to-treat kidney disorder in children. Dr Anna Mason is studying the genetic basis of paediatric Steroid Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome.
- Patient Oriented Discharge Summary (PODS) could promote selfcare in older patients 16 September 2020 Hospital discharge forms are written with care professionals in mind. While this is understandable, it can leave the patients themselves confused about the treatments they have received, and what the next steps are. The patients may be unaware of what conditions they have, the results of investigations and the medication required following hospital discharge. They also need to know what they can do to help themselves and where to go to receive ongoing help.
- Could yoghurt bacteria hold a key to treating bowel disease? 6 August 2020 Researchers from the University of Bristol are investigating a novel treatment for long-term bowel disease which holds great promise.
- Disease modelling in 3D – developing new cellular tools for drug discovery 14 July 2020 A team of researchers at the University of Bristol is developing a new 3D model of kidney disease which should make the development of new treatments much more efficient.
- How fibromyalgia might change the way pain is perceived 11 June 2020 A team of researchers at the University of Bristol is investigating the differences in how fibromyalgia sufferers experience pain.
- How your internal microbes can keep you healthy 11 June 2020 There is a vast community of bacteria, viruses and fungi living on your body right now; collectively they are known as the human microbiome; they have hugely greater complexity than the human genome itself. The microbiome, which mostly lives in the gut, plays an important role in immunity, defense against pathogens, increasing availably of nutrients to the host (that’s you and me), and even influencing health and behaviour. Although how the microbiome affects our health and behaviour (or vice versa) is not particularly well understood.
- Screen time and anxiety in adolescence 11 June 2020 Modern teenagers spend vastly more time in front of screens than their forebears ever did - and there is also an increase in reports of anxiety disorders amongst the age same group. It seems, obvious, therefore, that the one must directly influence the other. But is that so?
- Fires and photospheres – a digital intervention to identify injury hazards in the home 1 May 2020 A team of researchers at Bristol University and the University of the West of England has developed an Augmented Reality app which could help with injury prevention in the home.
- Probing new treatments for post-operative kidney problems 20 April 2020 Kidney transplants - especially in children are always fraught with risk. In up to 10% of cases, transplants into young children fail because of graft thrombosis - an issue with the blood supply to the new kidney. At present, the only way doctors know that this is happening is because the patient’s condition starts to deteriorate - and at this point, successful intervention and treatment is unlikely. What is needed is a minimally invasive probe, which would be able to monitor the perfusion of the kidney in real time.
- Emergency anaesthesia under the spotlight 30 March 2020 Emergency surgery is a procedure beset with risks; many of these concern the use of anaesthetics. Dr Lucy Elliott, a medic with the North Bristol NHS Trust, is using the Clinical Primer Scheme from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute to find ways to minimise the dangers.
- Bridging Fund helped to secure £1 million award 12 March 2020 A Research Fellow at the Centre for Academic Child Health at the University of Bristol’s Medical School used a Bridging Fund from Elizabeth Blackwell Institute to help secure a five-year MRC Career Development Award worth over £1 million.
- A single gene with large implications for rare blood disease 11 March 2020 A researcher at the University of Bristol has used next-generation sequencing technologies to identify a completely new way that faults in a gene result in a rare blood disorder, thanks to funding from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute.
- Could robotic implants treat Stress Induced Incontinence? 18 February 2020 Stress urinary incontinence is a distressing problem which is common for women following pregnancy, childbirth or the menopause. It affects at least 200 million women worldwide, although it’s rarer in men. Researchers at the University of Bristol are investigating whether it might be possible to implant a soft robotic device to more successfully control urine flow.
- Heart insight - glaucoma drug’s potential for cardiac treatment 21 January 2020 Every three minutes, someone in the UK suffers a heart attack. Although 100,000 people die from coronary heart disease, ten times more people suffer a non-fatal attack. Researchers at the University of Bristol have uncovered a new use for acetazolamide, a drug previously used to treat glaucoma, as a treatment for heart attack patients.
- Strokes and the ageing brain 8 January 2020 With advancements in medicine, the world’s population is living longer, and age-related diseases are becoming more and more prevalent; the diagnostic technologies we have need to keep pace with our changing requirements. A University of Bristol researcher developed new approaches with MRI and disease modelling to further understand the ageing process, and how it can relate to disease states.
- Can xenon help protect against neonatal brain damage? 8 January 2020 Hypoxic-ischæmic encephalopathy (HIE) is brain damage caused by limited blood flow - and thus oxygen deprivation - in newborn babies, at or around the time of birth. A team at the University of Bristol is working towards new treatments for babies with birth-caused brain damage.
- Clinicians and researchers come together to develop new test for blood disorder 7 January 2020 Researchers at the University of Bristol are working on a new test to help treat a debilitating blood disorder, immune thrombocytopenia. Dr Charlotte Bradbury, consultant senior lecturer in the department of Haematology at the University of Bristol, submitted a challenge to researchers via the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Research for Health scheme, which aims to pair up scientists and clinicians with an unmet need.