Healthcare Technologies Newsletter -
February 2024 (Issue 13)
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EPSRC health technologies strategy event: summary notes
We have published summary notes from five strategy launch and engagement events held in 2023 to gather feedback on our strategy and input on short term and longer-term priorities.
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 Credit: Getty Images
Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement exemplars
Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) is a key cross-cutting theme of the new EPSRC health technologies strategy. PPIE aims to deliver better quality research, whether patient focused or accelerating the transfer of evidence into pre-clinical research through effective two-way communication. This can include engagement with patients and other people with lived experience, such as carers, or users of technology including clinical and healthcare professionals.
EPSRC are looking for examples of PPIE in action in our current funding portfolio. If you have an example to share, please contact Laura Cadman, EPSRC, email: laura.cadman@epsrc.ukri.org
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 Credit: Getty Images
Joint programme to tackle multiple long-term conditions
Read more about the joint programme on multiple long-term conditions (MLTC) which EPSRC is co-funding with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
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Funding opportunity pre-announcement: Transforming prediction and early diagnosis in the community
The funding opportunity is expected to open on 19 March 2024; please look out for further information on the UKRI Funding Finder.
Apply for funding for research to develop novel tools and technologies for patient-specific prediction, early and accurate diagnosis of physical and mental health conditions for use in the community.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding.
Projects should be multidisciplinary and engage relevant partners to ensure the research is co-created and co-delivered. Projects should contribute to tackling health inequalities and embed equitable, diverse, and inclusive patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) throughout.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £2,500,000. EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC (up to £2,000,000).
Projects can last up to 36 months.
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Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR): antimicrobial resistance (AMR) interventions
Apply for funding to support international collaborative research projects aiming to:
- design new interventions against fungal infections
- improve, compare and evaluate the effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and uptake of existing interventions against bacterial or fungal infections.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) research council funding.
The full economic cost of your project can be up to £437,500. UKRI research councils will fund 80% of the full economic cost up to £350,000.
The closing date is 14 March 2024 1:00pm UK time.
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Funding opportunity pre-announcement: Understanding public involvement in non-clinical research
Funding is available to improve the understanding, design and practice of public involvement in non-clinical health and biomedical research. Proposals should address gaps in public involvement, build on existing good practice and deliver generalisable learning to be used by others. Multi-disciplinary approaches are welcomed.
Applicant teams must include public contributors. The lead applicant must be a researcher employed by an eligible research organisation.
This is a strategic opportunity within the Better Methods, Better Research (BMBR) programme and is limited to a single funding round.
This opportunity is funded by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Further information on the call scope and eligibility can be found in the UKRI funding finder pre-announcement.
The funding opportunity will open for applications on 17 April 2024 9:00am UK time and close on 12 June 2024 4:00pm UK time.
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Upcoming funding opportunity: Health Technologies Connectivity Awards
This scheme will be targeted at researchers who wish to develop their research in health technologies by developing new skills and collaborations with other research and end user environments. Researchers may come from core EPSRC research fields and spend time in other relevant disciplines, or user fields, or both (users may include industry, clinical or public sector environments).
Researchers in other disciplines or organisations that hold appointments that make them eligible for EPSRC funding may also immerse themselves into an engineering and physical sciences environment.
Novel engineering and physical sciences research must comprise a proportion of the placement.
You must be based at a research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding.
Further information will be published in March in a form of pre-announcement on the UKRI funding finder.
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 Credit: Total Shape via Unsplash
Become a director of the UKRI mental health platform
Apply to lead and coordinate the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) mental health platform.
The director and their team will work closely with the leads of each of the mental health platform hubs. The director will also manage a collaboration and innovation fund to promote and incentivise collaboration across the hubs and with external partners to widen the reach of the initiative and support the development of emerging areas of need.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding.
UKRI must receive your application via email by 18 March 2024 at 4:00pm UK time.
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 Credit: Photomix Company via Pexels
UKRI South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub partners with Google to address health inequalities
At the Google Digital Garage event held on 1 February, Google has announced investment in pioneering research and upskilling for the South Yorkshire region through the EPSRC funded South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub.
Starting with the Phones for Undetected Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension Screening (PUMAS) study, the researchers will test whether pixel smartphone sensors that detect light, radar and electrical signals from the heart, could help in early detection of conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and chronic kidney disease. Further information can be found on the Google Health PUMAS trial: using tech and AI to improve health outcomes (google blog)
Another study in the series will focus on post-surgical rehabilitation, for which Google will provide 500 Fitbits (wearable fitness trackers).
The partnership will also see Google fund 30 digital apprenticeships for small businesses in South Yorkshire, as part of the three-year partnership with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
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 OncoEng patient partner day
OncoEng is an EPSRC funded programme grant to explore engineering solutions to support the spine in cases of metastatic cancer.
OncoEng is committed to patient and public involvement. Recently, a well-received patient partner day was held by the OncoEng team which aimed to bridge the gap between metastatic bone cancer patients and researchers. A video from the day is available on the OncoEng YouTube Channel.
OncoEng would like to thank all patient partners, and acknowledge the support of Dr. Hanif Ismail, Patient and Public Involvement Manager (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust), and Jo Taylor (METUPUK) in facilitating patient and public involvement in their healthcare initiatives.
Further information on the project can be found on the OncoEng project website.
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