Research

 

PFCSG Research Awards; Inaugural Competition

The PFCSG is sponsoring two prestigious and valuable awards to junior researchers in the areas of mixed urinary incontinence and nocturia. Awards are worth £10,000, of which up to £9,000 is for developing an application to be submitted for National Institute of Health Research funding. This can be used for funding statistical advice, literature searches, etc. Up to £1,000 will be awarded to the applicant for professional purposes (e.g. registration and other costs of attending professional meetings) on submission of a credible application to the most suitable NIHR grant scheme. The NIHR application will be developed in close liaison with experienced chief investigators. Thus, in addition to the value and prestige of the award, the successful applicant will subsequently work directly with highly experienced researchers, allowing them to gain real insight into undertaking clinical research. In preparing an application for a PFCSG Award, you are NOT expected to have written the full NIHR application; your PFCSG application should demonstrate the broad elements you will address in the subsequent NIHR application. This will be a considerable professional development opportunity, which will be of great value in subsequent career progression. Medics in training and any allied professional are eligible to apply; this scheme is to aid development of new researchers and is not intended for those with a clear track record of high level research activity. Closing date is 31^st March 2010. Applicants will be told of the outcome in early April, and the successful applicants will be publicly announced at the UKCS meeting in Exeter on the 12^th of April.

PFCSG Award on Mixed Urinary Incontinence; You are asked to submit a proposal for development of a clinical research grant in any of the NIHR funding streams to investigate the assessment, investigation and treatment of mixed urinary incontinence. The application should state which NIHR grant scheme is envisaged. The proposal may be observational or interventional in nature. The group of patients to be assessed may have mixed symptoms, such as having a mixture of stress and urge urinary incontinence, or a combination of detrusor overactivity and urodynamic stress incontinence. The patient group may be in the community, or hospital-based. The proposal should increase our knowledge in the area, with an aim to benefit NHS patients in the future, and should be compatible with UK clinical practice. The award winner will work with Mr Vikram Khullar, Urogynaecologist at Imperial College, London to develop the NIHR application. To discuss further, email vik.khullar@imperial.ac.uk.

PFCSG award on nocturia; You are asked to submit a proposal for development of an NIHR Programme grant application to develop a clinical algorithm for the assessment, investigation and treatment of nocturia. The algorithm will be suitable for primary and secondary care management of people with nocturia; a multidisciplinary structure (nephrologists, care of the elderly, and more) will be essential in view of the range of systemic conditions potentially contributing to nocturnal polyuria (e.g. obstructive sleep apnoea). The proposal should draw together knowledge in the area, with an aim to improve management of NHS patients and should be compatible with UK clinical practice. The award winner will work with Mr Marcus Drake, Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol, to develop the NIHR application. To discuss further, email marcus.drake@bui.ac.uk.

 

PFCSG Consensus statements initiative

The PFCSG wishes to highlight some areas of clinical practice where the evidence basis is weak, and where approaches to clinical management are disparate. A new Clinical Studies Group initiative will focus on developing consensus statements to help identify areas of weakness, agree recommendations for practical management approaches, and highlight opportunities for future research. Emphasising the collaborative nature of the PFCSG, the following initiatives will be pursued over the next year; The management of recurrent urinary tract infection: The use of bowel segments in reconstructive urological surgery: Obstetric anal sphincter injury surgery. Electronic communications supplemented by face-to-face consensus meetings will be used to derive practical algorithms which will be published and made freely available. There are extensive opportunities for further statements of this type and any interested individual wishing to instigate the project of this nature should contact the PFCSG executive.

 

Why Bother with Clinical Research?

Most clinical research is undertaken by people genuinely interested in developing new knowledge and translating it into novel treatments. The process is challenging but very rewarding. For those new to research, however, these benefits may seem intangible and the prospect may appear daunting. However, research is a very broad term, and starting with a relatively simple project before moving on to larger scale studies does enable new researchers to build their confidence. So why should you bother in the first place? Genuine interest is highly motivating. You should weigh up any new treatment you plan to start offering patients in your clinic, and a background in research is extremely helpful for gauging the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence base. At a more pragmatic level, undertaking a clinical research study does make a candidate much more attractive to an appointment committee, for example at consultant interviews; ability to win a research fund or prize is a strong marker of intellectual strength and an enquiring mind.

 

Research Strategy

The PFCSG research strategy is to identify areas of clinical need in all aspects of pelvic floor dysfunction, and formulate the research that will deliver solutions for clinical management in the future.  In more detail, the research remit of the PFCSG can be set out as follows.

1.   Identifying and highlighting areas of clinical need;
2.   Developing high quality research protocols at all levels of pelvic floor research;
3.   Facilitating the achievement of funding of research in the area -

(a)   National Institute of Health Research;
(b)   Charitable and other grant-giving bodies;
(c)   Research in association with industry.

4.  Identifying current research infrastructure in the United Kingdom and building additional research capacity in the clinical and translational arenas. 
5.  Brokering new collaborations, initially on an ad hoc basis, subsequently in a sustained collaboration model.
6.  Developing new researchers for the future by training and progression support for medical and nursing staff, and scientists.

 

PFCSG Research Awards

The PFCSG discussions aimed to identify critical research questions and key opportunities, particularly for collaborations.  In order to catalyse the development of full research projects, the PFCSG aims to obtain pump priming funding which will be used to underpin awards which will be made in response to competitive applications.  The awards will comprise a financial element and expert support from an experienced investigator who will advise on the most effective delivery of the project and how to translate it into a full NIHR application.   The first competitions will be held in the autumn of 2009.  Once awarded, the trainee principal investigator, supervised and supported by the experienced clinical investigator, will be responsible for the entire process.  The trainee will develop the protocol, undertake ethics, regulatory and governance submissions, recruit, analyse and disseminate results.  They will be expected to acknowledge the PFCSG in their final outputs.