We are pleased to share the next edition of our SPCR Researcher Spotlight series, featuring two of our researchers, Dr Georgia Richards, from the University of Oxford, and Professor Clare Taylor from the University of Birmingham. This series highlights the impact of continued SPCR research capacity and development funding since it's introduction in 2010.
FROM CLINICAL PRACTICE TO ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP
Professor Clare J Taylor MBE is Professor of General Practice at the University of Birmingham and an NHS GP whose research focuses on earlier diagnosis and improving prognosis for people with heart failure using large primary care datasets. Her work has been supported by SPCR and other major research funding, leading to influential publications and informing international heart failure guidelines. She is recognised for her leadership in academic general practice and contributions to policy and clinical practice.
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"I received SPCR bridging funding to allow me to develop an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship application which was successfully funded. This was a key point in my clinical academic career. Whilst at the University of Oxford, I was successful in obtaining SPCR research funding as a principal investigator on a heart failure priority setting partnership project and co-applicant on a study exploring heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in collaboration with the University of Cambridge. The SPCR project funding early on in my post-doctoral career provided an opportunity to lead a team and make links with other departments. |
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These opportunities allowed me to develop a larger programme of work which led to independence and my current role as Professor of General Practice. Primary care research is quite different to other medical specialities, and academic GPs make up less than 1% of the GP workforce. This can be quite isolating, and the SPCR provides a ‘home’ for primary care researchers. I found SPCR events and conferences particularly useful for this sense of community.” |
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EXPANDING NETWORKS WITH SEED CORN SUPPORT
Dr Georgia Richards is a health researcher and epidemiologist who completed her DPhil at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, where her SPCR-supported doctoral research examined the epidemiology and harms of opioid use to improve patient safety and care. Her work uses open data and evidence-based methods to understand preventable deaths and inform safer clinical practice, and she continues to contribute to research, teaching and tools like the Preventable Deaths Tracker.
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"The SPCR awards and the student internship awards have helped me progress unfunded research ideas and projects. One of the benefits of belonging to the SPCR community was the opportunity to develop a network outside of my home institution.” |
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