Research should inform policy but that’s tricky if it is almost entirely driven by policy. The independence of research is key to change because if you fund only research that responds to policy (even good policy) you’re less innovative, creative & responsive to the open options of the future.

Today’s #TitleOfTheDay - 'The morphology of musket wounds' Available #OpenAccess at orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/13...

Ooh we've opened our call for small research grants. £10k for any humanities or social sciences research. Open to independent scholars. We use partial randomisation to allocate the funding: random allocation between all that meet the quality threshold www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/ba-l...

Lovely TedX talk from Jamie Hayes. youtu.be/swCLNaAG5qY?...

Wonderful course!

We welcome you to the first meeting for the Wales Rare Diseases Research Network on the 26th Sept in Swansea Combining collaboration, networking, and discussion to promote and support to our research community to deliver on all-Wales grant applications. www.eventbrite.com/e/cyfarfod-c...

🚨New paper🚨 Feasibility stage of CONSULT SWAT evaluating decision aid for families acting as consultee/legal representative in studies involving adults lacking capacity to consent 🔗 doi.org/10.1186/s130... ℹ️ www.capacityconsentresearch.com/consult-swat #TrialsMethodologyResearch #InclusiveResearch

📢 Our survey for UK autistic adults will be open until 9am Monday 1st September, so there's still time to take part. ⬇️ Thanks to everyone who has taken part already 🙏

Peer support within CTUs is vital. It fosters professional growth, improves trial delivery & strengthens collaboration. We are committed to enabling peer support across the #UKCTUNework, recognising the value it brings to both individuals & research quality. Find out more here: ukcrc-ctu.org.uk

Would welcome thoughts on this from others!

Interested in or currently leading a clinical trial? Want to be the best Chief Investigator you can be? Want to build a peer support network? This UPDATED course is for you! ⏰Registration for the October 2025 workshop in Glasgow is now open.⏰ Find out more here: ukcrc-ctu.org.uk/how-to-be-a-...

“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man

Delighted to share registration is open for Professor @vcornelius.bsky.social inaugural lecture -Under pressure: smarter trials for better health outcomes- Thursday, 30 October 2025, 17.30-18.30, Imperial College South Kensington/Online. For details & registration: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/19688...

Letter of the day (in the Times)

Just over a week left to apply for this exciting postdoctoral research opportunity on children and nature! 🐾 The application deadline is Wednesday the 20th of August 2025.

All set up for Llangammarch Wells Carnival with fantastic candles and soap.

Really delighted to see the VESPER Trial open - improving how we manage recurrent UTIs is important to so many people. healthandcareresearchwales.org/about/news/s...

🎉 Publication 8 for PEACH! From protocol to final paper—PEACH has delivered insights across 8 key publications. Read the latest in BMJ Open today. 🔗 bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/8... @researchwales.bsky.social @ukcrc-ctu.org.uk 📘🍑

As the nation remembers the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has added to its range of charming anti-nuclear T-shirts with a very familiar retro Welsh language logo

Event, 9 September - Research to impact policy making in Wales. What makes for impactful research? Tips and tools from academics, knowledge brokers and decision-makers www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/research-t...

Rising stars, Taran return today with their new double single, 'Cymryd Ti Mas / Brifo Eto', ahead of the release of their highly anticipated debut album at the end of August

To mark this year’s World Hepatitis Day (28 July 2025), the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) is highlighting projects that raise awareness of hepatitis and related health inequalities: www.spcr.nihr.ac.uk/news/spcr-in... #worldhepatitisday #SPCR #PrimaryCare #Research

Wales has become the first UK nation to open recruitment for T1D-Plus – a major international clinical trial exploring innovative treatment strategies for adults newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Led by the Centre for Trials Research: mediwales.com/news/wales-f...

One of those days when I keep changing hats - governance for our joint research office with C&V UHB, UKCRD advisory group representing @ukcrc-ctu.org.uk, chairing our college research committee, meeting to develop labs for linking with a clinical dept and then a TMG for our ESTEEM trial…

#Measles is preventable with two doses of vaccine. Yet in 2024, 30+ million children remained under-protected, leading to more large or disruptive outbreaks. Only 76% of children got the second dose, far below the 95% coverage needed to stop outbreaks 👉 bit.ly/4kFzSGW

Superbugs - Discover the microbial world in, on and around us! St David's Dewi Sant shopping centre in Cardiff 7th July - 3rd August 2025. Free event. No booking required. 👉🏻 www.superbugs.online/pop-up-2025

New to on-site, remote, or central monitoring as an academic trialist? This #UKCTUNetwork Handbook is a practical resource for training and ongoing reference. Download your copy, and other helpful resources, here: ukcrc-ctu.org.uk/clinical-tri... #ClinicalTrials #ResearchSupport

Exactly 10 years ago today, Cardiff University Press was launched - many people said it wouldn't work, but it did! Happy birthday CardiffUP, and here's to the next decade of publishing 🎂🎉cardiffuniversitypress.org #openaccess @cardiffunilib.bsky.social @ubiquityopen.bsky.social

Caster Semenya is a cis woman. A cis woman who has been subject to human rights abuses. She’s won (again) by proving that the system is unfair and she wasn’t given a fair hearing. There’s no world in which her fight isn’t for women’s rights.

#SAPC2025: Vincent Singh (UWE), is presenting findings from the HAPPY Study (Parallel 6: Vulnerable Populations: 11.35) on what helps or hinders GPs & nurses discussing physical activity with patients with heart failure & referring them as appropriate to community exercise resources. bit.ly/3Ijmaw2

Very fancy and very fun evening last night at #sapc2025 at the Cardiff National Museum. Turns out gazing disapprovingly at paintings is quite a good networking technique. @sapc.ac.uk

The Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee has launched a major inquiry into the growing crisis facing General Practice services in Wales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 "Wales. The land of song, of poetry and also – a queer revolution." https://www.wearequeeraf.com/theres-a-queer-revolution-brewing-in-rural-wales/

Pleased to see this announcement - colleagues in @deciphercentre.bsky.social, @cusocsci.bsky.social will be leading a £1.3m UKRI funded project on free school meals in primary schools: www.ukri.org/news/project...

Day 2: Discovering the microbial world in, on and around us.

Thank you to everyone from St Martin's School for visiting our pop-up shop in Cardiff today!

What a privilege to get some time to attend #SAPC2025 - really thought provoking opening plenary from Martin Marshall on the future of primary care, recalling interesting set of talks about new technologies in diagnosing infections and approaches to decision making.

Coming up at #SAPC2025: @dremilybrown.bsky.social will be discussing results from the RAPID-TEST Study - a clinical trial investigating whether rapid point-of-care microbiological tests can reduce same-day antibiotic prescribing in primary care. Parallel 1: Infections: Brecon room: 14:15. #SAPC_ASM

Coming up at #SAPC2025: Also in the Infections session this afternoon (14:30): @jemimaacooper.bsky.social is presenting patient & clinician views on the use of FebriDx - a point-of-care test for upper respiratory tract infections - as part of the RAPID-IMMUNE TEST Study. bit.ly/4lFESfF #SAPC_ASM

@jameslindalliance.bsky.social priority setting survey for UTI, looking for responses from patients, clinicians and stakeholders. Pls help share to ensure a representative sample #UTISKY @jennyrohn.bsky.social @angelahuttner.bsky.social @gpollara.bsky.social www.surveymonkey.com/r/UTI_PSP

SAPC ASM 2025, Cardiff, has just opened. #SAPC2025 #SAPC_ASM

I knew the phenomenon, but not this name!

Looking forward to a day discussing Empathic Leadership organised by @empathy-centre.bsky.social. I met so many interesting people at dinner last night that I know my mind will be stretched and my assumptions challenged!

Nice to see this paper published - really important topic to think about how we manage people who want to withdraw from a trial and the principles that are important in operationalising this. @ukcrc-ctu.org.uk journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

#dermatology #BAD2025 Such a blast meeting up with @bethstuart97.bsky.social and co #eczema

The #UKCTUNetwork supports better, more efficient clinical trials through shared learning, webinars and national meetings for members, as well as training, and guidance. Explore our free resources here: ukcrc-ctu.org.uk/guidance-for... #ClinicalTrials #ResearchSupport #BestPractice

Trial managers Siva and Nicky recently attended the Lung Cancer Nursing UK conference to speak to nurses specialising in caring for people with #LungCancer and promote the TOURIST Platform Trial, including the PRINCE and QUARTZ LUNG trials. southampton.ac.uk/ctu/trialpor... @nihr.bsky.social

If the Tories shed tears for what they did to Britain over 14 years…

Certain gay men and lesbians have grown paranoid that too much acceptance of trans people could lead to the over-medicalization of gender nonconformity, ie 'transing the gay away.' Let's talk about this. 🧵

Got a sweaty vulva from the heatwave? That's normal! You're not some frightful little moist goblin. Vulvas get sweaty, too. Here's some things you can do (and some things you absolutely shouldn't do) to make it feel less swampy down there.