A showcase of research

The NIHR GOSH BRC is a collaboration between Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust and the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). It is the only NIHR-supported Biomedical Research Centre solely focusing on paediatric research. It provides cutting-edge facilities, world-leading expertise and access to over 200 rare disease patient populations allowing staff and NHS, university and industry collaborators to support pioneering translational research into childhood illnesses.

This event was a great opportunity for the NIHR GOSH BRC’s community of researchers, funders, collaborators and external stakeholders to hear about some exciting examples of translational paediatric research led by researchers from GOSH, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and NIHR GOSH BRC partners – Alder Hey, Sheffield and Birmingham Children’s Hospitals.

Across the afternoon, we heard from teams using virtual reality to help with the separation of conjoined twins, as well as researchers who are harnessing the power of genomics to improve diagnostics and treatment. We also heard about how researchers are working with patients and their families to tackle rare diseases.

The event programme featured talks from the next generation of translational researchers, who left us truly inspired as we heard about the areas of research they are beginning to establish.

The afternoon was a perfect example of the breadth of the NIHR GOSH BRC’s work and the interdisciplinary nature of ground-breaking research.

Feedback from the event was resoundingly positive, including from a member of the GOSH Young Persons’ Advisory Group for research, who spoke to researchers after the event and has since come back to make a presentation about Patient and Public Involvement at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health INSPIRE work experience programme.

NIHR GOSH BRC showcases have always had the aim of bringing together a community with diverse interests and experiences, so it was really gratifying to see how the hybrid approach delivered the highest number of attendees ever, from six countries:

• 348 attendees in total
• 181 attendees in person

Everyone surveyed said they would recommend the event.

At the event, the winner of the NIHR GOSH BRC Junior Faculty Early Career Researcher Excellence in Impact Award was announced - Dr Ian Simcock for his research helping parents find answers after miscarriage.

If you missed this great event, you can catch all the talks here. We all look forward to the next NIHR GOSH BRC showcase where you’ll be able to see even more progress for children and young people with rare or complex diseases across the world.