Forthcoming events
Tuesday 20 May 2025, 10.00-1.30
Embedded Research Workshop
This workshop is intended to explore the benefits and challenges of undertaking a role as an embedded researcher. The Health Determinants Research Collaboration involves academics and embedded researchers working within a local authority setting to further develop research led practices (the use of an evidence base to inform practice) within the authority, as well as improving research led processes (i.e. the role of research in commissioning and prioritising policy) in the Local Authority.
This workshop will draw from experiences of embedded researchers working within these local authority settings to discuss the challenges and rewards of developing research led practices and processes in this context.
Speakers include embedded researchers from a range of local authority settings, including the HDRC Bradford, and Thurrock Council. This workshop is relevant for anyone involved in working and researching in a local authority context.
Venue: EBS.2.34
Register on Eventbrite to attend
Monday 2 June, 12-1pm
Advanced Research Methodologies in Health and Biomedical Sciences (ARMS) - Summer seminar
Tasos Papastylianou, IPHW - Epidemiological modelling of Pneumococcal transmission - a comparison of probabilistic and genetic methods
Venue: Colchester campus
Register on Eventbrite to attend
Thursday 12 June, 2-4pm
Understanding suicide risk in Greater Essex - A mental health research group seminar
Research has identified a wide range of risk factors for suicide, including mental health issues, intimate partner difficulties, and substance use. For completed suicides, there is also variation in history of accessing health or other support services. The range of risk factors and help seeking behaviours suggests there may be subgroups within suicide completers. A better understanding of this may help inform preventative approaches.
- Dr Nicolas Geeraert, will present an analysis of police data of suspected suicides (N = 344) in Southend, Essex, and Thurrock.
- Professor Ewen Speed will provide an update on plans for new research across Greater Essex to understand experiences of professionals across sectors whose work intersects with suicide prevention and who work with people in despair.
- Professor Susan McPherson will provide a brief summary of a new NIHR programme of mental health research beginning across Greater Essex and where the programme may intersect with suicide research.
The session will include time for discussion on how research can support the work of the Essex suicide prevention board and feed into work to help prevent and reduce suicide rates in our region.
Venue: NTC.1.03
Register on Eventbrite to attend
Thursday 26 June, 2-4pm
Developing rights-based support for people who use drugs: local and global perspectives
A medical humanities network seminar
Join us on 26 June for the latest seminar from the Medical Humanities Network. Julie Hannah (Human Rights Centre) will discuss a global perspective on rights-based policies to support people who use drugs. Katie Peterson (IPHW) will discuss local work to develop services to support people who use drugs including the potential for developing an Essex Charter of Rights.
Venue: STEM event space 3.1
Register on Eventbrite to attend
Save the date!
Eastern ARC Health Conference for Early Career Researchers. From the universities of Essex, East Anglia, Kent, Sussex.
Tuesday 8 July 2025
Venue: University of Essex,
Registration opening soon... watch this space!!
Research news
NIHR Mental Health Research Leaders award
IPHW Deputy Director Susan McPherson, along with colleagues from the Centre for Costal Communities, ISER, Sociology and HSC, and partners at King's College London and the University of Cambridge, have been awarded £2.5M over 5 years. They will undertake a programme of research in Southend, Essex and Thurrock with a focus on loneliness and social isolation in young adults in coastal areas, and will be recruiting a team including a professor, postdocs and PhD students.
Find out more
The ASCENT Programme
Aaron Wyllie (School of Health and Social Care) is seconded for 18 months to the SociAl care reSearCh dEvelopmeNT (ASCENT) programme. This project facilitates initiatives to enhance research culture and infrastructure in social care. The project will support the delivery of practice-based research, the use of evidence in the commissioning and delivery of care services and the improvement of practitioners’ research skills in social care.
Knowledge Transfer Partnership with ICNARC
Osama Mahmoud (Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science) and IPHW Director Chiara di Cesare have recently been successful in developing a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC).
The project will focus on applying the latest techniques in data science and statistical analysis to create a dynamic reporting dashboard which usefully presents data to a variety of end-users. The KTP contributes to ICNARC's vision to revolutionise its capability to provide fully flexible next-generation reporting to critical care service providers.
Specialist Centre for Public Health: Local Authority Research Practitioner (LARP)
The NIHR Research Support Service Specialist Centre for Public Health has awarded Southend-on-Sea City Council a LARP role, to facilitate the development of research culture and governance in their organisation and support delivery of research opportunities.
IPHW Secondments
We are very pleased to announce three short-term (part time) secondments to the IPHW, for colleagues from across the University to work on health and wellbeing-focused funding applications.
- Angela Pine, from the School of Life Sciences, is working on a grant application looking at closing the gap on awareness of cervical cancer and HPV in the general population and among healthcare professionals in rural India
- Kat Hadjimatheou, from the Department of Sociology and Criminology, is working on a grant application on understanding and addressing teenage relationship violence: a whole systems approach
- Róisín Ryan-Flood, from the Department of Sociology and Criminology, will develop a grant application looking at sexuality and the menopause.
The IPHW family
We are pleased to announce new honorary members of the IPHW team:
Honorary professors
- Dr Aliko Ahmed - Regional Director of Public Health OHID/DHSC & NHSE – East of England
Visiting fellows
Members of the Greater Essex Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) team at Essex County Council:
- Steven Barclay
- Tom Douglass
- Rejoice Frimpong
- Jack Head
- Emma Weinstein Sheffield
- Hannah Taylor
- Dimitra Mouriki.
NIHR Applied Mental Health
PhD Studentships 2025-26
We are offering 3 PhD Studentships for Home UK fee payers as part of our NIHR funded programme of applied mental health research addressing key mental health challenges in Greater Essex. Each PhD will be shaped by the student, their supervisors and in collaboration with our stakeholders who include representatives from local providers of health and social care support including voluntary and third sector providers.
Project topics may be proposed which link in some way to the overall focus of the programme including loneliness, social isolation, young adult mental health, mental health inequalities and coastal communities. We would particularly welcome proposals focusing on suicidality and/or drug and alcohol use and how these relate to loneliness and social isolation.
Supervisors will be allocated from among the project team (including staff from Essex, Kings and Cambridge) based on topic and method.
Research ethics training for NHS, local authority and third sector research
We are offering a half day course for colleagues working in the health and social care sector who want to understand more about research ethics in the health and social care sector.
Date: 10 June 2-5pm
Location: University of Essex, Colchester Campus
Learn more or book your place
Wivenhoe Community Consultation on improving health and wellbeing
In March, the IPHW and Wivenhoe Town Council co-hosted a consultation event in Wivenhoe, with a focus on bringing together people from a cross section of the town to talk about what matters most to the community in terms of improving health and wellbeing, and what issues are the most critical to address. Colleagues from across the University attended along with members of the Wivenhoe community, and discussed health and wellbeing broadly, what works well at the moment, and what could be improved, any gaps and challenges. The consultation finished with a discussion about what a good future would look like for Wivenhoe, in terms of health and wellbeing.
Following the event, discussions are continuing between the University, Wivenhoe Town Council and residents, on short and long term collaborations and projects that could improve health and wellbeing in Wivenhoe in the future.
All Party Parliamentary Health Group: Access to Primary Care Services Inquiry (via Policy Connect)
The University of Essex via the IPHW is a headline sponsor of this inquiry, which includes:
- A seat on the inquiry steering group, which inputs into the direction of the research project alongside the parliamentary co-chairs;
- Recognition in press and media work (traditional and social) as headline sponsor;
- Membership of Policy Connect, supporting the work of the APPG for Health for 12 months with participation in the wider programme of activities of the group
The inquiry is officially launching this month, with the aim of making evidence-based policy recommendations to ensure equitable, efficient and sustainable access to primary care. This involves offering coordinated policy solutions that deliver lasting improvements in primary care services beyond electoral cycles.
Media coverage and publication highlights
Media coverage
Publication highlights
Please email institutepublichealthwellbeing@essex.ac.uk if you have any query.
