What difference can connecting researchers achieve for health and care?
This winter, some of the region’s brightest minds gathered for a networking event in Southampton. Early career researchers from across the NIHR Wessex Experimental Medicine Network (WEMN) and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) shared a day of speed talks, conversations and inspirational keynote sessions.
The event brought together researchers from a range of institutions, professions and disciplines. They were united by a shared commitment to improving health and care through research. The programme offered time to connect, collaborate and reflect. Speakers shared their journeys into research and encouraged discussions around inclusive research.
Investing in early career researchers
Jazz Bartholemew is an NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) Wider Care Settings Research Manager and PhD student at University of Portsmouth.
“The support and investment in early career researchers in our regions is essential to ensure growth of research capacity and capability in health and care research,” she said. "It's important we nurture those early in their research journey to build our regional research workforce and embed a culture of research in practice. It was great to see a diverse group of people at this event from a wide geography and range of specialisms and professional backgrounds.”
Jazz also emphasised the importance of including those with less exposure to research, to ensure the benefits of innovation reach all areas of care across the region.
New ideas and opportunities
This season’s networking day took place at the Novotel Southampton.
Dr Humaira Khan, Co-Lead in Preventative Healthcare and Lecturer at Health Sciences University, found the event valuable for sharing research and sparking new opportunities. She presented two projects during the speed talks. One was aligned with the National Strategy on Women and Girls’ Health in England, and the other focussed on supporting the NHS Maternity Stop Smoking Pathway through digital technology.
“Attending such a showcase event connects regional researchers and highlights key research initiatives across the region, expanding the opportunity for further collaboration and idea generation,” she explained. A conversation at the event gave Humaira advice that supported fresh applications to an NIHR i4i grant and a Nuffield Foundation bid. For her, the event showed how a single discussion can spark real progress.
Sense of shared purpose
Mensah Gyeabour is an NIHR Intern and Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department at University Hospitals Dorset.
“What I enjoyed most about the day was the sense of connection and shared purpose among early career researchers across Wessex,” he said.
“It was inspiring to see how different professions contribute to research, and it strengthened my motivation to pursue the clinical academic pathway. The supportive atmosphere and genuine interest in each other’s work made the event both uplifting and highly valuable.”
Collaboration in motion
For Dr Andy Bates, Critical Care Research Fellow within the NIHR Southampton BRC, the event has already translated directly into new collaborative work.
“The WEMN networking day was a genuinely energising opportunity to connect with research colleagues,” he said. “Hearing the creativity and ambition of other early career researchers was inspiring, and the chance to share my own work in such a supportive setting immediately opened new doors.
“Since the event, I have already met with two researchers and an industry sponsor to explore collaborative projects, including work on the mechanisms driving post-Intensive Care Unit mental health outcomes. These conversations simply would not have happened without the WEMN bringing us together.”
Looking ahead
The WEMN Early Career Researcher event showed the strength and ambition of the research community across Wessex. It also highlighted how vital it is to support early career researchers as they grow in confidence and skill. By creating spaces where these researchers can meet, share ideas and build new collaborations, WEMN is helping to build a more connected and innovative research future for the region.