The Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences proudly congratulates the 2024 cohort of UNIQ+ interns, who have recently completed their programme with us. The UNIQ+ Research Internship programme is a vital initiative designed to provide students from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds with invaluable experience in research and postgraduate study. We are delighted to have hosted such a talented and dedicated group of students, each of whom has made significant contributions to their respective research projects.
The programme is particularly aimed at current undergraduates and recent graduates who might not typically consider postgraduate study or research careers. By offering this hands-on experience, UNIQ+ helps to bridge the gap, making the world of academic research more accessible to a diverse range of students.
Project highlights
This year, our department hosted five interns, each working on impactful research projects.
Saminah Shareef focused on the 'Remote Breathlessness Assessment in NHS 111 Calls About COVID', supervised by Rebecca Barnes. Initially, the project aimed to explore the broader management of patient risk, however breathlessness emerged as a particularly challenging symptom to assess remotely. With no validated method available at the time, Saminah’s project sought to address this critical gap. The project's development involved several stages: conducting word searches across transcripts to identify relevant cases, listening to and annotating these calls, and refining inclusion and exclusion criteria. This comprehensive approach ensured that all instances of breathlessness were captured, providing a solid foundation for detailed analysis. By focusing on the remote assessment of breathlessness, this project aimed to enhance the accuracy and timeliness of patient care.
Saminah’s experience as an NHS 111 Health Advisor and a COVID-19 vaccinator uniquely positioned her to bring valuable insights into this research. Saminah is a medical student.
Aleenah Zubair
Aleenah Zubair, a third-year medical student at Cardiff University, turned her attention to the public perception of general practice. Her project, ‘How is GP Access Depicted in UK National Newspapers in the Run-up to the 2024 General Election?’ involved a thematic content analysis of newspaper articles. Aleenah’s work is particularly timely, given the ongoing scrutiny of GP services in the UK, and it aims to shed light on how media portrayals may influence public opinion and policy. Her project was supervised by Catherine Pope.
With a keen interest in public health and medical sociology, Aleenah has worked to understand healthcare inequalities and their impact on patient care and outcomes.
Haseeb Imtiaz
Riyadh Rahman
Haseeb Imtiaz and Riyadh Rahman worked collaboratively on a systematic review examining the efficiency of body temperature as a diagnostic tool for identifying novel respiratory viruses. Under the guidance of subject experts, Susannah Fleming and Richard Stevens, they reviewed 2,699 studies, with 120 deemed eligible for inclusion. Using tools like R programming and forest plots, they illustrated the sensitivity of fever as a diagnostic marker.
Haseeb says of his time on the programme, ‘Despite the internship coming to an end, we are very passionate about our research project...This summer has deepened our excitement for research and has equipped us with valuable skills essential to flourish in our prospective careers.’
Riyadh added, ‘My time at Oxford has been surreal, being able to appreciate the astonishing sites of Oxford with life-long friends made along the way’.
Haseeb is a third-year medical student at the University of Edinburgh, intercalating in BSc Health Sciences. Riyadh is going into his final year of study in psychology.
Suhana Syeda-Kazi, another intern with us this summer, worked on a project supervised by Diana Withrow entitled, ‘Cancer epidemiology: harnessing existing data to improve care & equity’.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Saminah, Aleenah, Haseeb, Riyadh, and Suhana for their hard work and accomplishments, and we wish them every success in their future endeavours.