Collaboration is a core value of our department. We believe that working together across disciplines, institutions, and career stages generates higher quality research and greater impact. The Research Showcase offered a key opportunity to make new connections and strengthen existing ones.
The showcase featured engaging ‘lightning talks’ – short, engaging presentations from a diverse range of research groups. Topics ranged from ‘Temperature: the neglected vital sign?’ to big data research project OpenSAFELY.
We had participation from senior academics, early career researchers, and DPhil students alike. The talks were grouped into themes highlighting breaking discoveries, requests for collaboration, and thought-provoking concepts. Lively discussion sessions followed each presentation, allowing attendees to ask questions, provide feedback, and explore potential partnerships.
Professor Trish Greenhalgh, Professor of Primary Care Health Research at NDPCHS who presented at the Showcase, said: 'Our recent Remote by Default 2 study explored the safety of remote GP consultations for patients. When covered in the press, our results were mispresented to claim ‘remote healthcare kills people’. Actually, our qualitative research demonstrated that remote healthcare in general practice is remarkably safe. Using ethnography, we studied the subtle and creative ways in which general practice staff made remote care safer for patients. Our bottom-line finding was that the telephone is only as good as the quality and depth of the conversation you have through it. Sharing these accurate conclusions at the Research Showcase allowed us to discuss our bottom line finding with colleagues and students in Primary Care, informing future practice and helping to improve care for patients.'
Lin Bowker-Lonnecker, a DPhil student in the department who presented at the Showcase, said: 'It was great to be able to present and share my research. I think the elevator pitch format was a good way to see what a wide range of people in the department are working on. I will definitely follow up with some people based on conversations I had.'
Professor Richard McManus, NDPCHS Research Lead and lead for the Showcase, said: 'Events like this Research Showcase help to break down academic silos and, by encouraging researchers at all levels to engage with colleagues across the disciplines, we believe we can improve the quality of collaboration and by developing novel research questions, enhance the value of our work.'
Our incoming Head of Department, Professor Aziz Sheikh, focused on the theme of the Showcase and shared insights from his best collaborations. In his keynote speech, Aziz highlighted his core values for collaboration – respect, open communication, reciprocal relationships and alignment on shared interests.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracey, also attended, demonstrating the University’s strong support for cross-departmental and external collaboration. She shared her previous collaborative research into anaesthetic neuroscience, explaining: 'The gap between injury and perception is not a linear relationship. Pain is multidimensional, malleable and subject to mood, cognitive and contextual influences.'
We are excited to see many future partnerships emerge from the conversations and ideas sparked at the Showcase.