Grant winners - 15 January 2015

National Institute for Health Research

Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme

• Award winner: Colin Berry
• Institution: University of Glasgow
• Value: £2,203,509

A randomised parallel group double-blind placebo-controlled dose ranging trial of low-dose adjunctive alteplase during primary PCI (T-TIME)

• Award winner: Hilary O. D. Critchley
• Institution: University of Edinburgh
• Value: £1,520,688

Ulipristal acetate versus conventional management of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB; including uterine fibroids): a randomised controlled trial and exploration of mechanism of action (UCON trial)

Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

• Award winner: Jackie Bridges
• Institution: University of Southampton
• Value: £485,867

Creating learning environments for compassionate care (CLECC): a feasibility study

• Award winner: Shona J. Kelly
• Institution: Sheffield Hallam University
• Value: £84,460

Clinical and demographic characteristics associated with delay in help-seeking behaviour in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Leverhulme Trust

Research Project Grants

• Award winner: Niamh Nowlan
• Institution: Imperial College London
• Value: £296,349

The importance of mechanical forces due to prenatal movements for spinal development

• Award winner: Sergey Sergeyev
• Institution: Aston University
• Value: £233,587

Combined harnessing of synchronisation in mode-locked lasers

Nuffield Foundation

Research and Innovation Grants

• Award winner: Dame Celia Hoyles
• Institution: UCL Institute of Education
• Value: £198,439

Developing teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching through engagement with key mathematical concepts using dynamic digital technology

• Award winner: Marian Brandon
• Institution: University of East Anglia
• Value: £196,044

Understanding men’s perspectives on encounters with the child protection system

In detail

Award winner: Gail Gilchrist
Institution: King’s College London
Value: £233,169

Bridging the evidence gap in family proceedings: predicting which mothers who drink excessively will achieve and maintain the abstinence required to retain care of their children

ADVERTISEMENT

Where a mother’s excessive use of alcohol is a significant factor in care proceedings, a strong, evidence-based case must be made that she is both committed to and capable of maintaining that commitment to abstaining from alcohol, if she is to retain care of her child. It is difficult, however, to make such a case because of the paucity of strong evidence on the factors associated with maternal abstinence from alcohol. The first stage of this project aims to identify a set of factors potentially linked to abstinence, based on a review of the available research evidence complemented by expert consultation. A sample of mothers who have been identified as misusing alcohol will be recruited for an empirical study. Information on the relevant factors will be collected soon after the initiation of care proceedings, and later analysed in order to explore associations with abstinence from alcohol. If the study proves successful, its main output will be a prototype prognostic tool, for which the researchers anticipate pursuing clinical validation in a separate future study. A validated tool could potentially be used in court to help make a strong case for a mother’s capacity to abstain.