PPI as part of the MSC in Experimental Medicine

Article written by Dr. Chris Watson, Reader, Wellcome Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast

Funding was requested from the QUB PPI Network to support research engagement with non-academic stakeholders as part of the MSc in Experimental Medicine, and specifically within the module ‘Experimental Medicine towards Clinical Translation’. In this MSc programme students are exposed to theoretical and practical training in biomedical and clinical research skills with a strong emphasis on clinical translation. The modules focus on research related to the broad spectrum of expertise available in the Wellcome Wolfson Institute of Experimental Medicine (WWIEM): and skills range from experimentation using animal and human models of disease to the design and implementation of clinical trials. The ‘Experimental Medicine towards Clinical Translation’ module was focused on translating lab based research to the clinic and evaluating what the impact of this might have on patients. A central component within this module was on the importance and necessity of PPI in research design, implementation, and dissemination. The MSc students undertook a two hour workshop on this topic, and developed a PPI action plan. The postgraduate students then each gave a lay presentation of their planned 9 month research project to a PPI group, which the requested funding supported.

The motivations and objectives behind this PPI event were three fold: (1) To enable members of the public and research stakeholders to see the type of medical research being conducted by postgraduate students in WWIEM; (2) To provide a valuable opportunity for postgraduate students to present to a lay audience, help put their research in perspective and to consider impact from the patient view point; (3) PIs/supervisors of the MSc students can use the feedback and different perspectives from the non-academic stakeholders to reshape their research plans and to form part of external funding applications, furthering their development of translation to impact. 

Details of the PPI Event

This PPI event took place on Wednesday 4th December 2024, in the lecture theatre and inner atrium within the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine (WWIEM). It ran between 10am-4pm. The format was delivery of student research presentations, with PPI feedback and discussions after each talk. Fifteen MSc students and 1 PhD student delivered a lay presentation. This included a background to the disease area they are studying, their planned research project, and what the potential impact this research could have on patients and the public, including immediate impact and future impact. This work was presented to a PPI audience consisting of patients/carers (n=6) and members from NI Chest, Heart and Stroke charity and EU Cystic Fibrosis Society (n=3). After each lay presentation, PPI members led a discussion with the student, providing questions from a PPI perspective and offering feedback. This included feedback/comments on the disease area, the proposed research approach, dissemination activities, as well as the potential for impact. This was all be from the patient perspective, as well as from the research charity sector perspective. In addition, important feedback was provided on how well the student was able to convey technical and scientific detail to a lay audience, and appropriateness of the slides produced for the presentation. 

Outcomes of the PPI Event

People with the lived experience who attended and took part in this event gained a deeper understating of the mechanisms of disease development and the novel diagnostics and treatments that are being developed in WWIEM that could have patient benefit in the future. The event also had a significant impact on the postgraduate students presenting. Constructive feedback from the PPI group was provided after each lay presentation, and personal experiences were shared from PPI representatives. The feedback helped to inform their planned research projects and give additional non-academic perspectives on the relevance of the research and potential impact. One PPI representative offered to be a member on a trial steering group linked to one of the projects presented. In this position, the person with lived experience of the disease being studied can actively and continuously provide support to the study.

This event was a great success. We will now make this an annual event and will incorporate this within the MSc in Experimental Medicine master’s programme. This also shows an ongoing commitment to PPI in WWIEM. The budget to support this PPI event for subsequent years will be built into the MSc programme budget.