It’s a busy week ahead for us: Rea, together with Moorfields consultant Narciss Okhravi and Dr Nik Koutroumanos, will attend the Involve Conference 2010. This conference is all about “Public Involvement in Research Innovation and Impact” which is of course part of what the Birdshot Day was all about. The trio will be presenting a poster based on the Birdshot Day which includes a detailed evaluation of the days outcomes and reflections from people attending. The audience at the conference will include:- Academic researchers, Clinical Research Network staff, Patients and the public. The Birdshot Team of Rea, Narciss and Nik will be doing there best to make sure that Birdshot’s profile is raised and they will be making sure that we are not forgotten about or side-lined.
NIHR Symposium
Rea and I are also attending the NIHR Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Ophthalmology’s conference “A Vision for Vision”.
This is a high profile conference organised by Moorfields, illustratiang their research achievements and progress since the establishment of the specialist NIHR Biobedical Research Centre in 2007. Leading and influential people will be there and we gather that the Birdshot Day is being used as an example of how patients can influence research into the future. We are told that we are mentioned in the brochure. This is progress!
We are delighted to be be involved in this initiative. It can only be a good thing for the Birdshot Community!
There are a whole host of people we will be trying to meet and talk to, including Professor Peng Kwaw, Professor Dame Sally Davies, Professor Pete Coffrey, Professor Sir John Tooke, and Professor Philip Luthert.
For those at the Birdshot day Professor Luthert is the Professor of Pathology that Narciss has talked to try and discover how we might possibly donate our eyes to research, when the time comes. We know that this is not a straight-forward process, but it is something that would help research move along so it is something we can ask our relatives to do for us, after we are gone. As Narciss explained to us at the Birdshot Day it is not at all straight forward because of the timeframe involved, but if it is going to help people in the future, it is something we need to investigate, and set up the structure, so that this is a possibility for those who wish it.
More news on both of these two conferences, next week, if we have anything we want to report!
Annie and Rea