Enhancing research collaboration with UEA
Research Group in Social Pharmacy recently invited researchers from University of East Anglia (UEA) to Bergen to discuss future research collaboration and how we can strengthen the research within social pharmacy and pharmacy practice at both institutions.
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Since 2006, pharmacy students from Bergen have been taught pharmaceutical technology and formulation as well as clinical pharmacy at UEA. From 2015 these subjects will be moved to Bergen, but collaboration in research will continue. Some of students have already chosen to conduct their master thesis in Norwich, and feedback from both students and researchers have been positive. Inspired by our students, we invited researchers from the «Medicines management» group at UEA to Bergen to discuss how we can work together to advance social pharmacy and pharmacy practice research in both our institutions.
During our two-day-seminar proposals for different levels of collaboration were put forward. In addition to develop joint projects together, and performing them in parallel, we also discussed «exchanging projects», where we copy studies performed at one university at the other. We aim for both researchers and undergraduates to contribute to this collaboration.
PhD candidate Lillan Mo Andreassen did a four week research visit shortly after the seminar, and will write a paper about diabetes patients in care homes together with Dr. James Desborough from UEA. «In addition to the opportunity to share data and publish papers together, I have gained valuable insights in other ways of thinking research», she says. Master student Gia Tran is also in Norwich at the moment. He will work together with Professor David Wright on a project about dysphagia in nursing home patients. Leader for Research Group in Social Pharmacy, Associate professor Lone Holst expresses her thoughts about the collaboration: «Since we are a relatively small research group, collaborative partners, both national and international, are crucial. The research of our UEA colleagues is acknowledged on an international level and they have expertise in several areas of interest to us. Our collaboration was initiated in 2007 when I did most of the data collection for my PhD in Norwich under supervision of Professor David Wright. I’m grateful that we now have got the finances to further strengthen this collaboration».
A new meeting between the two research groups is planned for December 2013.
