In this, the final episode of our first series of Next Generation Research, we're going to lift the curtain on who and what influences government policy and whether it ever sees the light of day. The focus of this episode is Dr. Oliver Mytton, he is an associate professor at the Institute of Child Health at University College London.

Oliver trained as a doctor and then moved into policy after feeling like he wanted to do more to help prevent illnesses caused by obesity. His main focus is now doing research to develop the evidence base, which can inform policies to prevent childhood obesity. We are going to learn about his work that helped develop the tax on sugary drinks which was implemented in 2017 and how important it is to analyse policies once they are implemented. We will hear from other key people who were part of making that tax a reality and, also what other suggestions to improve children's health were left behind and why.

You can find out more about Oliver's research at the Institute of Child Health here.

Evaluation of the soft drinks industry levy: https://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/research/studies/sdil/

NIHR Obesity Policy Research Unit (PRU): https://www.ucl.ac.uk/obesity-policy-research-unit/

You can follow Oliver on Twitter here

Host: Giles Yeo

Producer: Hester Cant

Executive Producer: Freya Hellier

This podcast was supported by the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network and funded by UKRI.

Find out more about the Future Leaders Fellowship here

The views expressed in the podcast are the views of the individuals in the podcast, and do not necessarily represent the views of UKRI or the FLF Development Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that our genes can impact how we respond to infections? Most of us can live our lives without even knowing we've been exposed to certain diseases. For some, however, that same disease could be life-threatening. Why is that? 

In this episode of Next Generation Research, we're going to be diving into Vanessa Sancho-Shimizu's research. Vanessa is a senior lecturer in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London, where she runs a research lab.

Her Future Leaders project is about understanding the genetic influence on life-threatening infections with a particular focus on children. We learn about the new ways genetics are being used in medical treatment and diagnosis, the vital collaboration between clinicians and researchers and, how the study of these very rare infections can help us all.

Find out more about Vanessa's research here

Follow Vanessa on Twitter @SanchoShimizu

Host: Giles Yeo

Producer: Hester Cant

Executive Producer: Freya Hellier

This podcast was supported by the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network and funded by UKRI.

Find out more about the Future Leaders Fellowship here

The views expressed in the podcast are the views of the individuals in the podcast, and do not necessarily represent the views of UKRI or the FLF Development Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HIV remains one of the world's most significant global public health challenges. As a result of recent advances in access to medication called antiretroviral therapy, HIV positive people can now live longer and healthier lives. Research has also confirmed this type of medication prevents onward transmission of the infection. Despite the existence of this medication, many people, are still being infected with HIV.

In this episode of Next Generation Research we are going to meet Valentina Cambiano, she is an associate professor in epidemiology at the Institute of Global Health at University College London.

We will find out about her research project, currently underway in Zimbabwe, which is aiming to understand why at-risk adolescent girls and young women are not taking the HIV prevention medication. Valentina and her colleagues are speaking to young women across the country in order to design a survey. They will then propose new ways to improve the uptake of this medication in Zimbabwe. We will hear about the reasons why this medication is not attractive, how it could be made more accessible and how this sort of sensitive research is undertaken.

Find out more about Valentina here: https://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=VCAMB67

CeSHHAR website (the research centre in Zimbabwe): http://ceshhar.org/

HIV modelling consortium: http://hivmodeling.org/

Host: Giles Yeo

Producer: Hester Cant

Executive Producer: Freya Hellier

This podcast was supported by the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network and funded by UKRI.

Find out more about the Future Leaders Fellowship here

The views expressed in the podcast are the views of the individuals in the podcast, and do not necessarily represent the views of UKRI or the FLF Development Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does the climate crisis and our use of fossil fuels ever feel overwhelming? Have you thought about driving an electric car? We all know that we need to make big, lasting changes as a species in order to curb the effects of climate change...

This episode of Next Generation Research is all about Dr Andrew Logsdail. Andrew is a senior lecturer in catalytic and computational chemistry based at the Catalysis Institute at Cardiff University.

Join Giles Yeo, as we look at the current projects that Andrew and his colleagues are working on. We'll learn about how vital is it to find the best catalysts in order to reduce our carbon emissions and, how wide-reaching the findings of this research can be for global health as well as reaching net zero. We'll also hear about how impactful computer modelling is in speeding up the hunt for these vital catalysts.

You can find out more about Andrew's research here

Learn more information about the Cardiff Catalysis Institute here

Host: Giles Yeo

Producer: Hester Cant

Executive Producer: Freya Hellier

This podcast was supported by the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network and funded by UKRI.

Find out more about the Future Leaders Fellowship here

The views expressed in the podcast are the views of the individuals in the podcast, and do not necessarily represent the views of UKRI or the FLF Development Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that worldwide, nearly one in three women have been subjected to physical and or sexual violence by an intimate partner or non-partner? How can we improve this terrifying statistic for future generations? 

This episode of Next Generation Research is all about Dr Jenevieve Mannell. She is an Associate Professor in UCL’s Institute for Global Health, where she specialises in the prevention of violence in the world’s high-prevalence settings.

Join Giles Yeo, as we look at Jenevieve's current research project, based in Samoa, which focuses on researching prevention-based strategies for targeting high rates of intimate-partner violence.

Over one in three women in Samoa have experienced violence just in the last year. Jenevieve, along with research colleagues in Samoa, is working with communities to understand the causes of violence and, what can be done to stop it.

You can find out more about Jenevieve's research here

Follow Jenevieve on Twitter here: @jvmannell

Host: Giles Yeo

Producer: Hester Cant

Executive Producer: Freya Hellier

This podcast was supported by the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network and funded by UKRI.

Find out more about the Future Leaders Fellowship here

The views expressed in the podcast are the views of the individuals in the podcast, and do not necessarily represent the views of UKRI or the FLF Development Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much do you know about where and how your food is grown? Not just where in the world, but the actual ground it grows in, and the water that feeds it? Not much? You're going to want to hear this. 

The first episode of Next Generation Research is all about Dr Laura Carter, an associate professor in soil and environmental chemistry in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds.

Join Giles Yeo, as we look at Laura's current research project which focuses on synthetic chemicals present in our waste. Medicines which we consume to help treat and cure disease are making their way into our environment. These medicines are present in our soils and surface waters where they can enter the food chain. We’ll explore the fate and behaviour of these chemicals and what this means for human and ecosystem health.

You can find out more about Laura's research here

Follow Laura on Twitter here: @CarterL_J

Host: Giles Yeo

Producer: Hester Cant

Executive Producer: Freya Hellier

This podcast was supported by the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network and funded by UKRI.

Find out more about the Future Leaders Fellowship here

The views expressed in the podcast are the views of the individuals in the podcast, and do not necessarily represent the views of UKRI or the FLF Development Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are our radishes on prozac? Who holds the key to unlock the final barriers to tackle HIV? How might we turn CO2 into a safe fuel? These are just some of the questions being tackled by researchers in the UK. 

Welcome to Next Generation Research, the podcast that introduces you to the best researchers and most interesting research happening right now. These researchers are all part of the Future Leaders Fellowship, a scheme that brings together and supports the best of the next generation of researchers in academia and industry.

Join Cambridge University Professor Giles Yeo as he takes you behind the scenes, to find out more about the ground breaking research that's shaping how we'll live tomorrow. Giles will introduce you to a different researcher in each episode, giving you insight into how their research is done, why it matters and how it has the potential to impact you one day. We'll be going all around the world from Harare, Zimbabwe to Cardiff, Wales and back via Apia, Samoa.

This is a series all about sharing research initiatives that are going on right now, you don't have to dig through the journals or attend the conferences. If you would like to meet the people and ideas behind the most innovative research in the country, subscribe now so the episodes are delivered to you as soon as they're released.

This podcast was supported by the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network and funded by UKRI. The views expressed in the podcast are the views of the individuals in the podcast, and do not necessarily represent the views of UKRI or the FLF Development Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.