Our Leeds Young Research Owls have supported a successful application for the NIHR Incubator programme.
The NIHR Incubator programme provides career development support for researchers in key areas, helping to identify barriers to building research capacity and bringing together communities to develop solutions.
The team behind the successful bid for the General Paediatrics Incubator, led by Dr Katrina Cathie MBE, recognised the importance of input from children and young people. Their contributions were vital in shaping a bid that effectively captured the needs the incubator aims to address.
Dr Cathie met with the Owls last year to explain more about the incubator project and received valuable feedback, which contributed to the success of the bid.
Heather Rostron, Senior Research Nurse and lead for the Owls group said: “Leeds Young Research Owls enjoyed working with Dr Katrina Cathie MBE to help provide ideas for what support the general paediatrics NIHR incubator should be planning to provide for early career researchers in this field. LYRO members and I were thrilled to hear that the bid was successful and we look forward to working with the incubator steering group further in the future.”
The General Paediatrics Incubator will support research into common childhood conditions such as asthma, diarrhoea and vomiting, colds, ear infections, poor growth, and nutrition.
The Incubator programme has already led to several innovative projects, including the Mental Health Research Incubator and the Nursing and Midwifery Incubator.