Fellowships

The HaPPeN research team has opportunities for doctors in training and allied healthcare professionals to pursue research fellowships in hand surgery, plastic surgery or peripheral nervc surgery. The team can provide training in Good Clinical Practice, Trial Methodology and  Principle Investigator training. There is a 12 month funded fellowship that is suitable for a junior doctor at CT1-2 who wishes to pursue a career in surgery. Previous fellows have completed a formal MSc during this time through part-time working. 

There are opportunities for student placements and visiting fellowships. Previous successful applicants have included an academic Foundation Trainee and a neurosciences MSCV candidate. The team is developing MSc access for therapists and will provide research projects for delivery as part of the MSc programme. The HaPPeN team is developing a Clinical PhD programme with a major European University Hospital which will open in late 2019.

Katie Young approached the team at the Birmingham Hand Centre in 2014, requesting an opportunity to develop a research trial in hand surgery. The timing was perfect as Mark Foster and Dominic Power were in the process of developing an enhanced research profile for the unit and building a team committed to clinical research in the reconstructive surgery specialities.

Katie brought considerable prior research experience to the team and helped to set up the research infrastructure for trial delivery. During her year with us the protocol for the SUBMIT trial was processed through the necessary internal and external regulatory approvals, a pump priming grant was raised and the trial was brought to the newly formed HaPPeN team's portfolio. 

Katie was also instrumental in facilitating UHB joining the SWIFFT trial, a multi-centre randomised controlled trial evaluating clinical outcomes after scaphoid waist fractures.

Katie assisted in the development of hand therapy rehabilitation videos for patient information and subsequent evaluation as part of the EPIC study. She also produced an award winning video demonstrating the technique of nerve transfer reconstruction for a midcervical tetraplegic spinal cord injury. The video was selected for presentation at the ASSH meeting.

Katie completed her trauma MSc during her time in Birmingham as part of this programme she undertook the preliminary work for the ADaPT study, a clinical trial in poly trauma patients. She received two research grant awrds for this work.

Katie published the SUMBIT trial protocol during her time in Birmingham and additionally she had multiple podium and poster presentations of her research work at UK and international scientific congresses.

After completion of her 12 months research fellowship, Katie took up a plastic surgery training post in the London deanery.

Tom joined the team in 2015 to deliver the CaT-PINCH study as part of his AFT fellowship. Tom is a junior plastic surgeon who worked with us prior to commencing his specialist registrar training in the West Midlands.

CaT-PINCH was a collaboration with the SyMon Lab at the University of Birmingham and evaluated subtle changes in grip and the effect of perturbation in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Bafiq Nizar joined the HaPPeN team in 2015 and worked for 18 months, initially full-time and later in a job share with Eva O'Grady whilst undertaking some clinical work in Hand and Plastic Surgery at the Birmingham Hand Centre.

He had completed basic surgical training and a research position in Ireland prior to  starting this post. 

During his time with HaPPeN he undertook the Integrated Research Application for CoNNECT and contributed to the management of the SUBMIT study at UHB. He undertook preliminary audits for the RANGER and MATCH studies at HaPPeN, estimating potential recruitment rates.

He contributed to the recruitment monitoring for SUBMIT and work towards setting up SUBMIT as a multi-centre trial.

Eva O' Grady joined the team in August 2016 after completing her initial surgical training in Ireland. 

During her time in Birmingham she worked on multiple projects at many different stages including SUBMIT (trial administration), CONNECT (trial launch and clinician education), PROTECT NEURO (local administration and assistance with recruitment), UNDER (preliminary research) and RANGER (regulatory approvals and documentation for UK arm). 

Following completion of a 1-year fellowship Eva went on to a Plastic Surgery training post in the East of England.