Fourth round of IFRC grants strengthens research culture across Birkbeck

As Birkbeck’s Wellcome Institutional Funding for Research Culture (IFRC) programme reaches its halfway point, a fourth round of grants has been awarded that will help researchers deepen their work in health research. The funds will also contribute to a diverse, equitable and inclusive research culture. The scope of support continues to grow, now including leadership training and extending to research support staff.

Leadership training

Researchers at all levels of experience are offered funding to undertake training to support their progression to leadership. Health researchers, from postdoc to professor, have been offered training to support their progression to leadership, with courses ranging from group-specific to cross-sector. Some courses are also tailored specifically to historically excluded groups.

Current awards include a Women in Leadership programme and a course specifically for people who identify as neurodiverse, disabled, or who have a long-term physical or mental health condition. In addition, postdoctoral researchers from across the Faculty of Science have been funded to attend lab leadership sessions, while colleagues including professors and research support staff are attending cross-sector leadership and strategic planning training.

Awards for existing staff

Promoting an inclusive, collaborative approach to research, the panel has awarded two more ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ projects in Psychological Sciences. Professor Beth Grunfeld will work with migrant communities in the UK (and in particular in the London borough of Newham) to explore the key barriers to healthcare access in these communities, while Dr Victoria St. Clair will collaborate with deaf children, adults and organisations to identify health research priorities.

This round has also seen the first Faculty Seed Fund award from Birkbeck Law School. Professor Adam Gearey invites researchers to engage in wood carving workshops to help consider the trials of research as a creative process.

Salary extension schemes

These grants, designed for those at the end either of their PhD or postdoctoral fixed-term contract to consolidate their work and build their career path, are awarded to those working in health research who are from groups historically excluded in higher education. A further five awards were granted in round 4:

• Kate Errington (Creative Arts, Culture and Communication)
  Consolidating doctoral research in Medical Humanities on social histories of pregnancy risk and public health in twentieth century Britain'
• Dr Hannah Reeves (Social Sciences)
  Exploring and augmenting the potential of Crossbones Graveyard, Southwark, as a source of community wellbeing
• Dr Steph Bowry (Historical Studies)
  ‘[F]or the delight and comfort of his wearied mind’: Promoting mental wellbeing in the early modern garden.
• Dr Bouchra Attia (Natural Sciences )
  Structural and functional characterization of Arp2/3 complex in skeletal muscle physiology
• Dr Magdalena Kachlicka (Psychological Sciences)
  Foundations of environmental sound perception in healthy listeners and cochlear implant users

Birkbeck offers its congratulations to all recipients of this award. Professor Sally Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor commented:

“The continued growth of this programme, reaching right across our institution, highlights the power of and need for an inclusive and equitable culture for the future of health research. It is encouraging to see new schools and departments represented, with projects that promise both targeted interventions and new modes of collaboration in the research community and beyond. I offer my personal congratulations to everyone involved.”