Public and patient engagement

Welcome to the Department of Metabolism & Systems Science. 

Our diverse and talented researchers study topics which are highly relevant to the health and wellbeing of society. From improving the management of endocrine cancers and diabetes, through to better understanding metabolic risk factors in pregnancy and far more beyond this. Cutting-edge equipment and techniques – such as mass spectrometry, high-resolution microscopy and machine learning – are also helping us to better understand fundamental questions about how metabolism and hormones work in the body and what happens when things go wrong in disease.

Our commitment towards embedding public and patient engagement and involvement stems from our recognition that research should have real world impact, addressing the priorities and needs of society. Whilst we engage broadly with many different public groups, our strategy has a strong focus on public engagement and involvement with:

• Patients and people with lived experience relevant to the topics we study
• Young people as the scientists and citizens of the future
• Charities and organisations that support patients or relevant community healthcare causes and/or that support young people’s STEM education 

We regularly create opportunities for our researchers to undertake public engagement and involvement activities. For example:

• Training days for postgraduate students and early career researchers to develop engagement skills collaboratively
• Coordinated public open days, online webinars, festival appearances and awareness events targeted at the local community and/or specific patient groups – including partner activity with the Queen Elizabeth Birmingham Hospital through CEDAM and our clinician-scientist connections
• Medical education initiatives which bring patients, researchers and healthcare professionals together for joint learning and networking
• Patient and public involvement groups – such as AMIGO and The Hildas – to collaborate on research now and into the future
• Artist residencies and public exhibitions showcasing our science in creative new ways
• Outreach activities and work experience with schools and young people

We look forward to hopefully welcoming you to one of our events in future. To find out more information about our public-facing activities head over to the We Are MSS blog

Acknowledgements

A big thank you goes to our public contributors, research funders and charity partners for their support across our research programmes. From lab tours, talks and workshops through to scientist-artist collaborations and community projects, we look forward to continuing to work with the public, funders, learned societies and charities on meaningful initiatives going forwards.

Finally, the University of Birmingham is a proud recipient of the NCCPE Gold Engage Watermark which shows a high-level of commitment to this agenda from University leadership:

Professor Adam Tickell

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham

“At the University of Birmingham, we pride ourselves on the impact that we have on the city and the Midlands region, not only as one of Birmingham’s biggest employers but through our research and our relationships with civic partners, communities, and businesses. Opening The Exchange in Birmingham city centre is a testament to the dedication that we have to our city and its communities, and we’re delighted to have that recognised by the NCCPE today.”