Council Open Meeting: Cardiff July 2011
MRC Open Council comes to Wales
MRC Open Council is an annual event that gives some of our local and regional stakeholders the opportunity to meet and, more importantly, put questions to the members of our Council. This year, the meeting took place in the grand and elegant surroundings of Cardiff’s City Hall.
Around eighty guests attended the 2011 Open Council from a wide range of stakeholder organisations from both sides of the Severn. Faculty researchers and the deans of Medical Schools at the Universities of Swansea, Bristol and Cardiff networked with NHS executives, representatives from the Welsh Government and MRC grant-holders.
The session began with a warm welcoming address from Dr Tony Jewell, Chief Medical Officer for Wales, who gave an update on NHS activities in the country. To coincide with the event, the Welsh Government announced funding of more than £7m to better understand major diseases and develop new treatments for conditions including cancer and mental illness. Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Health and Social Services, said: “We’re pleased to welcome the Medical Research Council to Wales to inform them of our plans and priorities for health research and highlight the NHS in Wales’ role as a platform for essential clinical trials and research.”
Dr Jewell was followed by MRC chief executive Sir John Savill, who spoke of the Council’s commitment to research in Wales and South-West England; highlighting the achievements already made by the Severnside Alliance for Translation Research and the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics in Cardiff. Dr Declan Mulkeen, MRC director of research programmes, then provided an overview of the MRC’s translational research strategy, emphasising the importance of improving interactions with industry.
- Sir John Savill slidecast [Slidehare]
- Dr Declan Mulkeen slidecast [Slideshare]
The floor was then open for questions to the Council members. These included discussion on how the strategic partnership between the MRC and the Welsh government might develop in the future; and queries on translation and wealth creation in the context of European health research policies, engagement with s mall and medium enterprises and interaction with the UK Clinical Research Collaboration.
2012 Open Council will take place in Northern Ireland.