35. Evolution from NHS Heart Valve Bank to University Hospital Ovarian Tissue bank to Oxford Biomedical Research Centre Biorepository Biobank

Objective: To assess the training and development needs of researchers and support staff affiliated to the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), one of the largest BRCs in England, and to find out about their past experiences of training. Design: A cross-sectional online questionnaire survey. Setting and Participants: A convenience sample of clinicians, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, researchers and support staff (N=798) affiliated with the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome measure was the type of training and the secondary outcome measures were the duration, location and timing of training. Results: The response rate was 24%. Of 189 respondents, 114 were women (60%) and 75 men (40%). Respondents included research scientists (31%), medical doctors and dentists (17%), nurses and midwives (16%) and research managers and administrators (16%). Seventy-one percent respondents (n=134) reported attending at least one training activity in the last year and the most wanted training was leadership skills (25%), followed by research grant and fellowship writing (18%) and statistical analysis (16%). An ideal length of a training course was half a day (41%), whole day (25%) and 1-2 hours (22%). The most preferred time of the day for training was morning (60%) and afternoon (22%) and the favoured delivery style of training was an interactive workshop (52%), lecture/talk (25%), online (9%) and practical activities (9%). The main barriers to attending training courses were the lack of time (n-18%), work commitments (13%), and childcare responsibilities (6%). Conclusions: Translational researchers and supporting affiliates want short, easily accessible, interactive training sessions, particularly leadership training skills and grant and fellowship writing. However, practical elements are important too e.g. in a convenient location during the working day. Work commitment is the biggest obstacle in doing training.

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Lab profile: The Biomedical Research Centre, University of East Anglia

10.36866/pn.88.46 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 46-46

Author(s):

Louise Cully

Keyword(s):

Biomedical Research ◽

Research Centre ◽

East Anglia

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A retrospective analysis of gender parity in scientific authorship in a biomedical research centre

10.1101/2020.02.24.962175 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rinita Dam ◽

Syed Ghulam Sarwar Shah ◽

Maria Julia Milano ◽

Laurel D Edmunds ◽

Lorna R Henderson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gender Equity ◽

Biomedical Research ◽

Basic Research ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Research Centre ◽

List Type ◽

Gender Parity ◽

Female Authors ◽

Scientific Authorship ◽

Joint Authorship

ABSTRACTObjectiveScientific authorship is a vital marker of success in academic careers and gender equity is a key performance metric in research. However, there is little understanding of gender equity in publications in biomedical research centres funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This study assesses the gender parity in scientific authorship of biomedical research.DesignA retrospective descriptive study.SettingNIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.Data2409 publications accepted or published from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2017.Main outcome measuresGender of authors, defined as a binary variable comprising either male or female categories, in six authorship categories: first author, joint first authors, first corresponding author, joint corresponding authors, last author and joint last authors.ResultsPublications comprised clinical research (39%, n=939), basic research (27%, n=643), and other types of research (34%, n=827). The proportion of female authors as first author (41%), first corresponding authors (34%) and last author (23%) was statistically significantly lower than male authors in these authorship categories. Of total joint first authors (n=458), joint corresponding authors (n=169), and joint last authors (n=229), female only authors comprised statistically significant smaller proportions i.e. 15% (n=69), 29% (n=49) and 10% (n=23) respectively, compared to male only authors in these joint authorship categories. There was a statistically significant association between gender of the last author(s) with gender of the first author(s) (χ 2 33.742, P < 0.001), corresponding author(s) (χ2 540.774, P < 0.001) and joint last author(s) (χ 2 91.291, P < 0.001).ConclusionsAlthough there are increasing trends of female authors as first authors (41%) and last authors (23%), female authors are underrepresented compared to male authors in all six categories of scientific authorship in biomedical research. Further research is needed to encourage gender parity in different categories of scientific authorship.Strengths and limitations of this studyThis is the first study to investigate gender parity in six categories of scientific authorship: first authors, first corresponding authors, last authors and three joint authorship categories i.e. joint first authors, joint corresponding authors and joint last authors in biomedical research.This study provides an important benchmark on gender equity in scientific authorship for other NIHR funded centres and organisations in England.The generalisability of the findings of this study may be limited due to differences in medical specialities, research areas, institutional cultures, and levels of support to individual researchers.Using secondary sources for determining the gender of authors may have limitations, which could be avoided by seeking relevant information from original authors and institution affiliation at the time of submission.

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Fertility Preservation in Girls with Turner Syndrome: Prognostic Signs of the Presence of Ovarian Follicles

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ◽

10.1210/jc.2008-0708 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 94 (1) ◽

pp. 74-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 109

Author(s):

Borgström Birgit ◽

Hreinsson Julius ◽

Rasmussen Carsten ◽

Sheikhi Maryam ◽

Fried Gabriel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Turner Syndrome ◽

Fertility Preservation ◽

Chromosomal Abnormalities ◽

Ovarian Tissue ◽

Ovarian Follicle ◽

University Hospital ◽

Serum Concentrations ◽

Pubertal Stage ◽

Group 12 ◽

Tissue Piece

Abstract Context: Many girls with Turner syndrome have follicles in their ovaries at adolescence. Objective: Our objective was to study which girls might benefit from ovarian tissue freezing for fertility preservation. Design: Clinical and laboratory parameters and ovarian follicle counts were analyzed among girls referred by 25 pediatric endocrinologists. Subjects and Setting: Fifty-seven girls with Turner syndrome, aged 8–19.8 yr, were studied at a university hospital. Interventions: Ovarian tissue was biopsied laparoscopically, studied for the presence of follicles, and cryopreserved. Blood samples were drawn for hormone measurements. Main Outcome Measures: Presence of follicles in the biopsied tissue related to age, signs of spontaneous puberty, karyotype, and serum concentrations of gonadotropins and anti-Müllerian hormone were assessed. Results: Ovarian biopsy was feasible in 47 of the 57 girls. In 15 of the 57 girls (26%), there were follicles in the tissue piece analyzed histologically. Six of seven girls (86%) with mosaicism, six of 22 (27%) with structural chromosomal abnormalities, and three of 28 with karyotype 45X (10.7%) had follicles. Eight of the 13 girls (62%) with spontaneous menarche had follicles, and 11 of the 19 girls (58%) who had signs of spontaneous puberty had follicles. The age group 12–16 yr had the highest proportion of girls with follicles. Normal FSH and anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations for age and pubertal stage were more frequent in girls with follicles. Conclusions: Signs of spontaneous puberty, mosaicism, and normal hormone concentrations were positive and statistically significant but not exclusive prognostic factors as regards finding follicles.

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Comparison between Slow Freezing and Vitrification for Human Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation and Xenotransplantation

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms20133346 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (13) ◽

pp. 3346 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Sanghoon Lee ◽

Ki-Jin Ryu ◽

Boram Kim ◽

Dahyeon Kang ◽

Yoon Young Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Tissue ◽

Primordial Follicle ◽

Research Unit ◽

University Hospital ◽

Slow Freezing ◽

Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation ◽

Ki 67 ◽

Immunodeficient Mice ◽

Human Ovarian Tissue ◽

Tissue Cryopreservation

Two methods for the cryopreservation of human ovarian tissue were compared using a xenotransplantation model to establish a safe and effective cryopreservation method. Ovarian tissues were obtained from women who underwent benign ovarian surgery in the gynecology research unit of a university hospital. The tissues were transplanted into 112 ovariectomized female severe combined immunodeficient mice 4 weeks after slow freezing or vitrification cryopreservation. Tissues were retrieved 4 weeks later. Primordial follicular counts decreased after cryopreservation and xenotransplantation, and were significantly higher in the slow freezing group than in the vitrification group (p < 0.001). Immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assay showed that the Ki-67 and CD31 markers of follicular proliferation and angiogenesis were higher in the slow freezing group (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively) and DNA damage was greater in the vitrification group (p < 0.001). Western blotting showed that vitrification increased cellular apoptosis. Anti-Müllerian hormone expression was low in transplanted samples subjected to both cryopreservation techniques. Electron microscopy revealed primordial follicle deformation in the vitrification group. Slow freezing for ovarian tissue cryopreservation is superior to vitrification in terms of follicle survival and growth after xenotransplantation. These results will be useful for fertility preservation in female cancer patients.

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Human Research Tissue Banks: The ATRA Project for Establishing a Human Research Tissue Bank in Switzerland

Alternatives to Laboratory Animals ◽

10.1177/026119290503300106 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 29-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Massimo Tettamanti ◽

Sara Tralamazza ◽

Marina Berati ◽

Max Molteni ◽

Natascia Gamba

Keyword(s):

Biomedical Research ◽

Human Tissue ◽

Tissue Bank ◽

Animal Origin ◽

Tissue Banks ◽

Research Needs ◽

Human Research ◽

Human Organs ◽

Human Material ◽

Treatment And Disposal

A large number of experiments in biomedical research are carried out on tissues, but, even though the results should be applicable to humans, these tissues are mainly of animal origin. The difficulty encountered in obtaining human organs and tissues is an acknowledged problem: not enough human tissues are available to meet research needs. We are introducing the ATRA Project, with the purpose of supporting progress in biomedical research in Switzerland through the establishment of one or more human tissue banks, which will be able to find, treat, preserve and supply human material. Where similar projects have already been launched, concerns have been expressed that donation for research purposes might compete with donation for transplantation, but most organs and tissues are in any case non-transplantable. Surplus surgical tissue is considered “sanitary waste”, and must be treated according to specific regulations for collection, packaging, transport, treatment and disposal. A human tissue bank would not only abate the costs of treating sanitary waste, but would actually turn what is now considered waste into a resource which could be used to save human and animal lives.

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