Pharmacy Research UK awards more than £80k in funding

Six pharmacy researchers will share more than £80,000 of funding awarded by Pharmacy Research UK (PRUK), a charity hosted by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS).

The successful applicants include Sion Scott, research student and associate tutor at the University of East Anglia, for a year-long project to develop a model for deprescribing in hospital, and Kimberley Sonnex, a research practitioner and senior pharmacist at the University of Nottingham, for a 28-month investigation into the use of steroid inhalers for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sonnex hopes that her research will ultimately enable clinicians to identify people with COPD who are most likely to benefit from steroid inhalers, and prescribe accordingly.

The full list of funded projects is available on the PRUK website.

“We were thrilled with the breadth, depth and quality of applications received for this year’s fellowships and bursaries,” said Rachel Joynes, executive director of PRUK. “We look forward to seeing the outcomes of these projects and the valuable impact that they will have on medicines optimisation and patient care.”

PRUK has also announced that, as of January 2018, funding for research fellowships and bursaries will be expanded to include pharmacists who are not members of the RPS.

“We believe that widening the scope of applicants and increasing the potential reach of funding calls will build on the outstanding breadth and quality of applications that we currently receive,” said Anthony Smith, who chairs the PRUK board of trustees.

Applications for 2018 awards and bursaries will open in early January 2018.