PREP

Project Team

• Project Management and Lead: Dr Hiyam Al-Jabr (Research Fellow in Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Keele University, and Senior Research Associate, R&I Dept MPFT)
• Project Coordinator: Tiegan Hart (Project Support, R&I Dept, MPFT)
• Project sponsor: Ruth Lambley-Burke (Director of R&I Dept, Associate Director of Medical Directorate Operations, MPFT)
• PREP Research Champion: Sarah McAleer (Education, Governance and Research Lead Pharmacist, MPFT)

PREP Academic (Academic advisors)

• Professor Toby Helliwell (Professor of General Practice and Primary Care lead in Global Health, School of Medicine, Keele University, Honorary Professor of General Practice MPFT)
• Dr Paul Campbell (Senior Researcher, R&I Dept MPFT & Honorary Reader, School of Medicine, Keele University)
• Dr Simon White (Director of Postgraduate Education, Reader in Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Keele University)
• Professor Christian Mallen (Head of Medical School, Keele University, Head NIHR School for Primary Care Research)

PREP Stakeholder and Network

• NIHR Clinical Research Network West Midlands (CRN WM)
  • Jen Warmington (Senior Research Pharmacy Clinical Trials Facilitator)
  • Helen B. Williamson (Pharmacist)
• Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation (PaMO), MPFT
  • Sarah McAleer (Education, Governance and Research Lead Pharmacist)

PREP Project Activity

The PREP project has a number of activities to achieve over the coming 12 months since its inception in Jan 2024, these include:

• Administering the Pharmacy Practice Engagement in Research Survey to pharmacy teams. This survey is adapted from previous research conducted with social work and public health practitioners.
• Conducting interviews and / or focus groups with hospital pharmacy team professionals at MPFT to explore practice-based barriers and facilitators to research engagement.
• Signposting pharmacy team members to relevant internal (e.g. STARS: Supporting The Advancement of Research Skills programme at MPFT) and external resources (e.g. CPD courses provided by Keele University, YouTube, FutureLearn, NIHR, CRN) to meet their research and training needs.
• Establishing a Pharm-SIG group which will be composed of the leadership of the Director of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation at MPFT, the Education, Governance and Research Lead Pharmacist and other members of the pharmacy team, expert researchers and academics from Keele University's Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine.
• Identify and prioritise research questions that will be worked up into at least one funding application.
• Identifying a research champion from the MPFT pharmacy team.
• Building an academic and research support network between academics, researchers and pharmacy professionals.
• To provide guidance and support to pharmacy professionals who are interested in developing their own academic research career.