Every year on 1st December, we mark World AIDS Day to show solidarity in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and to remember those who have sadly lost their lives.  

Since the start of the global AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, researchers have made enormous progress towards preventing HIV transmission, and treating those who are living with HIV so that the virus remains suppressed. But while there have been marked improvements for adults, treatment coverage in children and adolescents is lagging behind. 

In the second of our World AIDS Day episodes, we highlight the important role that young people living with HIV play in research, by shaping clinical trials to better serve the needs of their community.  

This episode features Lungile Jafta, who works closely with young people through Penta’s youth engagement programmes, and Gugu, a former Youth Trials Board member from South Africa who is living with HIV. 

For more information and to access the transcript: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-stories/2023/december/trial-talk-podcast-releases-new-episodes-for-world-aids-day/

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk 

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

World AIDS Day (part 2): Bringing hope through research to young people living with HIV

Hosted by Olivia Moir, this episode with Dr. Bassel Wattar guides us through heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB); what it is, how common it is, how do we diagnose it, and how do we treat it? We also talk about research in this area, and specifically the importance of including community perspectives in research practise, and how Dr. Bassel Wattar's team has been going about this. Dr. Bassel Wattar has been a guest on the pod previously where we talked about PCOS. If you missed that episode, definitely go and check it out. For anyone who hasn't listened to the PCOS episode, Dr. Wattar is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist based in London. He has advanced expertise in various areas including fertility, assisted conception, endocrine gynaecology, menopause and importantly for today, heavy menstrual bleeding! I also have to mention, he is the co-leader of a research group dedicated for evidence synthesis at UCL, which is something so important and we have focused a lot on in this pod, the importance of evidence based research.

To read more about Bassel's work, visit: https://basselwattar.info/ 
Charities and Communities affiliated with HMB: 
Menstrual Health Project: https://linktr.ee/menstrualhealthproject 
Wellbeing of Women: https://www.wellbeingofwomen.org.uk/what-we-do/.

Date of episode recording: 2024-05-14T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:26:57
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Olivia
Guests: Dr. Bassel Wattar
Producer: Olivia, UCL changemakers

Heavy Periods

In Episode 1 of Oral Health Matters, we’re asking whether oral health is a luxury for the wealthy few or a fundamental human right for everyone. We’re also discussing the need for greater partnership working between scholars, practitioners and policy makers and the importance of gaining the trust of communities in order to co-create interventions that work for the people who live in them. 

To discuss this, Richard Watt, Professor of Dental Public Health at University College London is in conversation with Dr Carol Guarnizo-Herreno from the University of Colombia and Professor Marco Peres from the National Dental Centre in Singapore. 

Credits Presenter: Professor Richard Watt, University College London Editor and producer: Chris Garrington, Research Podcasts Artwork and audiograms: Krissie Brighty-Glover and Lauren White, Research Podcasts Music: The Documentary, Mapamusic 

Date of episode recording: 2024-04-24T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:26:39
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Professor Richard Watt
Guests: Dr Carol Guarnizo-Herreno; Professor Marco Pere
Producer: Christie Garrington

Oral health: luxury for the few or fundamental human right?

Zainab Mahdi talks to Fatimah Al-Muqdadi, Architect, Researcher, and Heritage Professional in Iraq. In this episode, Fatimah discusses the current state of heritage in Iraq and the steps needed to preserve and promote Iraq's cultural and natural heritage within the community. 

Transcription link: 
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/nahrein/media/podcasts/transcript-conversation-fatimah-al-muqdadi


Date of episode recording: 2024-05-14T00:00:00Z
Duration: 43:30
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Zainab Mahdi
Guests: Fatimah Al-Muqdadi
Producer: Zainab Mahdi

Confectionery

PRESERVING HERITAGE IN IRAQ - A Conversation with Fatimah Al-Muqdadi

The MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL is committed to actively involving patients and the public in our trials. All our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) work is overseen by our PPI Group, made up of MRC CTU staff alongside seven patient representatives, with a wide range of experience in different areas. 

In this episode of the Trial Talk podcast, two members of the Unit’s PPI Group, Richard Stephens and Ian Newsome, discuss what PPI means to them, how they got involved as patient representatives in clinical research, and how the MRC CTU at UCL embeds PPI into our trials.

Resources:
• Our PPI group:  https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/patients-public/patient-and-public-involvement/about-our-ppi-group/ 
• PPI resources: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/patients-public/patient-and-public-involvement/ppi-resources/ 
• Testing Treatments: Better Research for Better Healthcare (book): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK66204/ 

For more information and to access the transcript: https://bit.ly/3KlKtak

For questions or feedback on the podcast series, message us at mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in clinical trials

Thinking differently about the World: Before the West with Prof. Ayse Zarakol In this episode, we host Prof Ayse Zarakol from University of Cambridge and talk about her fascinating book "Before The West".

Date of episode recording: 2024-01-22T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:29:38
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu, Hazal Aydin, Meryem Zisan Koker
Guests: Prof. Ayse Zarakol
Producer: ERC, UCL, IGP, Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu, Meryem Zisan Koker, Hazal Aydin.

SoundLab Export

Thinking differently about the World: Before the West with Prof. Ayse Zarakol

In this special episode, we look back at the year through some of our favourite moments from Series 4. 

Our hosts Mark Maslin and Simon Chin-Yee explored climate action in a multitude of forms: from groundbreaking climate science and AI, to innovative policy solutions and inspiring stories of individual activism. With fantastic guests spanning multiple disciplines and industries.  

Reflect with us on what’s been done, and what there is still to do, with our Series 4 highlights.  

Transcript link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-change/podcasts-videos/generation-one-climate-podcast

Date of episode recording: 28th May 2024 
Duration: 27.16 minutes 
Language of episode: English  
Presenter: Mark Maslin and Simon Chin-Yee  
Guests:   
Ian Townsend, ONS 
Pierre Cannet, Client Earth  
Sims Witherspoon, Google Deep Mind 
Buffy Price, Carbon Re 
Louise Harris, Just Stop Oil 
Annabel Rice, Green Alliance 
Versha Jones, The Climate Reality Project 
Kris de Meyer, Department of Earth Sciences, UCL 
Shirley Rodrigues, previous Deputy Mayor, Environment and Energy at Greater London Authority   
Mark Watts, C40 Cities 
Producer: Adam Batstone

Season 4: The Highlights

In this episode of The Bartlett Review podcast, we delve into the pressing question: is our focus on GDP growth truly beneficial, or is it exacerbating our most critical challenges? 

As climate and ecological crises deepen and economic inequality widens, the limitations of GDP as a measure of progress become starkly evident. Join Professor Bob Costanza from UCL's Institute for Global Prosperity as he explores these issues with Professor Kate Pickett from the University of York's Department of Health Sciences, and Sandrine Dixson-Declève, co-president of the Club of Rome. 

For more information and to access the transcript: https://bartlett-review.ucl.ac.uk/is-gdp-fit-for-purpose/index.html

Date of episode recording: 2024-05-13T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:31:33
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Robert Costanza
Guests: Kate Pickett; Sandrine Dixson-Declève
Producer: Adam Batstone and Victoria Howard

Prof Bob Costanza, Dr Kate Pickett and Sandrine Dixson Decleve

The Bartlett Review Podcast: Is GDP fit for purpose?

Optimisation immunotherapy clinical trials investigate ways of reducing the intensity of immunotherapy cancer treatment. This could be beneficial for patients’ quality of life. But these trials can be challenging to run, as patients may be concerned about the impact that reducing the intensity of treatment could have on the cancer. 

This episode of the Trial Talk podcast focuses on the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL’s OPTIC study, which explores how people with cancer feel about taking part in optimisation immunotherapy trials. Clinical Fellow Sophie Merrick discusses the main barriers that patients face and recommendations to address them. 

Resources:
•OPTIC study page: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/studies/all-studies/r/refine/optic/ 
•OPTIC results paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02756-x.pdf 
•REFINE podcast episode: https://on.soundcloud.com/Fe3C76csHkgCg2or5
 
For questions or feedback on the series, message us at mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk 

For more information and to access the transcript: https://bit.ly/4c9SfAr 

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

The OPTIC study: Patient views on optimising immunotherapy in cancer

For cities like London, the COVID-19 pandemic created major disruptions and deepened social inequalities. In this podcast we're exploring how urban planners can create fairer cities and build resilience for future crises. 

Sowmya Parthasarathy, Director of Urban Design and Urban Planning at Arup, joins expert researchers Professor Lauren Andres and Dr Lucy Natarajan from The Bartlett School of Planning to discuss the lessons learned from COVID-19, and how planning differently and breaking down silos can help to create a fairer and more resilient cities.

Transcription link: 
https://bartlett-review.ucl.ac.uk/podcast-planning-fairer-cities-for-global-crises/index.html


Date of episode recording: 2024-06-03T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:34:53
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Professor Lauren Andres
Guests: Dr Lucy Natarajan; Sowmya Parthasarathy
Producer: Adam Batstone & Liz Griffith

Lauren Andres, Sowmya Parthasarathy  and Lucy Natarajan 

The Bartlett Review Podcast: Planning fairer cities for global crises

The Trial Talk podcast explores how our work at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL is improving health in the UK and worldwide. In this series, we hear from world-leading experts about the studies we carry out. We delve into trials on cancer, infections and neurodegenerative diseases, explore how public and patient involvement shapes our work, and discover new ways to run smarter studies.

World AIDS Day (part 2): Bringing hope through research to young people living with HIV

MRC CTU at UCL - Trial Talk podcast

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