Environment submissions database

During the lockdown, an institutional COVID-19 Research Programme was rapidly established, to redirect underspend in other internally funded programmes to projects such as ‘Student Mental Health & Resilience’, a University-wide mental health screening and tracking study run by WMG/Psychology in collaboration with Wellbeing Support Services; and ‘Assessing the medium-effects of COVID-19 on firms across the CWLEP area’, a longitudinal assessment, led by WBS, to understand mid-size companies’ resilience in the aftermath of the pandemic, focused on supply-chains and investment plans. Early in the pandemic, the University led a systematic review of risks associated with COVID-19 and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The review led to an update of international clinical guidelines and the recommendations were implemented in practice across the world. Warwick established two large multi-centre clinical trials in record time to tackle high priority research questions relating to non-invasive ventilation as a treatment for COVID-19 and the most effective approach to rehabilitation after initial recovery from severe COVID-19. More widely, clinical pressures within the NHS adversely affected recruitment to 50% of Warwick Medical School’s clinical trial portfolio; and clinical academic staff were redeployed to provide support to the NHS during peak infection periods. To enable the translation of research findings during lockdown, a series of innovative 3-minute video blogs were created during April-July in which researchers across the disciplines discussed publicly-related questions on ways in which COVID-19 has impacted life, ranging from the changing understandings of the value of work/home working to the impact on aviation. Warwick academics have been instrumental in the national and international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of Warwick’s Zeeman Institute (Professor Matt Keeling, Dr Louise Dyson and Dr Mike Tildesley) contribute their modelling expertise as members of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M), an expert group advising the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). In addition, 37 Warwick researchers signed up to the Government’s COVID-19 Outbreak Expert Database. A full and comprehensive service of research support was provided to the academy during COVID-19, including a pre-award grants and contracts service via remote working. All research ethics and sponsorship committees continued to meet via video conferencing. Ethics and sponsorship applications were circulated in advance enabling full review of each request and the continuity of research; including projects directly linked to COVID-19, such as the RECOVERY_RS clinical trial (Warwick Clinical Trials Unit) which moved from single stage grant submission to its first patient recruited, in seven days. In addition, Professor James Nokes (SLS) secured a £1m Wellcome Trust grant for ‘CIMEA – Economic Preparedness for the COVID-19 Intervention Modelling for East Africa’, that will inform future regional health policy through predictions of the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the burden of COVID-19 and the impact of intervention measures, based on integrating community epidemiology, genomics and bespoke models. Research facilities and equipment were maintained and staffed where required to ensure the continuity of ‘business critical’ research, whilst the University’s Research Technology Platforms released online courses, supporting researchers and technicians to learn new programming and coding skills during campus closure.