Overview
This grant development sandpit will explore key research challenges around technologies for the sensitive detection and measurement of lung disease, and applications of biophysical modelling to improve the interpretation and understanding of these data.
In this intensive workshop, participants will develop proposals for new multi-disciplinary research projects to tackle these challenges using techniques in mathematical/biophysical modelling and engineering.
There will be £10k worth of pump-prime funding available for which groups formed during the sandpit will bid to support grant development activities following the sandpit.
When: 13 to 14 January 2025
Where: The University of Sheffield
Registration will open later in the summer, once final details for the event are confirmed
Who is it for?
We aim to bring together a diverse range of expertise to explore these challenges including researchers, clinicians, industry and charity representatives. We welcome experts from areas including, but not limited to, medical imaging, medical device engineering, lung physiology, respiratory medicine, and the mathematical sciences.
Event structure
Day 1 will be an afternoon session (beginning at 1pm) with a series of research talks covering key areas within the research theme.
Day 2 will be a series of structured brainstorming sessions to explore the thematic area. It is expected small working groups will form and develop outline project proposals to bid for all or part of the £10k of pump-prime funding available.
Invited Speakers
The list of invited speakers will be updated later in the summer, once all speakers are confirmed.
Further information
Key goals of the sandpit:
To explore key research challenges in the study of lung measurement for the detection of lung disease.
To formulate new research project proposals to address these challenges utilising expertise in mathematical modelling of the respiratory system.
To spark new interdisciplinary collaborations that will propose solutions to these challenges.
To fund follow-up activities (e.g. workshops or meetings) that will enable these collaborations to develop competitive grant proposals
Example proposal areas (not a prescriptive list):
Developing new breath-measurement technologies or imaging protocols
New data collection studies to inform model development for a specific lung condition (e.g. understudied or poorly understood)
In silico modelling of aspects of lung function using multi-modal imaging data
Integrating data from multiple lung function tests into more holistic measures of lung health
Physics-informed machine learning or AI approaches to generate new understanding from breath measurement/imaging data
Incorporating biophysical modelling into medical image acquisition or analysis to generate physiological insight
Pump-prime Funding
The £10,000 pump-prime funds will support further activities for successful projects to mature into competitive grant applications. This may include e.g. a grant-development workshop focussed on the particular problem identified, or the collection of pilot data to support a grant proposal. Note that funding will be awarded at 80% FEC and so the award is conditional on agreement between the awarded institution(s) and BIOREME, which will need to be reached after the event. Note that the final funding awarded to successful proposals will be expected to fall within 10% of the original cost proposed at the sandpit and need not use all of the funding available. Depending on the costings proposed at the sandpit, it may be that more than one proposal can be funded. The BIOREME team will facilitate onward activities that develop from this funding.
Funding calls
We will update this page with relevant funding calls to the theme of this sandpit as they are announced.
Access Statement
We believe that all attendees should be able to participate in our events and feel comfortable doing so fully. An access statement with information on venue, travel and facilities will be provided once registration opens.