A student funded by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre led the winning team at a research training camp hosted by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Dr Gurdeep Singh Mannu led the team at the NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centre Research Training Camp at Ashridge Business School, Hertfordshire this month.
The second year DPhil student at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health was part of a team of doctoral students which competed against nine other teams at the three-day camp.
They were challenged find ways to evaluate the success of a school exercise programme for 14 and 15-year-olds in an economically deprived area, led by older pupils.
This included collecting data on take-up and retention, asking participants their views on the programme and its impact on their ongoing physical activity and mood.
The programme culminated in the submission of a fictional programme grant application and subsequent interview.
Dr Singh Mannu said: “It was a challenging and rewarding training camp. My team was made up of very intelligent individuals from many different backgrounds, ranging from basic sciences and laboratory work to psychology and qualitative techniques. My personal background is in epidemiology.
“I feel our success was due to the multidisciplinary nature of our team with each member bringing unique strengths and insights to our task.
“My duty as team leader was to encourage a dynamic, collaborative yet focused atmosphere within our team.
“We were very grateful to be awarded the prize for the best research programme grant application for our study evaluating peer-led exercise interventions targeted at teenagers in secondary schools.”