Where Would We Be Without Research‪?‬ Health & Care Research Wales | Ymchwil Iechyd a Gofal Cymru

Ni fyddai llawdriniaethau i achub bywyd yn gallu digwydd heb gwrthfiotigau Ond mae’r gwyddorau meddygol yn brwydro’n ddyddiol yn erbyn heintiau newydd a’r ‘superbugs’ sy’n gwrthsefyll gwrthfiotigau. Mae Dr Angharad Davies, arweinydd arbenigedd heintiau Ymchwil Iechyd a Gofal Cymru, yn esbonio wrth Dot Davies am y gwaith ymchwil sy’n mynd ymlaen yn y frwydr yn erbyn yr arch heintiau, un o’r prif heriau sy’n wynebu meddygaeth heddiw.

Professor Andrew Sewell is a senior research director for Infection and Immunity at Cardiff University. He specialises in T-cell research, which places him at the forefront of cutting-edge new therapies for cancer and other auto-immune conditions.

In this episode, host Emma Yhnell hears from Andy about his journey into cancer research, how killer T-cells work in the body and why medical breakthroughs like vaccines are invaluable to humankind.

Drawing on his wealth of experience in the field of immunology, Andy highlights the importance of research today and touches on the possibility of developing a vaccine for cancer in the near future.

Dr. Sarah Fry is a senior lecturer in Adult Nursing and researcher at Cardiff University. After recovering from a brain tumour in her twenties, she was inspired to turn her attention to cancer research in underrepresented communities in Cardiff.

In this episode, she tells host Emma Yhnell about her own diagnosis, raising awareness of prostate cancer among black men and how researchers can form bonds of trust in the communities they study.

And of course, we ask Sarah the crucial question, Where Would We Be Without Research?, to get an idea of why research is so vital for getting more people into clinics and increasing access to healthcare.

Where would we be without research? (1.55)
Sarah’s diagnosis (2.37)
Becoming a researcher (6.32)
Research in Butetown (9.04)
Top tips for maintaining relationships with research participants (13.28)
Engaging with underrepresented communities (18.56)
What’s the point in research? (20.02)

As well as being a Health and Care Research Wales Senior Research Leader, Professor Ian Jones is also director of the National Centre for Mental Health.

Ian’s research focuses on understanding the triggers of women’s mental health illnesses after childbirth, particularly women with bipolar disorder.

20% of women with bipolar disorder are likely to experience postpartum psychosis, compared to just 0.1% of women in the general population. Ian explains how women’s health, and particularly mental health, is under-researched. He expresses the importance of his research, and others alike, to understand the factors that contribute to women’s increased risk of developing postpartum psychosis which will help develop thorough prevention tactics and better treatment.

Ian also gives his insight into the question: Where would we be without research?

How important is it that this research continues for women who experience postpartum psychosis (06:40)

Involving people with lived experiences in research (09:36)

Increasing awareness - Eastenders’ postpartum psychosis story line for a character with bipolar disorder (15:58)

The importance of a collaborative community for research (25:16)

Sophie Jones has been involved in research since the age of 14 after joining a health and social care research engagement project as a teenager. Sophie is now the Senior Public Involvement Officer at DECIPHer and runs ALPHA, a research group designed to find out the views of young people on public health topics.

Working with 14 - 25-year-olds, ALPHA aims to change public health policy by getting young people involved from the start of research. In this podcast Sophie and host Emma Yhnell will discuss the impact young people have on research.

A huge achievement of Sophie’s was her involvement in a campaign to ban smoking in parks. Find out in this episode how she made this change to public health policy in Wales and her answer to our question: Where would we be without research?

Why did you want to get involved? (03:19)
Examples of how to get involved as a young person (05:49)
The ban smoking in park campaign (10:42)
What do you gain from participating in research? (16:14)
What differences do the voices of young people make to research? (18:16)

Dr Emma Yhnell - scientist and senior lecturer - is joined by David Llewellyn who has been studying the history of vaccines from the late 1700s to now. He’ll be explaining the importance of combining scientific research with both historical research and collaborative working in his approach to answering the question: Where would we be without research?

Vaccines have dominated conversations in recent years with the COVID-19 pandemic and David, who is the Integrated Wellbeing Networks lead at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, delves into the history of vaccines, bringing the research back to the current day discussing the research and process behind the vaccines which were produced to combat the global pandemic.


History of vaccines - the speckled monster (04:27)

How far have we come since vaccines were first discovered? (08:34)

Combining historical facts with scientific research (11:20)

Are mRNA vaccines here to stay? (18:28)