Centre for Doctoral Training in Healthcare Innovation

这项博士培训中心(DTC)招标旨在培养下一代生物医学工程研究人员，他们要在这个快速发展的全球工程领域具有竞争力，不仅需要精通现代生物医学工程(BME)原理和技术的知识，而且还需要精通翻译研究技能(临床试验和研究商业化的原理)。现代BME研究跨越了一系列技术领域，从硬件设备到软件系统，再到人造器官、生物材料和药物输送。它要求工程研究人员了解与其领域相关的生物学/生理学，以及越来越多的只在英国本科教育中涉及的工程学科(例如建模和成像、传感器技术和生物材料)。这一新的DTC将吸引和吸引更多的英国工程人才到这一领域，特别是在翻译界面工作。翻译界面采用实验室测试的设备和方法，通过临床验证的第一步。这不仅仅意味着在几个临床数据集上运行一个设备或算法。它需要与临床医生密切合作，并处理如何在临床场景中为设备/系统设计测试，并受临床实践施加的限制；使用最合适的统计方法评估技术和临床的优势/劣势；并通过这一点，确定可以在开发下一代技术时解决的新的学术研究问题。它还要求研究人员意识到伦理问题(研究涉及患者)和商业化问题(技术可能是可申请专利的和/或启动医疗器械审批程序)。因此，对翻译界面的研究是推进生物医学工程领域的基础。这方面所需的技能基础将通过研究生一级的正式培训来最有效地获得，为学生在工业或学术界的职业生涯做好准备。在牛津大学，我们在新的生物医学工程研究所(IBME)的翻译界面上建立了大量的生物医学工程研究，这将使这种培训通过建立DTC计划最有效地实现。DTC已经确定了三个与牛津大学新的生物医学研究计划密切相关的研究主题：癌症治疗学(与新的癌症医学研究所和牛津癌症医院相联系)；DTC的研究生将参加第一年的强化培训计划，包括医院实习、BME基础模块(建模、信号/系统、实验方法)、3个研究主题中的每一个，商业化和企业家精神，以及统计方法和临床试验。学生还将完成两个简短的项目，其中一个必须在工业或医院进行。其中一个项目将成为他们的博士研究项目。在2-4年级，主要的重点是研究项目，可以选择花时间参观国际实验室。在整个过程中，将有一个研究技能培训计划，以及与业界接触的机会。这项建议得到了我们的临床合作者和大大小小的行业参与者的大力支持。

This Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) bid concerns developing the next generation of biomedical engineering researchers who, to be competitive in this fast-moving global area of engineering, need not only to be well-equipped with knowledge of modern biomedical engineering (BME) principles and techniques, but also well-versed in translational research skills (principles of clinical trials and commercialization of research). Modern BME research spans a range of technical areas, from hardware devices, to software systems, to artificial organs, biomaterials and drug delivery. It requires engineering researchers to understand biology/physiology relevant to their area, and increasingly multiple engineering disciplines that are only touched on in UK undergraduate education (e.g. modelling and imaging, sensor technology and biomaterials). This new DTC will attract and capture more UK engineering talent to this area and specifically to work at the translational interface. The translational interface takes laboratory-tested devices and methodology through the first steps of clinical validation. This does not just mean running a device or algorithm on a few clinical data sets. It requires close collaboration with clinicians, and deals with understanding how to design tests for a device/system in a clinical scenario and subject to constraints imposed by clinical practice; evaluating the technical and clinical strengths/weaknesses of a technology with the most appropriate statistical methodology; and via this, identifying new academic research questions that can be addressed in the development of the next generation of the technology. It also requires researchers to be aware of ethical issues (research involves patients), and commercialization issues (technology may be patentable and/or start the medical devices approval process). Research at the translational interface is thus fundamental to the advancement of the biomedical engineering field. The skills-base required for this would be most effectively obtained through formal training at the postgraduate level to prepare students for careers in industry or academia. At the University of Oxford we have established a critical mass of biomedical engineering research at the translational interface in the new Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME) that would make this training most effectively achieved by establishing a DTC Programme.Three research themes have been identified for the DTC which are closely related to new biomedical research initiatives in the University of Oxford: cancer therapeutics (linked to the new Institute of Cancer Medicine and Oxford Cancer Hospital); modelling for personalised healthcare (linked to the Oxford Acute Vascular Imaging Centre), and information-driven healthcare (linked to recent successful bids from the recent EPSRC Digital Economy call).Postgraduate students on the DTC will participate in an intensive training programme in their first year, including a hospitial internship, modules on BME foundations (modelling, signals/systems, experimental methods), each of the 3 research themes, commercialization and entrepreneurship, and statistical methods and clinical trials. Students will also undertake 2 short projects, one of which must take place in industry or a hospital. One of the projects will become their doctoral research project. In yrs 2-4 the main focus is the research project, with an option to spend time visiting an international laboratory. Throughout there will be a programme of research skills training, and opportunities to engage with industry.The proposal has strong support from our clinical collaborators and industry players both large and small.