Research with real community impact rewarded with funding boost from DMU

Innovative ways to get children eating fruit and veg and new methods to spot fake medicines in Africa are among a number of De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) research projects that have won special funding.

A total of eight projects run by DMU academics have been awarded a £2,000 cash prize in recognition of their impact on the local, or global, community.

In a ceremony held at The Venue@DMU, the academics behind the research were congratulated on winning the prizes in a number of different categories.

The competition - called #DMUengage - challenges researchers and postgraduate students to devise innovative ways in which they can share their research with the public, fellow academics and students.

It recognises those projects which could have the most direct impact and engagement with the community.

#DMUengage is a collaboration between the Research Business and Innovation (RBI) directorate, #DMUglobal, The Graduate School, Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and  #DMUlocal, the university's public engagement team and was opened to academics and postgraduate research students.

The winners were chosen under three categories: Graduate School, #DMUglobal and #DMUlocal.

In the #DMUglobal category, Dr Sangeeta Tanna picked up the award for her research into improving the identification of fake medicines in Africa. This is a serious problem: estimates indicate that about 10% of medicines worldwide are counterfeits and this figure rises to 30% in low and middle income countries such as Africa.

And in the Graduate School category, funding went to research as part of a PhD by Periklis Papaloukas into the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS).

There were five #DMUlocal awards, which included the Dr Helen Coulthard's work developing an app called 'Five a Day Fillers' which encourages children to eat well.

Research by Criminology and Social Justice lecturer Dr Christina Quinlan, carried out in conjunction with Leicester City Council, into the current understanding of adolescent to parent violence among staff working for and with local services was also singled out for #DMUengage funding.

Other winning research projects looked at developing tools and support for people with Asperger's; the media representation of so-called 'Windmill Girls' who worked at the Soho theatre The Windmill in its heyday; and the development of learning approaches to help children appreciate sound-based music.