PhD students Laura Simmons, Sophie Mohamed, Ksenia Trischel and Hayley Robinson attended the Improving and Understanding Health PhD Symposium hosted by the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University. The one-day conference on the 4th July was aimed at students who were undergoing doctoral research in the area of health.

The day began with an insightful keynote by Dr Susi Gage from the University of Liverpool who spoke about her experiences in public engagement. She talked about her involvement in writing blogs and creating podcasts which landed her a post at the Guardian as a science blogger.

Dr Lisa Schölin from the University of Edinburgh provided the second keynote of the day talking about the leap from student to researcher. Lisa’s talk drew on her own experiences of being a PhD student, the opportunities she had and reflected on her journey through academia.

The conference also hosted a number of talks and poster presentations from PhD students around the country on topics such as research methods and challenges, mental health and improving health services.

LIH student Hayley Robinson also had an opportunity to present a poster on her work into developing an intervention to promote physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation for individuals with COPD. Hayley took part in a one-minute poster pitch and engaged in conversation with other delegates during the morning break.

This conference offered a fantastic opportunity for students in the area of health to network with other students who were undergoing similar research projects.

Laura Simmons

Liverpool conference 3