Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Surgeries – Are patients at the heart of your research?

PPI means actively working in partnership with patients and members of the public to plan, manage, design, and carry out research. PPI is an essential part of research and has been shown to improve its quality, impact, and the outcome for patients.

Our PPI Surgeries are a great opportunity for you to present your research proposal to members of our Patient and Public Network and hear their unique perspectives before you submit your application to Heart Research UK. You can ask our members about elements of your research design, get feedback on your plain English lay summary, and strengthen sections of your application to ensure that patients are at the heart of your research.

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How patients can be at the heart of your research

As part of our research application process, we would like researchers to consider the following three ways that PPI maybe incorporated in research:

  1. Informing and influencing the development of the research study and grant application
  2. Managing and overseeing progress of the research study, as part of the management team or steering committee
  3. Participating in the research study as healthy volunteers or patients living with a particular heart disease

All grant proposals are reviewed and scored by people who have been affected by heart diseases. Their comments and scores help our medical experts on our panels make final funding decisions.

Click here to request a 60-minute slot at our PPI Surgeries on 13th and 14th May. Slots will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Please register your interest by 17th April.        

“The meeting was very useful and positive, and it was great to work with the enthusiastic patients you kindly put us in touch with. The patients were an absolute pleasure to work with, shared valuable insights and knew the questions to ask based on their experiences and treatment of their condition. The patients behaved like critical friends, so fantastic and generous with their feedback. They helped us identify and explore barriers to the research that we had not yet considered, to better shape and strengthen our proposal.”

Dr Marta Varela Anjari

Imperial College London

“Taking part in the Patient and Public Involvement Workshop with Heart Research UK was an incredibly valuable experience. Hearing directly from patients and members of the public on our research proposal provided fresh perspectives that helped us strengthen both the focus and clarity of our work. The feedback we received really helped us to reflect on how to make our research more relevant and impactful for those it aims to benefit. I would highly recommend the workshop to any researcher applying for a grant with Heart Research UK”

Dr Amy Elizabeth Harwood

Manchester Metropolitan University

“Engaging with the patient and public workshop was both a valuable and rewarding experience. Based on their lived experience the members were able to open our eyes to the additional challenges they face when living with heart disease. This enabled us to better understand the condition from their perspective and develop our research proposal with the patient in focus. Receiving feedback directly from patients supports us in realising the impact our research can have and motivates us in delivering impactful outcomes for patients and their families.”

Dr Kenneth MacLeod

University of Dundee, UK

“Myself and my PhD student attended an HRUK PPI Surgery on 3rd December where we had the opportunity to discuss our upcoming grant application with a group of patients. It was very rewarding to meet patients living with the disease, which is something we do not often get to do. It was valuable and motivating to see the real world benefits that our lab-based research could bring. The patients were very supportive of our work and provided useful feedback on our proposals. I would recommend this surgery to anyone considering applying.”

Dr Iain Dykes

Liverpool John Moores University

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