Leeds Institute of Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Director: Dr Paul Marshall
Academic Unit Head
Clinical and Rehabilitation Sciences: Dr Nick Thyer
Diagnostic Imaging: Mrs Jean Wilson
Medicines Management: Dr Barry Strickland-Hodge
About the Institute
The Institute brings together research strengths, learning and teaching expertise and advanced professional practice that drive beneficial changes in healthcare. We conduct fundamental, applied and translational research that makes a significant contribution to the growing evidence base underpinning knowledge and practice related to health and healthcare science. It presently encompasses diagnostic imaging, pharmacy practice and medicines management and clinical and rehabilitative sciences including audiology and clinical physiology (cardiology). With a highly motivated and committed group of academic and support colleagues the Institute has considerable experience in professional education and clinical practice offering a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and post-registration programmes and research degrees.
The Institute has research strengths in mixed methodology and applied health research covering, for example, prescribing, written medication information and medicine review, a programme of research into pain management through the Leeds Pallium Research Group, pragmatic evaluation of services and interventions focused on the implementation of complementary and alternative medicines, the application of imaging techniques, audiological, vestibular and vision science including the effects of importance of these for quality; and cardiology practice.
Our research is informed by a number of disciplines including epidemiology, health economics, biomedical sciences and psychology and underpinning this work are strong international collaborations including Australia and North America facilitated through the World Universities Network (WUN) and South Africa. Aspects of our research have informed government policy and practice and have led to a number of enterprise and knowledge transfer activities including the development of educational material about neuropathic pain and a University spin out company LUTO whose focus is on improving communication with users of medicines.
Putting clinical scholarship into practice
The Academic Units
Academic Unit of Diagnostic Imaging delivers a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Radiography and Imaging. We have formal student exchange systems with Universities in Sweden and Denmark. Research interests include Vascular Ultrasound Imaging, Ultrasound equipment evaluation, Breast Imaging and CT Imaging. A number of the Diagnostic Imaging staff are currently proactive in contributing to the local, regional and national Diagnostic Imaging health agendas. We maintain this consultative and positive approach which helps to enable the delivery of high quality education.
The Medicines Management Academic Unit is a multi-professional Unit which engages in quality teaching, scholarship, practice and internationally recognised research in the broad area of medicines management including prescribing. Our aim is to influence policy and practice and engage with all health professions to ensure quality and safety for patients. Visit their research page here.
The Academic Unit of Clinical and Rehabilitation Science (AUCRS) has a wide portfolio of research, learning & teaching and practice in healthcare. We deliver high quality professional education and training at undergraduate and post-graduate levels that meet pre and post registration requirements for Audiology and Clinical Physiology (Cardiac). Visit their research page here.
There is an established and world recognised expertise in health outcomes research and patient benefit within the unit. Our recently established research activity in the Clinical Sciences currently focuses on multimodal processing (hearing, balance and vision), cardiac function in elite athletes, cardiac rehabilitation following angioplasty, pain management in neglected groups and effectiveness of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine.
A major objective is to translate basic research findings into clinical applications for patient care. Planned research includes research into falls prevention in older adults, road safety in hearing impaired adults and lip reading in children with and without cochlear implants. These plans will bring together a diverse mix of expertise in neurophysiology, psychology, audiology, visual science and healthcare to allow basic, translational and applied research questions to be addressed.
