Newly formed CRRA3G host their inaugural research seminar at City St George’s • City St George's, University of London

Event marked an exciting step forward for the recently created City St George’s Research in Radiography, Radiotherapy, and Radiology Group

By Mr George Wigmore (Senior Communications Officer), Published Friday, 13^th December 2024

The newly formed City St George’s Research in Radiography, Radiotherapy, and Radiology Group (CRRA³G) team welcomed Professor Adam Lewandowski, Deputy Chief Scientist for UK Biobank and Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Science at the University of Oxford, to deliver their inaugural research seminar in late November.

The seminar brought together over 40 radiography professionals, academics, and research students who joined in-person and online, and it marked an exciting step forward in the official recognition of the CRRA³G, which has existed for over four years as an informal research network within the radiography community. The group is led by Dr Christina Malamateniou, Associate Professor in Radiography and City St George’s Extraordinary Woman of the Year 2023.

UK Biobank project

Professor Lewandowski’s presentation titled “UK Biobank: background, ongoing projects, and future directions” provided a comprehensive overview of the UK Biobank project; one of the world’s most extensive biomedical resources comprised of biological samples, imaging studies, and lifestyle information for over 500,000 participants, that can be used to enable research conducted to improve the understanding of disease, and support the advancement of preventative healthcare. He outlined how imaging datasets, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans, have been used to facilitate research in population health, early disease detection and imaging biomarkers, and how the radiography researchers may access the UK Biobank resources for conducting their own studies.

Members of the CRRA3G team with Professor Lewandowski (middle)

The event concluded with a networking lunch, where delegates had the opportunity to discuss potential projects with Professor Lewandowski and learn more about access and utilisation of the UK Biobank resource.

Reflecting on the event and the group’s mission, Dr Malamateniou said:

“I am excited to lead this group of intelligent, passionate and hardworking researchers, and to have with me on this journey the invaluable support of Dr Emily Skelton, as Deputy Director, and of Chris O' Sullivan, our Head of Department. This was the first seminar of CRRA³G and we are so grateful to Professor Lewandowski, a long-standing collaborator from the University of Oxford, for his beautiful talk on the UK Biobank. This marks the start of an amazing educational programme for research capacity building and of research partnerships and synergies between our group members.”

Advancing clinical practice

CRRA³G is situated within the Department of Radiography and Midwifery at City St George’s, and it conducts high-quality, world-renowned research dedicated to the advancement of medical imaging and therapeutic radiography in clinical practice. Research priorities include person and patient-centred care, artificial intelligence and novel technology governance and implementation, clinical education and patient safety in radiography and radiotherapy. As part of its scope, CRRA³G will host termly seminars and monthly webinars which will be shared via the SHPS events newsletter, and a formal launch event is planned for Spring 2025. More information about CRRA³G can be found at CRRAG or you can email crrag@city.ac.uk.

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