This is an excuse to repost material from the Generation R meeting held in 2013.

In September 2013, the NIHR Medicines for Children Research Network’s ran an event: Generation R. Generation R was conceived, written and run by their Young Person’s Advisory Group. The event sought to engage the life-sciences industry in the importance of children’s research and the invaluable role young people have to play in its development.

There are some great videos from the event here http://www.testingtreatments.org/2014/02/11/generation-r-involving-children-young-people-developing-health-research/

You can find out more via the GenerationR report

This is a really exciting report that was the first of its kind across Europe and it really shows how energising involving young people in research can be.

The reason for the re-post is just to celebrate the fact that one of the young people involved, a former member of the Young Person‟s Advisory Group in Birmingham has been offered a unique research career opening with Sir Iain Chalmers. On graduating from University, Sophie Robinson will be joining the James Lind Alliance. She will be involved in a project to further develop the Generation R initiative – to give a voice to young people with an interest in research. Sophie hopes to make this national project international. Sophie has stated: “This is a project that I am determined to see succeed, especially as many of the children and young people from the NIHR groups were the ones to initiate the Generation R event in 2013. I am very grateful to Sir Iain Chalmers who has offered me this position.”

I am also grateful tothe coordinators of the West Midlands YPAG who I initially met 5 years ago, and who have ultimately led me in to a career where I can bring some well-needed changes to the testing of medicines.

This is showing the widest benefits of involving children in research