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HYMS
sheet
JUNE
2011
Grant for ‘Social Stories’ autism study
A £530,000 grant has been
awarded to Dr Barry Wright
and his team to investigate
whether Social Stories can
improve the behaviour of
children and young people
with Autism Spectrum
Disorder in mainstream
schools.
Awarded by the NIHR Health
Technologies Assessment Programme, the
Lime Trees Research Team will study how
best to develop and use Social Stories.
Created by Carol Gray in 2000, Social
Stories are simple, short stories, usually
with the child in the starring role, often
with helpful photographs, illustrations and
a theme relating to a particular social
difficulty or life-skill problem. They include
positively written instructions on the
social behaviour and demonstrate the
Essay prize for Fatima
HYMS YEAR 4 student Fatima Ahsan (pictured left) has been awarded one of two runners-up positions in
© HYMS 2011
the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine Student
Essay Competition, with her 1000 word essay entitled: “What’s the best learning experience you have ever
engaged in, and why?” Follow the link to read her touching essay. 
helpful consequences that may follow.
Over a period of time the child reads the
story with a parent or teacher on many
occasions. With understanding and
repetition, the preferred behaviour may
be adopted, a new skill acquired, or some
complex anxieties alleviated.
Social Stories are already used
extensively in special schools, but far less
so in mainstream schools. There has been
little research to date on how best to
develop one and on their effectiveness. Of
the few studies written, most have been
with single children or with small
numbers and they have not compared
findings to those who have not had Social
Stories.
The first stage of the research will be
a systematic review of all current research
on Social Stories.
The second stage will discuss the
findings of stage one in a focus group
made up of children, teachers, and parents.
Continued on page 2...
Research grant for
attachment disorders
Anawardof£238,000has
beenmadetoDrBarryWright
andhisteamtocarryouta
comprehensivesystematic
reviewofliteraturetoimprove
knowledgeandunderstanding
forfamilieswithyoungchildren
showingsevereattachment
problems.
Attachment style refers to the
various types of attachment arising
from early care experiences.
Attachment disorder is a broad
term intended to describe disorders
of mood, behaviour and social
relationships arising from a failure
to form normal attachments in early
childhood.
The grant was awarded from
the NIHR Health Technologies
Assessment grant funding stream. 
Grant for ‘Social
Stories’ autism study
...Continued from page 1
This group will discuss their
experiences with Social Stories, in
which situations they have been
used, and how successful they have
been. The group will look at
common problem scenarios, which
types of children benefit most and
which formats for the story work
best. The findings of this group will
be fed into an “expert writing
group” which will put together the
‘ideal’ social story writing toolkit.
Initial drafts will be refined with the
help of the user group and pilots of
their use.
“In stage three we will test the
toolkit in practice to see if it can
reduce challenging behaviour,”
explained Dr Wright, HYMS
Honorary Senior Lecturer and
Consultant Child Psychiatrist.
“Children between 4-16 years old
from 14 schools in the York area
will be recruited into the study and
will be assigned into either group
one or group two. Group one will
receive the Social Stories
intervention based on the toolkit
developed in stages one and two.
Group two will not receive the
Social Stories intervention until
after the study, but will be able to
use all interventions other than
Social Stories (care as usual).
“After the Social Story
intervention, we will interview
teachers, parents and children to
find out their opinions, such as the
ease of use of the tool kit.”
Social Stories is an
experimental intervention which is
not routinely offered in the NHS. If
Social Stories are shown to be
successful, they will make a big
impact in behavioural difficulties in
children with ASD. The findings of
the study will be used to inform
the NHS on the best way of
commissioning interventions for
children with ASD.
The research team is: Barry
Wright, Simon Gilbody, Dean
McMillan, Joy Adamson, Richard
Mills, Christine Williams, Jo
Whitehead,Victoria Allgar, Anne
McLaren, Julie Glanville, Danielle
Moore, Elizabeth Littlewood, Steve
Griggs, Shehzad Ali, Anastasia
Kokina and Carol Gray.
Louise Mellish (far left) with other speakers at the recent
2011 Annual British Society of Haematology conference
HYMS students’ conference successes
CongratulationstothreeHYMSstudentswhorecentlypresentedtheirresearch
atnationalandinternationalconferences:
Year 5 student Louise Mellish (pictured above) gave an oral presentation at the 2011
Annual British Society of Haematology conference in Brighton. Louise spent the academic
year 2010-2011 studying for an intercalated research masters degree in Translational Cancer
Medicine at King’s College London. Her research on the role of p53 in cell cycle kinetics
undertaken at the Rayne Institute of Haematological Medicine, King’s College Hospital,
London formed the basis of her presentation. 
Adam Jakes, currently studying for an intercalated MSc before starting his final year at
HYMS, gave an oral presentation and a poster presentation on his research about using
saliva to diagnose ovulation using a microfluidic chip (or lab-on-a-chip) at the 6th
International Conference on Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology in Switzerland.
Finally,Year 3 student Catherine Shutt presented a poster entitled “Made to measure:
middle-aged male health and weight management” at the National Academic Medicine
Conference at Newcastle University. Catherine’s research, conducted in collaboration with
The University of Leeds, Fit Fans weight management programme, Hull, and three rugby
league clubs in Yorkshire and Humber, sought to understand more about the state of middle-
aged health and obesity levels in this region, as well as whether a gender-tailored approach
to weight management would help men to tackle their weight issues. 
Young offenders’ mental health assessment
Agrantof£173,000hasbeenawardedtoateamledbyDeanMcMillan,
HYMSSeniorLecturerinMentalHealth,forresearchintotheeffectivenessof
mentalhealthassessmentinyoungoffenders.
The grant which comes from the NIHR Health Technologies Assessment grant
funding stream, will fund the research which will allow practitioners to better target and
design services for vulnerable young people.
All youth justice services undertake health and risk assessments of detainees, as
required by national standards, but the quality and scope of these assessments varies.
Mental health assessment frequently relies on previous assessments accompanying the
child, and these are often missing or underestimate mental health needs.
For example, a recent survey in York found that 50% of young people being seen in
the youth justice service had mental health problems with 28% of them having been in
care. It is thought that between one and two fifths of adolescents detained in residential
care may have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with 10-20% having
depressive illness.
This evidence synthesis is needed in the form of a broad systematic review with
modelling. It will evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a psychological and
mental health assessment of young offenders and will identify priorities for future
research.
The research team is: Dean McMillan, Gwen Adshead, Barry Wright, Amanda Perry,
Simon Gilbody, Stephen Palmer, Julie Glanville, Catherine Hewitt, Steven Duffy and
Rachel Richardson.
 HYMS intercalated BSc away day Staff news
FollowingasuggestionbyHYMSUndergraduateDeanProfessorDavid
Welcometo...
Blaney,thefirsteverHYMSIntercalatedBScAwayDaytookplace
recentlyatBishopBurtonCollege.IntercalatedBScCoordinatorDr JoannaMicklethwaite, Head of
MarikaKullbergreportsontheday’sactivities: Assessment, who will be based in
Eight of the ten HYMS students currently intercalating internally at HYMS, the
Hull.
University of Hull, and the University of York participated during the day by giving ten Allchange...
minute presentations about their research projects carried out during the 2010-11
at the HYMS Postgraduate School
academic year.
where the following staff have new
The quality of the presentations was very high, with topics covering the biology of
roles:
Salmonella typhimurium and Trypanosoma brucei, intracellular signalling cascades in
malignant pleural mesothelium, modelling of skull morphology, examination of cardio- DrRogerSturmey is now taking
respiratory fitness in elite cyclists, and investigations of how heat fatigue affects the lead on postgraduate training at
performance, how claudication affects balance, and how sport injuries leading to mood HYMS
disturbance affect recovery time.
ProfessorJonathanBennett is the
After lunch, three talks were given by members of HYMS staff. Professor Paul Kaye,
new lead for postgraduate admissions
Head of the CII and newly appointed Dean of Research at HYMS, began with a
research-focused presentation on how to make a vaccine. DrDeanMcMillan takes over the
HYMS Dean Professor Tony Kendrick talked about clinical academic careers, giving lead for short courses.
examples from his own career on how clinical research can make a difference to
andmorechanges...
medical practice. Professor Kendrick went on to talk about career tracks for clinical
academics, covering clinical academic training opportunities and fellowships. for the HYMS Undergraduate School,
Finally, Dr Guy Millman, Consultant and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics at following the announcement that
York Hospital, gave a talk entitled “Phase II: back to reality” in which he gave the Undergraduate Dean Professor
intercalated students information on what will happen when they return to medical DavidBlaney will be leaving HYMS
studies in the autumn. in August:
At the end of the day, students were asked to fill in a questionnaire and provide DrColinMelville, currently the
feedback on the event. When asked to score the usefulness of the Away Day on a Director of NEYEC Foundation
scale from 1-10 (ten being the highest), the results came back with an overwhelming School and HYMS Clinical Skills Lead,
score of 9.4! will take over as Acting Interim Dean
Judging by the very positive student comments and feedback, we can only of the Undergraduate School from July
conclude that the event was a great success, and we’re looking forward to the 2012 1st.
Intercalated Away Day for the next cohort of internal intercalates who will start this
autumn. Many thanks to Richard Nicholson and Gill Pulpher for their help organising Dr Melville will be assisted by Senior
the day and to all the speakers and participants. Lecturer in Population Health Dr
StephenOliver in the role of
Deputy Dean of the Undergraduate
Letter to the Times Elizabeth’s BMA lobby School.
HYMS Professor of Clinical Surgery A VISIT to a Grimsby brothel by a third-
Professor Stephen Leveson wrote a letter to year medical student on a HYMS graduates on
the Times rebutting an earlier article on the clinical placement has
use of alcohol and recreational drugs by sparked a BMA drive to PGCME
junior doctors.  stop human trafficking Correction
and improve health
services for sex workers. In the May HYMS Sheet it was
Swim for charity? You could have heard a incorrectly reported that the first
pin drop at the BMA’s 2010 ARM (annual HYMS trained graduates had recently
HYMS Year 1 student Craig Gouldthorpe
representative meeting) in Brighton when enrolled on the HYMS Postgraduate
is trying to organise a HYMS group to
Elizabeth Lee (pictured above), now a Certificate of Medical Education
enter one of the ‘great swim’ charity
fourth-year student at HYMS, described course. It has since been brought to
events. If you’re interested in a challenge,
her experience of accompanying a drug our attention that Dr Aaron Brown
would like the opportunity to raise a bit
centre community nurse on a visit to a was in fact the first HYMS graduate to
of money for a good cause and have fun in
brothel.  enrol and successfully complete the
the process, then follow the link for
course. Apologies to Dr Brown, who
further information or get in touch by
was in the first cohort of students to
emailing craig.gouldthorpe@hyms.ac.uk. 
New NICE guidance study at HYMS and is now an
orthopaedic surgeon and senior house
A NEW NICE guideline aims to help GPs
London marathon provide quick, cost-effective treatment to
officer at York Teaching Hospital. Click
on the link to read about his recent
CONGRATULATIONS to Year 2 HYMS improve the lives of millions of people
fund raising on behalf of the Cystic
student Anne Wisdom from Lerwick who experiencing common mental health
disorders. HYMS Dean Professor Tony Fibrosis Trust. 
recently took part in the London Marathon
to raise money for the Anthony Nolan Trust.  Kendrick is quoted in the linked article. 
 Calendar June
18-26 July
of events Biketoworkweek
9 University of Hull and
nationwide 
14
Seminar
For full details of all HYMSClassof2011
these events, plus CheckingConsistencyin
21
Graduationceremony
many more lectures, MixedTreatment andreception
seminars, conferences ComparisonMeta-Analysis
Lecture Central Hall and Campus East
and social events, visit Alcuin A Block A/019 & A/020, Hub, University of York 
www.hyms.ac.uk/events University of York  Idiopathicpulmonary
fibrosis

13 Dove House Hospice, 21

Seminar
Differentialregulationof
neuronaltranscription
factorsbysynaptic
activity
Room K018, Department of
Biology, University of York 
Chamberlain Road, Hull 
23-24
BMJmasterclassforGPs:
generalupdate
The Royal York Hotel, York

HYMS short course
Basicskillsinstrabismus
surgeryandenucleation
oftheeye:cadaver
workshop
Hull York Medical School,
University of Hull 

Research publications Student of the year? Tutor opportunities

RECENT publications by HYMS staff include:
Saleem B, BrownAK, Keen H, Nizam S,
Freeston J, Wakefield R, Karim Z, Quinn
M, Hensor E, Conaghan PG, Emery P.
“Should imaging be a component of
rheumatoid arthritis remission criteria? A
comparison between traditional and
modified composite remission scores and
imaging assessments” Ann Rheum Dis
2011;70:792-798 
JohnsonMJ, MacCallum A, Butler J,
Rogers A, Sam E, Fuller A,Beattie JM.
“Heart failure specialist nurses’ use of
palliative care services: a comparison of
surveys across England in 2005 and 2010”
EJCN 2011. Published first online 
Bunton R, JonesL. “Visions of the public
and private in public health genomics: the
case of a nascent Australian biobank” New
Genetics and Society Volume 29, Issue 4,
2010, Pages 413-429 
Fern LA, Campbell C, Eden TOB, Grant R,
Lewis I, MacleodU, Weller D, Whelan J.
“How frequently do young people with
potential cancer symptoms present in
primary care?” British Journal of General
Practice May 2011 
Stories with the mouse symbol  have more information in the news section
of the HYMS website, where you will also find breaking news, updates and images.
www.hyms.ac.uk/news
HYMS students graduating in the summer
of 2011 are eligible to be nominated for
the Science Engineering and Technology
Student of the Year awards. Follow the link
for further information. 
Medical education events
THE Leeds Institute of Medical Education
will be hosting two conferences on
Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 June related to
medical education. The first is entitled
‘Critical perspectives on professional
learning’ and the second ‘Medical
education research development’. 
THE Academy of Medical Educators will
be holding a masterclass entitled
‘Scholarship around the curriculum’ in
London on 29 September. 
York cycle show
FOR all you keen HYMS cyclists York Cycle
Show is taking place at York Racecourse
from 10am on 25-26 June. Follow the link
for further details. 
TheHYMSPGCME,nowinits
secondyear,offerslocal
developmentopportunitiesfor
alltutors.
Its aim is to enhance the teaching
practice of those involved in medical
education, and ensure that clinical
teaching standards remain paramount.
The one year part time study
programme provides participants with
an opportunity to focus on issues
related specifically to learning and
teaching, assessment and evaluation,
and the need for a professional
framework for all teaching of medical
students. It is a recognised pathway
for colleagues wishing to become GP
trainers, and has been of great benefit
to colleagues wishing to develop their
teaching skills in a variety of clinical
settings.
The next course starts in January
2012 (deadline for applications 30
September 2011).Visit the HYMS
website for further details on the
course and how to apply. 
If you have any
contributions for
this internal bulletin,
please send them to
val.parker
@hyms.ac.uk