Brighton’s unique perspective

Abeer Aamir, third year Pharmacy MPharm student, tells us more about her experience so far of studying here.

You can read about how Abeer won the this year’s David Kearney Award from the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) here.

What made you choose Brighton and your course?

I’ll start with the course part first. Pharmacy has always kind of been at the forefront of my career focus, and that is entirely because of my parents. They’ve had the biggest influence even before I was born.

My dad worked in the pharmaceutical sales industry specialising in dermatology. So literally my entire childhood was me helping him study his materials and things like that, or listening to his presentations that he would be giving to doctors and pharmacists. So that exposed me to the whole world of clinical medicine for the first time.

And then on the other side my mother worked in a hospital – as a medical lab technologist, I believe. But she studied as a microbiologist, so she also helped cultivate that interest and that love for science. I remember on one of my birthdays, she got out an old microscope and she had all her old pathology slides to show me and stuff like that.

So, they’ve always fostered that love for healthcare and the sciences and trying to find the clinical aspect of everything. And then when I was in high school, I decided to just dip my toe into pharmacy, to see if I liked it or not. I volunteered at a pharmacy near me, at a major chain back in Canada [Abeer is from Toronto]. And they loved me enough that they hired me! So, I ended up working there for three years.

So, it’s safe to say that I absolutely adored the profession as well. So that just deepened my love for pharmacy.

And the one thing that I noticed when I was there was that I always wanted to make patients the forefront of what I was doing and how I was learning. So, Brighton ended up being my choice to study because it offers such a unique perspective in the way that the course is delivered.

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Abeer Aamir

Brighton pharmacy student wins prestigious national award

Thanks to her exceptional work in advancing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at the University of Brighton, Pharmacy MPharm student Abeer Aamir has won this year’s David Kearney Award from the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA).

Abeer, who has just finished her third year, described herself as “incredibly grateful and humbled” to receive the prestigious national award, which recognises outstanding contribution to pharmacy over the past 12 months. 

The nomination calls Abeer’s commitment to promoting inclusivity and diversity within the pharmacy profession “a testament to her dedication to advancing the field, keeping patients safe, and making it more equitable and accessible for all individuals”.

“As a first-generation immigrant and a pharmacy student, I’ve seen both sides of the coin,” Abeer said. “I’ve seen the ways in which medical racism penetrates the healthcare profession, and it really does disproportionately affect people of colour and women. So, using all that lived experience, I really hope to shine a light on unconscious bias and unconscious medical racism, so that the curriculum is a lot more reflective of the population that our graduates are serving.”

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Illustration of man with speech bubble saying 'can I tell you something'

Brighton research reveals hidden sexual abuse of men and barriers to seeking support

University of Brighton researchers have investigated what prevents men reporting incidents of unwanted sexual contact and seeking support in new report.

Exploring this overlooked area of sexual abuse, the MUSE (Men’s Unwanted Sexual Experiences) project uncovered not just the extent of the problem but the reluctance of many victims to report incidents through formal routes – such as the police or a GP – as well as the challenges of seeking informal support from family and friends. Research revealed that a key barrier was the perception held by many that unwanted sexual experiences happen to and impact women, and not men.

Dr Carl Bonner-Thompson, senior lecturer at the University of Brighton’s School of Applied Sciences, is one of the researchers behind the project in collaboration with the Male Survivors Partnership and Mankind UK. Alongside University of Brighton colleagues Dr Kirsty McGregor and Dr Jason Preston, Dr Bonner-Thompson interviewed a number of men in both the south-east and north-east of England as part of the project.

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People taking part in water sampling training on the quay at Chichester Harbour

Research into marine littering from abandoned fibreglass boats

Steady progress is being made on a collaborative community project steered by the University of Brighton. The research – titled Protecting inland coastal waters through innovative citizen science: participatory action-research on end-of-life fibreglass boats – is evidencing end of life and abandoned boats in and around the Chichester Harbour environs.  Led by aquatic ecotoxicologist Dr Corina Ciocan and community water resources practitioner Dr Mary Gearey the aim of the research is to document marine littering from fibreglass boats in poor repair.

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Field trip to Sicily 2023 – days one and two

Our level 5 Geography BSc(Hons) and Environmental Sciences BSc(Hons) students visited Sicily on a week-long field trip. Environmental Sciences BSc(Hons) student and (we think) brilliant photographer, Lizzie Pallett, documented the trip.

Day one – Lava fields of Mount Etna

Day one of the Level 5 field trip to Sicily! First stop: the lava fields of Mt Etna.

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Students working on Shoreham beach

Geography online subject taster

Join us for an interactive and informative online mini-lecture with University of Brighton lecturers and current students that will help give you a feel for studying geography at university.

25 April 2023
Tuesday
5.30–6.30pm
Online

There are lots of ways you can get to know us better:

Dr Lorna Linch up a snowy mountain

Winter Skills in the Scottish Highlands

Dr Lorna Linch, Principal Lecturer in Earth Science and expert in all things icy at the University of Brighton, has taken part in a 5-day Winter Skills training course in the Scottish Highlands. The aim of the course is to learn and develop core winter skills required for mountain walking under winter conditions whilst undertaking ascents of the mountains in and around the Cairngorms.

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Title Belong at Brighton with images of students on campus in the background

Get ready for uni – live event 28 April

Our 2023 online get ready events will help you prepare for university and to meet other students that’ll also be joining this year.

Join us for our get ready for your course event to hear about how you can prepare for your subject, and ask any questions, to get your studies off to the best start. For students studying: biological sciences, biomedical science, geography and environment, or pharmacy.

Friday 28 April 2023 at 2-3pm

Click here for details on how to join the session

In this live one-hour MS Teams session one of our senior lecturers will start by delivering a presentation, followed by time for you to answer any questions you might have. The session will highlight what you can expect from studying here, how we will support you to build your skills, what kinds of learning you can expect to benefit from, what a typical week looks like, and how we will support you.

Find out more about all of our upcoming events here

Group of scientific researchers in genomics lab

New research centre puts Brighton at cutting edge of the fight against disease

A new UK hub for the development of new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease has opened its doors at the University of Brighton.

The Centre for Precision Health and Translational Medicine brings together experts from a range of fields including biomedicine, engineering, mathematics, computer science and social science to develop new approaches to healthcare. Using the latest technology and techniques such as genome editing and stem cell modification, the centre aims to advance the delivery of personalised, proactive and predictive healthcare, tailored to the needs of individual patients.  

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