Rahul Alam

Overview

Rahul is the Research Associate for the GP Theme of the Greater Manchester Patient Safety and Translational Research Centre, the only General Practice Patient Safety and Translational Centre in the world. The Greater Manchester PSTRC is a center with international expertise in the area of patient safety and is led by Professor Stephen Campbell and Professor Aneez Esmail. Funded by the NIHR, the project aims to use cross-cutting research across multi-disciplinary areas including Interface and Informatics(Theme lead: Professor Iain Buchan); Medication Safety(Theme lead: Professor Darren Ashcroft); Multi-morbidity(Theme lead: Professor Peter Bower) and General Practice(Theme lead: Professor Stephen Campbell) in order to drive forward improvements in patient safety.

Numerous projects are in progress and there is substantial opportunity for patient and public involvement (PPI). For further information please contact Rahul or Dr Sudeh Cheragi-Sohi(GP theme Research Fellow).

Biography

Rahul is a Biomedical scientist and a nutritionist by background with an interest in the self-management of chronic conditions. In particular he is interested in the various components of the metabolic syndrome including obesity and diabetes.

Early in his career he explored the roles of micronutrient and the macronutrient effects on satiety, human feeding behaviour and obesity. He continued this work at the University of Leeds where he gained experience working on an international multicentre study investigating factors affecting human susceptibility and resistance to weight gain on a high fat diet . He has also undertaken voluntary relief work in rural Bangladesh to alleviate malnutrition  and the spread of disease in the aftermath of natural disasters.
 

Rahul’s past work has focused on type 2 diabetes, with an emphasis on improving patient self-management and psychological well-being. He has been involved in a number of trials funded by the Department of Health, MRC and Diabetes UK which included; (i) training and delivering psychological interventions  to healthcare professionals; (ii) assessing structured patient education programmes and (iii) undertaking health needs assessment for ethnic minority groups living with type 2 diabetes. During his time at Warwick Medical School, Rahul developed a strong interest in user involvement, patient centred care and in the provision of health care services to meet the needs of diverse populations.

In 2009 Rahul joined the GM Manchester Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC). He is part of a multi-disciplinary team of clinical and social scientists with expertise in randomised controlled trials, user group involvement, qualitative methodology, systematic reviewing and experience of working with ethnic minority communities. The project aims to develop and test new models of care with a focus on improving access to vascular health care services for the inhabitants of Greater Manchester with a particular focus on improving access for ethnic minority groups who are at higher risk of developing vascular disease. 

Rahul has also worked on international studies directly informing US health policy which includes work with the Cohrane Collaboration and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has presented a wide range of work at national and internationl conferences and continues to devote his time in reducing the health inequalites that continue to exist in the world today.