2024 was a busy year for the 'Bhangu Lab' in Birmingham, working across surgery, global health, and sustainability. Here are a few highlights:

• In 2024, the team collectively published 16 research papers (including 5 in Lancet family journals) and 8 reviews / comments.

• In February, Mwayi Kachapila led the publication of the economic analysis for the ChEETAh trial in Lancet Global Health. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/ei5UaUG3.

• In March, we convened stakeholders from across the university, NHS, and government at The Exchange to explore how the NHS and universities can work together on sustainability, starting an ongoing conversation on topics including clean energy.

• In May, we hosted a side event at the World Health Assembly in Geneva focussing on the role of surgery in strengthening health systems. We were honoured to be joined by the Minister of Health of Benin and Sir Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England.

• In May, HIPPO was published in Lancet Global Health. This was a global cohort study led by Maria Picciochi that used elective surgery as a tracer condition for elective surgical care. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eUYWVXUu.

• May also saw Teddy Anyomih join as a PhD fellow.

• In October, Prof Aneel Bhangu gave evidence to the COVID-19 Inquiry on the impact of the pandemic on colorectal cancer care across the UK. You can read the full report we co-wrote here: https://lnkd.in/e58RejVS.

• In October, the NIHR announced major funding for a Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response, with Prof Aneel Bhangu and myself leading key themes. Info here: https://lnkd.in/ePKptndB.

• October also saw Cortland Linder and Liam Phelan join the team as PhD fellows.

• In November, team members including Virginia Ledda and Sivesh Kamarajah attended the 8th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research. They hosted a session to launch "Healthcare Systems Thinking for Global Surgery", a special edition of BMJ Global Health our team produced. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/egdqsYvN.

• In December, we hosted the second Research for Greener Surgery Conference at the university, with 380 delegates attending from across the UK. We heard how decarbonising healthcare goes hand-in-hand with delivering better care for patients. This is exemplified by Prof Adewale Adisa launching our 100-4-100 initiative; this will tackle the impact on patients of power cuts in hospitals in the Global South by fundraising £100m to install solar energy. Read the 100-4-100 prospectus here: https://lnkd.in/ezg42hBT.