Four academics supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre have been awarded a prestigious national award.
The University of Oxford professors have been named National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators in recognition of being “among the most prominent and prestigious researchers funded by the NIHR and the most outstanding leaders of patient and people-based research within the NIHR research community”.
The researchers named NIHR Senior Investigator are:
- Prof Peter McCulloch, of the Nuffield Department of Surgical Science, founded the QRSTU research group, which is dedicated to studies of quality and safety interventions in surgery, and has worked with the NHS Institute and the Health Foundation on work to make operating theatres safer.
- Prof John Powell, of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, combines his academic career with a role as Consultant Clinical Adviser at NICE, where he advises the NHS on the safe adoption of surgical and other interventional procedures.
- Prof Jonathan Rees, of the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, combines a clinical role as a Consultant Orthopaedic Shoulder Surgeon with a research programme on ‘Improving Orthopaedic Patient Outcomes and Treatment Delivery’.
- Prof Matthew Snape, of the Department of Paediatrics, is an Associate Professor in General Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the Oxford Vaccine Group, whose research focuses principally on vaccines against meningococcal, pneumococcal, influenza, RSV and Ebola virus disease.
Professor Helen McShane, Director of the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, said: “I’d like to congratulate my colleagues for being named NIHR Senior Investigators. It is a very competitive award, so they should be immensely proud of this achievement. It is fantastic for them to receive recognition for the important research they’ve been carrying out.”
NIHR Senior Investigator status is awarded to researchers on the basis of their internationally excellent research, its quality and volume, its relevance to patients and the public, and its impact on improvements in healthcare and public health.
They receive a discretionary award of £20,000 per year of appointment to fund activities that support their research.
They hold their award for no more than two terms, to ensure turnover and to create opportunities for new researchers to participate in NIHR at senior level. The college of Senior Investigators is maintained at around 200 researchers in total.
On completion of a second successful term, Senior Investigators are awarded the title Senior Investigator Emeritus, which they hold as long as they are in substantive employment in England.
In this year’s awards, three Oxford BRC researchers have received the prestigious title of Senior Investigator Emeritus in recognition of the work they have carried out as a Senior Investigator and continue to do. They are:
- Prof Andrew Carr, Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Head of Department at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences.
- Prof Andrew Farmer, Professor of General Practice at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences.
- Prof Paul Klenerman, Sidney Truelove Professor of Gastroenterology at the Nuffield Department of Medicine.