A total of £675,000 has been awarded to senior Oxford researchers to support research that will have a direct benefit on NHS care.
The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Unit in Musculoskeletal Disease (BRU) have announced the successful applicants for its first Principal Fellow Competition.
The BRC and the BRU are partnerships between Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – which runs hospitals including Oxford’s John Radcliffe – and the University of Oxford.
A total of 15 researchers will each receive £15,000 a year over three years to support their work in areas such as genetics, childhood vaccines, eye surgery, skin conditions and nursing.
There were 50 applications for the awards, aimed at attracting, recognising, developing and retaining outstanding researchers.
The awards can go on areas such as personal development, covering staff costs, attending conferences, books, consumables, minor items of equipment and travel. The successful applicants will also have the opportunity for senior leadership training.
The successful bidders have shown that their leadership has had a strong impact on healthcare and research as well as a high quality and volume of internationally excellent research and significant contributions to the BRC and BRU.
The BRC and BRU were established in 2007 and 2008 respectively to fund medical research through the NHS’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the research arm of the NHS.
Since then more than £170m has been invested in medical research through the BRC and BRU.
The successful applicants were chosen by a panel of experts comprising BRC Director Prof Keith Channon; BRU Director Prof Andy Carr; Dr Bruno Holthof, Chief Executive Officer, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Professor Dame Kay Davies, Associate Head (Development, Impact and Equality), Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford; Professor Irene Tracey, Head, Nuffield Division of Anaesthetics, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford and Dr Vasiliki Kiparoglou, BRC Head of Operations.
Prof Channon said: “We were delighted with the quality and volume of applications we received for our first Principal Fellow Awards.
“Choosing 15 applicants from this list has been difficult but we are confident the successful applicants can play an even greater role in conducting cutting edge research that can improve the lives of NHS patients.”
Prof Carr said: “These awards represent recognition of outstanding and sustained contribution to translational clinical research that has made major contributions to the lives of NHS patients suffering from a wide variety of diseases and clinical conditions.”
The successful applicants are:
Prof Eleanor Barnes
Professor of Hepatology and Experimental Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.
Prof Matthew Costa
Professor Orthopaedic Trauma and Honorary Consultant Trauma Surgeon, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford.
Prof Dominic Furniss
Associate Professor, Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellow, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford.
Prof Debra Jackson
Professor of Nursing, Oxford Institute of Nursing and Allied Health Research, Oxford Brookes University and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Prof Julian Knight
Professor of Genomic Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.
Prof Clare Mackay
Associate Professor, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford.
Prof Helen McShane
Professor of Vaccinology, Wellcome Senior Clinical Research Fellow and honorary consultant physician, Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford
Prof Robert MacLaren
Senior Clinical Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Adam Mead
Associate Professor of Haematology and MRC Senior Clinical Fellow, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM), Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.
Prof Graham Ogg
Professor of Dermatology and Deputy Director of MRC Human Immunology Unit, Radcliffe Department of Medicine.
Prof Andrew Pollard
Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity and Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford.
Prof Alison Simmons
Professor of Gastroenterology and NIHR Research Professor, MRC Human Immunology Unit and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.
Prof Jenny Taylor
Associate Professor, Programme Director, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre Genomic Medicine Theme and Co-Chair Molecular Diagnostics Working Group, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford.
Prof Jeremy Tomlinson
Professor of Metabolic Endocrinology, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.
Prof Sarah Walker
Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Nuffield Department of Medicine (Experimental Medicine Division), University of Oxford.