DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service on 27 May 2009
First Chief
Scientific Officer (CSO) Research Fellowships announced
Ten healthcare scientists from across England have been awarded
research fellowships worth a total of over £1million for projects
that will lead to improvements in patient care, announced
Professor Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), today.
The awards were the results of the first round of the new CSO
Research Fellowship competition launched in September 2008 to
support the development of research capacity in healthcare science
in the NHS. The scheme is funded by the Department of Health and
managed by the National Institute of Health Research
(NIHR).
The successful projects include a range of healthcare
science activities such as developing techniques to diagnose
health conditions and improving patient care for cancer, diabetes
and cardiovascular and respiratory disease. As well as supporting
individual research programmes, the funding will support the
postgraduate training needs of each research fellow.
Chief Scientific Officer Professor Sue Hill said:
"Competition for this first round of CSO Research
Fellowships was very keen. There were many high quality
applications from healthcare scientists working across a wide
range of disciplines, illustrating the wealth of opportunities
within the NHS for translational research to improve patient care
using healthcare scientists' valuable expertise. I
congratulate the winners and look forward to following their
progress and the presentation of their research
outcomes."
Almost 50 applications were received in this
first annual competition and the awards were agreed by a panel
chaired by Professor Steve Smye, Director of R&D and Director
of NIHR, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The successful applicants in the 2008 round and their research
projects were:
Lisa Ayers, Immunology Department, Churchill
Hospital, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. (Circulating
annexin V+, platelet-derived, endothelial-derived and
lymphocyte-derived microparticles - A potential marker of
cardiovascular risk.)
Bashir Mnene Matata, Cardiothoracic & Physiological
Measurements Laboratory, Liverpool, Heart & Chest Hospital NHS
Trust. (The impact of intraoperative haemofiltration during
on-pump cardiac surgery on biomarkers of oxidative stress and
healthcare outcomes of patients with impaired renal function - A
pilot randomised trial.)
Nigel Davies, Imaging & Medical Physics, University Hospitals
Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. (Towards improved outcomes for
teenagers and young adults with cancer through the development and
evaluation of novel MR methods for non-invasive diagnosis and
characterisation of brain tumours.)
Owen Driskell, Clinical Biochemistry, University Hospital of
North Staffordshire NHS Trust. (Investigation of the root causes
of excessive replicate pathology testing INTERCEPT): Diabetes
testing in primary care as a model.)
Rachel Marrington, Clinical Biochemistry & Immunology, Heart
of England NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham. (Genotyping of
members of Cytochrome P450 family and SCLO1B1 in statin induced myopathy.)
Gareth Price, Developing Technologies, Radiotherapy Physics, The
Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester. (Validation of
correspondences across medical images and surface metrology
datasets for application in image guided and adaptive radiotherapy.)
Tom Ford, Immunology Department, Imperial College Healthcare NHS
Trust, London. (The clinical utility of diagnostic tests for
interleukin-12 and interferon-gamma deficiency in patients with
progressive non tuberculous mycobacterial induced bronchiectasis.)
Jonathan Reeves, Clinical Physics Department, Barts and The
London NHS Trust, London. (Development of a miniature thermal
device incorporating peltier technology as a diagnostic tool for
studying human oesophageal sensitivity.)
Arlene Frater, Transplant Immunology, St James University
Hospital, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. (Investigation
of Immunity after Renal Transplantation.)
Philip Morgan, Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Clinical
Biochemistry, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust,
London. (Investigation of automated methods for plasma drug
assays: application of new technology based on CD-Rom/DVD
technology with chromatographic analysis on silica microcolumns.)
The CSO Research Fellowship Competition will run for a further
two years and provide a total of £4 million in funding. The 2009
competition will be launched later this year with application
details published on the websites of the CSO and NIHR.
Ends
Notes to editors
1. The Department of Health's Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
provides strategic leadership for the 50,000-strong healthcare
science workforce in the NHS and related bodies in England. She
provides advice to Government ministers and officials about this
workforce and the services they deliver, working across government
and with partner organisations to help improve NHS services
through policy and good practice development.
2. Pathologists, audiologists, physiologists and clinical
engineers are among the 51 professional groups which make up the
50,000-strong NHS healthcare science workforce. Healthcare
scientists contribute to an estimated 80 per cent of all clinical
decisions for patients, working alongside other members of the
healthcare team in wards, clinics and homes, as well as in
laboratories. Their expertise spans clinical service provision,
diagnostic testing, quality assurance, patient safety, research,
development and innovation.
3. The National Institute for Health Research provides the
framework through which the research staff and research
infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and
managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the
NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct
first-class research funded by the Government and its partners
alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its
aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and
collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and
university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs
of patients.