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NHS Healthcare Science Research projects Awarded over £1 million

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.