Healthcare staff honoured at awards

Healthcare staff who support research in the NHS, public health and social care were honoured at an awards ceremony on Wednesday 30 September.

More than 30 people and teams from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire were recognised at the Thames Valley Health Research Awards.

The awards honour staff who support the work of the NIHR Clinical Research Network Thames Valley and South Midlands, which helps deliver research studies in the NHS, public health and social care.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards were held in-person for a small number of guests at Milton Keynes Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with other trusts dialling in through a video call.

The network’s clinical director Prof Belinda Lennox said: “It has been an extraordinary year, and clinical research has never had such a high profile, or been more important. 

“At this year’s awards we celebrated the many outstanding contributions of the members of our research network in delivering clinical research right across the Thames Valley, and  thank all of the nominees for their hard work.”

The winners and highly commended were:

All-round High Performing Team:

• Winner: Royal Berkshire Hospital research team leaders
• Highly commended: Milton Keynes University Hospital research team
• Highly commended: Paediatric Haematology Oncology Research Team, Oxford University Hospitals

Contribution to COVID-19 research:

• Winner: Royal Berkshire Hospital Research Team
• Highly commended: ACTT/Synairgen Covid-19 Research Nurse Team, University of Oxford
• Highly commended: OUH COVID-19 Research Nurse Taskforce, Oxford University Hospitals

Outstanding CI:

• Winner: Prof Peter Horby and Prof Martin Landray, University of Oxford
• Highly commended: Dr Simon Kyle, University of Oxford

Outstanding Contribution to Children's Research (Memorial Award):

• Winner: Parvinder Aley, University of Oxford

Outstanding CRN Core Team Member (nominated by clinicians and researchers):

• Winner: David Porter 
• Winner: Teresa Lockett

Outstanding Member of Support Staff:

• Winner: Val Paulley, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
• Highly commended: Rachel Stevenson, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Outstanding PI:

• Winner: Dr Raha West, Buckinghamshire Healthcare 
• Highly commended: Dr Matt Frise, Royal Berkshire 
• Highly commended: Dr Liza Keating, Royal Berkshire

Outstanding Research Champion (patient):

• Winner: Christa Dyson
• Winner: Sharon MacGuinness

Outstanding Research Champion (staff):

• Winner: Steve Foley, Royal Berkshire 
• Highly commended: Caroline Higgins, Royal Berkshire 
• Highly commended: Edel Clare, Milton Keynes University Hospital

Outstanding Research Team Leader:

• Winner: Mark Ainsworth, Oxford University Hospitals 
• Highly commended: Nicola Bowers, Buckinghamshire Healthcare 
• Highly commended: Emma Donaldson, Berkshire Healthcare
  

Research Nurse of the Year:

• Winner: Katarina Manso, Buckinghamshire Healthcare 
• Highly commended: Cathy Beresford, Berkshire Healthcare 
• Highly commended: Louise Mew, Milton Keynes University Hospital
• Highly commended: Susanna Malakorpi, Royal Berkshire
  

Research Rising Star:

• Winner: Amy Oakley, Milton Keynes University Hospital
• Highly commended: Elizabeth Taylor, Royal Berkshire 
• Highly commended: Jess Caterson, Royal Berkshire
  

Study of the Year:

• Winner: RECOVERY
• Highly commended: GENERATION HD1