Five University of Manchester researchers have been given the prestigious award of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) senior investigator from a total of 43.
Professors Paul Dark, Evan Kontopantelis, Sandra Bucci, Nusrat Husain, and Maya Buch have all been awarded what is regarded as one of the highest honours for health and social care researchers in the UK.
Senior Investigators are among the most outstanding and influential researchers funded by NIHR. They are recognised for the quality and global reach of their research. They also help mentor the next generation, strengthen research culture and embed inclusion.
Paul Dark is Professor of Critical Care Medicine, Vice Dean for Health and Care Partnerships and Research Professor at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at The University of Manchester.
He is also a Critical Care Consultant at Salford Royal Hospital, part of Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and based at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
He said: "I am delighted to be appointed as a NIHR Senior Investigator for a second term. This national award will allow me continue to provide a systems voice from Greater Manchester to help influence national research policy in applied health, social care, and public health, and to act as an international ambassador for the National Institute of Health and Care Research."
Professor Bucci is the first ever NIHR Research Professor in Digital Mental Health in the UK and a Professor of Clinical Psychology at The University of Manchester.
She co-founded spinout company CareLoop Health, a UK digital therapeutics company developing AI-powered tools to monitor symptoms, predict relapse, and deliver personalised care for people with severe mental illnesses like psychosis.
She is also based at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
She said: "This NIHR Senior Investigator award will provide an important platform to advance my research in digital mental health and to strengthen the evidence base for innovative approaches that improve care for people with severe mental health problems. I hope it will support closer partnerships with service users, clinicians and services, and help drive research that delivers meaningful impact in routine practice."
Professor Kontopantelis research focuses on Data Science and Health Services using large-scale primary care databases.
H e is an expert in computational statistics and machine learning and has a long track record in research using large-scale primary care and other administrative databases to investigate quality of care, mortality and cardiovascular disease, with a focus on the effects of policy changes and the role of socio-economic and regional disparities
He said: "I’m delighted to receive this NIHR Senior Investigator award. It recognises the collective efforts of my collaborators and provides an exciting opportunity to accelerate our work using real-world health data to improve the quality and equity of care. This support will help us drive forward innovative, policy-relevant research in primary care and population health, ensuring it has the greatest possible benefit for patients and communities.
Maya Buch is Professor of Rheumatology at The University of Manchester and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
Prof Buch is also Chief Investigator for the Medical Research Council (MRC) and British Heart Foundation UK CARDIO-IMID Partnership and Chair for the MRC-NIHR ’Efficacy, Mechanism, Evaluation’ Programme.She is also based at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
She said: "I am delighted to be re-awarded the NIHR Senior Investigator Award. This award strengthens my ongoing commitment to advancing research that improves outcomes for people living with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. I warmly welcome this support, which will help advance our scientific goals, foster meaningful collaboration and help translate innovative discoveries into real-world clinical benefit"
Nusrat Husain is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Global Mental Health Research at The University of Manchester and Director of the Global Centre for Research on Mental Health Inequalities and an Honorary Consultant at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
He is also based at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care, said: "By recognising leaders across the breadth of health and care, we are reinforcing NIHR’s commitment to supporting excellence wherever it is found and ensuring that research leadership mirrors the communities and professions it serves.
"Senior Investigators make a significant impact to the NIHR and the wider research landscape and I look forward to seeing the contributions and impact they make across health and care research."
Researchers are awarded Senior Investigator status based on their contributions to the NIHR and their leadership of high-quality, internationally recognised research.
As outstanding leaders of patient and people-based research, NIHR Senior Investigators serve on NIHR funding committees and boards and provide leadership at a regional or national level.
They serve as NIHR ambassadors, demonstrate research excellence, contribute to national growth, and champion the involvement of patients and communities into research.