Nottingham doctor wins NIHR and Royal College of Physicians award
Dr Naaventhan Palaniyappan, Specialist Registrar in Gastroenterology/Hepatology at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), has won a joint National Institute of Health Research Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) and Royal College of Physicians (RCP) award in recognition of his work.
The awards recognise outstanding contributions made by NHS consultants and trainees who are active in research, and Dr Palaniyappan is one of five winners from across the country. Award recipients were selected as a result of demonstrating clinical leadership, their engagement with patients and their contribution to the successful delivery of clinical research studies.
Dr Palaniyappan was singled out for his work to maximise opportunities for people to take part in research, including through an online database linking patients who have had a liver biopsy with the corresponding histological results in order to enable efficient screening to determine which patients meet criteria to take part in clinical trials.
He has also worked to ensure that colleagues are trained in Good Clinical Practice (GCP) to enable them to be co-investigators for clinical studies, and used a rota amongst registrars so that one is always available to review patients attending planned research study visits.
In addition, Dr Palaniyappan has been working to put patients at the heart of research through the use of PPI focus groups. This has helped to create resources for patients that are free from medical jargon, an approach that has helped the promotion of research using posters, social media, videos and other platforms.
He has also been recognised as a result of his involvement in delivering several commercial clinical trials in liver disease, including an international anti-fibrotic trial in patients with cirrhosis, for which NUH was one of the highest recruiting NHS Trust in the UK.
Speaking after receiving the award, Dr Palaniyappan said:
“I would like to thank the RCP and NIHR for the award. These recognitions will definitely encourage the trainees to get involved in the delivery of clinical research, and be part of the future generation of clinical researchers in the NHS.”
Professor Nick Lemione, Medical Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Network, said:
“Clinical leadership is vital for the world-leading performance of the NIHR Clinical Research Network. Each of the consultants and trainees who are prize winners this year have made outstanding contributions to the delivery of research studies in their region and it is wonderful to see the next generation of researchers coming through.”
Congratulations to Dr Palaniyappan on receiving this award and we look forward to continuing to work closely with him to deliver research.
