Two Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust consultants have picked up national research leadership prizes from the NIHR, recognising work spanning drug allergy safety and equitable access to clinical trials.
Dr Louise Savic, a Consultant in Anaesthesia, received one of 20 NIHR20 Rising Research Leaders prizes, while fellow Consultant in Anaesthesia Dr Caroline Thomas won one of 20 NIHR20 Research Delivery Leaders prizes. Both winners receive a £10,000 professional development award, paid to the Trust, plus access to bespoke leadership training. The prizes were created to mark the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s 20th anniversary, honouring outstanding leadership, inclusion and impact across the research sector.
Dr Savic’s work centres on making care both safer and more effective for people with drug allergies, a condition affecting an estimated nine million people in the UK. As part of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Leeds, she has helped show that non-specialists can safely remove incorrect penicillin allergy labels, research now feeding into national policy and the UK’s long-term allergy strategy.
Building research skills
Having recently completed a fellowship with the centre, she now works as its emerging research capacity development lead, supporting other researchers coming through. She also chairs the UK’s first multidisciplinary network for specialists treating life-threatening surgical allergic reactions, and has helped build a peri-operative research team at the Trust that has recruited thousands of patients into NIHR studies — through training programmes, one-to-one mentoring and work with collaborators nationally, she is helping build up research skills across clinical teams, while also encouraging patients directly to get involved in studies.
Dr Savic said: “I am thrilled to receive this award and grateful to the NIHR for its sustained commitment to supporting research and research leadership. The NIHR has been fundamental to my research journey, providing the infrastructure, partnerships and opportunities needed to translate research into improvements in patient care.
“I am particularly pleased that research into drug allergy is being recognised in this way, as this is a public health issue affecting millions of people in the UK and impacting every area of healthcare. I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues and patients to improve the diagnosis, prevention and management of drug allergies, translating research into meaningful improvements in care and outcomes.”
Boosting capacity
Dr Thomas, a clinician whose leadership in perioperative research is recognised nationally, focuses on improving both patient outcomes and access to research opportunities. She currently leads an NIHR-funded trial on perioperative pain relief and is studying part-time for a PhD examining how socio-economic deprivation affects patients treated at the Trust. Her prize recognises work widening access to research for patients and staff and boosting research delivery capacity across the region — work that’s helped recruit more than 21,000 patients into clinical studies via 1,500 investigators across over 200 UK sites.
Dr Thomas said: “I am absolutely delighted to receive this award. Recognition like this is always a surprise, especially so in this case given the very competitive selection process. Over the past 20 years, the NIHR has transformed the delivery of healthcare research, and I am very grateful to have been able to play a part in this. Since 2021, our dedicated anaesthesia research delivery team has become well-established and has recruited over 4,000 patients to more than 17 clinical studies. This has significantly strengthened local research capacity and enables opportunities for staff development and training in research.”
Health Innovation Minister James Frith said: “Patients benefit most when our world-leading research delivers the latest innovations to those who need them, when they need them. That’s why we’re recognising 40 research leaders across England for their life-changing work transforming the care patients receive. This is our 10-Year Health Plan in action, bringing together the brilliance of British science with the power of our NHS.”
Both winners will collect their prizes at the NIHR Academy Members Conference in Leeds on 6 October.
