The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) and Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM) are pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 awards. There are two winners of the Established Clinician award: Dr Jeremy Henning and Dr Gary Mills. Now in their sixth year, these joint awards recognise the outstanding contributions of NHS doctors conducting intensive care research alongside their normal jobs.
Established Clinician
Dr Jeremy Henning
Dr Henning is a consultant at South Tees NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Henning has been an active clinical researcher for many years, and he has been the local PI for many NIHR projects - often in the top 10 recruiting sites. He has also carried out conflict related research when he was in the Army, and has a developing portfolio in MedTech evaluation. It has, however, been as the Research Lead in his local Intensive Care Unit that he has made most impact. Although the unit managed to keep some studies going through COVID, research delivery almost stopped in the immediate aftermath due to retirements and the sad death of Professor Bonner who had built the portfolio up over several years. Dr Henning was determined to make sure this legacy was built on, and managed to bring the department back to the vibrant research focussed centre that it is today - now running many studies, with a team of nurses supporting not only established PIs but also bringing on new PIs, with a focus on AHPs.
This award means a lot to me, I was very much thrown into the deep end when I took on the Research Delivery team at James Cook, but, with the hard work of my fellow researchers, and the support of our Research Alliance funding ever more time, the unit has gone from strength to strength. This award really reflects the goodwill, effort and time of others, I merely collect it in their behalf.
The Established Clinician
Dr Gary Mills
Dr Mills is a Consultant in ICM and Anaesthesia Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Hon Professor of Critical Care Medicine and Perioperative Medicine Sheffield University and Research Lead for Yorkshire and Humber Critical Care NIHR CRN.
Research is difficult and a low priority for many, despite its vital role highlighted by the covid pandemic. Research relies on inspired individuals who need protected time, support, space and reduction in barriers. They need to be part of a valued enthusiastic multiprofessional team who recruit to studies and create new ones. This is important for the evidence research brings and for UK ICM to avoid an increasing dependence on other specialties.
I surveyed the Yorkshire/Humber region and found a positive relationship between recruitment into studies and the presence of embedded critical care research nurses. Prior to covid we developed a form of hybrid working with research nurses embedded in intensive care half time research and half-time clinical, which we have recently revived; enabling multidisciplinary contact with research, right from the morning handover, reducing barriers and enabling PIs to sustain recruitment in NIHR portfolio studies,
I have been fortunate to work with inspired researchers; as a HO with Professor Bardhan (gastroenterologist in Rotherham), a PhD in respiratory muscle function/failure with Profs Sir Malcolm Green and John Moxham at the Imperial NHLI/Brompton Hospital and King’s College London, my PhD collaborators in London, Paris, Sahlgrenska and Athens, support from Prof Tim Evans, economic/age research with Dave Edbrooke (enabling me to present the European Charter for Inclusion of Older People in Clinical Trials, to the EU Parliament in Brussels) and Prof Paolo Pelosi in the European Provenet group (I became ESAIC lung lead). Following three EPSRC grants (with Prof LInkens/Mahfouf) on intelligent systems in ventilation and critical illness, I presented on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare at the Royal Society in 2019. These researchers inspired me to gain UK grants to run PROVHILO, PROBESE, PROVENT, PROTHOR, AVATAR, also the Australia/NZ BALANCED project as the UK CI. This perioperative research enabled me to join Prof Rob Copeland at Sheffield Hallam University in a £2million application for funding of the Active Together Prehab/Rehab program, which is now benefitting hundreds of patients.
The European collaboration proved vital during the Covid pandemic preparation as Italian research colleagues provided important real-life experience, which helped me develop the early covid safety bulletin (ViRUS), then the FICM Safety Bulletin and Recurrent Incidents work and now membership of the ESICM Safety Faculty. Current work as a co-applicant in the successful HTA grant funded RELEASE APRV and NAVA studies (and restarting CPEXTUBATE and our Functional MRI lung study after covid) relies on the ongoing support of the unsung PIs, who work for little reward compared to other aspects of medicine. Therefore, with the support of the NIHR National Specialty Group for Critical Care Research I am launching the “Time Allocated for Research and its Distribution in Intensive care- national Survey: TARDIS, with the help of nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy, ACCP and AHP leaders in research. This will examine the time/facilities available across the whole ICM multidisciplinary team for research. We are stronger when we work together.
I would like to dedicate this FICM/NIHR award to all the individual researchers, including CIs, PIs, those who recruit patients into studies, supportive CDs and the BMedSci, PhD and other research students who are so necessary for the success of UK intensive care.
Words of recognition
As we continue on our path towards College status, a key function of the future College of ICM will be to drive improvement in health and patient care. Research is a key pillar of that transformation and I'm delighted that once again we are able to support the enthusiasm and engagement of NHS clinicians with this NIHR award.
More information about the awards and previous winners can be found at https://www.ficm.ac.uk/ficmnihr-awards