14 April 2022
One of our pharmacy team, Katherine Lee, has been given a prestigious Research Support Award for her role in helping to recruit patients into the COVID clinical trials.
The accolade, from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Networks (NIHRCRN) Kent, Surrey and Sussex, was one of four awarded to recognise the “unsung heroes” of research who support R&D departments and research delivery teams across the region.
Over 66 individuals and teams were nominated, including ten other Frimley Health staff, with the four overall winners chosen by a panel of expert judges. Katherine Lee, Lead critical care pharmacist, was the winner in the Acute Trust: COVID 19 category and received a £500 reward for the Trust.
Katherine and her team have played a crucial role in the COVID clinical trials, which have been running since April 2020 to investigate the effects of wide range of different medications. The team were responsible for liaising with the local R&D team and ensuring that the correct trial medications were ordered and prescribed, and patients appropriately monitored.
The nomination stated that Katherine has “shown a high level of commitment to helping conduct research within her role as lead critical care pharmacist at Wexham Park Hospital. Without her help with conducting research, we would have been unable to safely recruit, manage and monitor all of the participants we have managed to recruit to these clinical trials.”
Katherine Lee said: “I am truly grateful for the nomination and award but it wouldn’t have been possible without the support and hard work of my colleagues and the ITU team, who were also nominated. Throughout the pandemic, we worked as a team to ensure that our patients were offered the best opportunities for available treatments. It has been an honour to play a part of this journey in research history.”
Dr Joanne Zamani, Chief Operating Officer, NIHR Clinical Research Network Kent, Surrey and Sussex said: “There are many unsung heroes who support research delivery and don’t even realise the impact of their contribution. These awards are an opportunity for us to say thank you and make them aware how valued their work is in helping to deliver research to advance patient care.”