
Clinical Research Award programmes at NUH
Time to nominate your research stars

The Research Excellence Awards recognise individuals or teams that you feel have done the most to contribute to clinical research.
For 2020 we have changed our awards programme to reflect the contributions that clinical research at NUH is making to COVID-19 research:
- the 2019-20 Research Excellence Awards will be carried over to 2020-21, with exisitng nominations combined with new nominations
- launching the COVID-19 Research Heroes Awards which will be awarded early in 2021.
Nominations
Nominations should cover activities which wholly or mostly took place during the year April 2019-March 2020 and/or April 2020-March 2021.
Nominations can be made by:
- Research colleagues (from any research partner organisation)
- NUH staff
- Patients, carers and visitors
- Partners and collaborators in our research
Nominations can be made via an online nomination form. You do not have to give us your details to nominate, all you have to do is to tell us why you think your nomination should be recognised.
Award winners
The winners will be decided by a specially-convened panel from the Research and Innovation department at NUH. The winners will be announced later in the summer (subject to COVID-19 guidelines).
Directors’ award
The Directors’ award will be selected by the Clinical Director and the Managing Director of Research and Innovation. It recognises innovation in clinical research through:
- Contribution to international research
- Contribution to national research priorities
Award categories
Nominations should be made in the following categories. The same nomination can be made in more than one category, but you must complete a separate entry for every nomination.
Individual awards
Research excellence in Industry engagement
For the development of commercial research studies, effective partnerships with industry or for support to Life Science companies in Nottingham/East Midlands.
Chief Investigator of the Year
This Award is for outstanding contribution to research and recognises consistent commitment to clinical research and its development at NUH.
Outstanding clinical contribution
For an individual who has made a significant contribution to the development of clinical research in their team, their professional group or their service area. This may include education, training and support for early career researchers; increasing research activity; or undertaking new areas of research.
Public Health research
This recognises research done in collaboration with our NHS, local authority and public health partners including primary and social care, Public Health England, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System and Integrated Care Providers.
Rising star
Recognising the achievements of an early career researcher who has made a significant contribution in their area/clinical specialty.
Team awards
Research team of the year
The team that has made the greatest contribution to the effective delivery of clinical research at NUH.
Research impact and outcome
The team whose research has made measurable contributions to the health and wealth of society.
Excellence in trials administration/management
The team that has done most to enable clinical research at NUH to grow, improve performance or improve the quality and standards of the research we do.
Innovation in patient and public involvement/engagement
Demonstrating the contribution that patients and the public have made to the impact of our research using innovative approaches to involvement, co-design or shared decision-making.
Closing date
The closing date for nominations has been extended until Friday 28 May 2021.
Recognising our COVID-19 Research Heroes

We have seen extraordinary examples of individuals and teams mobilising rapidly to the answer the national and international call for clinical research to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Behind the rapid acceleration of breakthrough science and translation of research findings into treatments and vaccines, the commitment and dedication of individuals and teams in Nottingham has been outstanding.
These awards celebrate our achievements and express our thanks for the outstanding contributions to COVID-19 research across our hospitals.
The COVID-19 Research Heroes Awards recognise the extraordinary clinical research undertaken in NUH, the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre and NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility.
We aim to highlight the positive impact research has made during unprecedented times to help protect our patients, our colleagues and our communities.
These special awards recognise individuals or teams who can truly be seen as an inspiration for high quality clinical research.
The awards cover the period between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2020. The closing date for entries is 31 January 2021.
Making a nomination
Nominations can be submitted by anyone, including colleagues, patients, the public and our partner organisations.
You can nominate either an individual or a team - or both.
Nominations can be submitted online until 31 January 2021.