Researcher receives young healthcare scientist award
December 2005
Postdoctoral researcher Dr Anthony Hobson of the Gastrointestinal Sciences research group based at Hope Hospital has been named Young Healthcare Scientist of the Year, by the Department of Health’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) Professor Sue Hill.
Health Minister Lord Warner presented the award at the first ever CSO awards held to mark Healthcare Science Week 2005.
For the last ten years Anthony has been researching gastrointestinal disorders such as irritiable bowel syndrome, and developing new diagnostic techniques for patients. He has used novel neuro-physiological approaches which look at the way the brain processes information about gut sensation to develop understanding of normal and pathological gut functions, and adapted and developed equipment to produce accurate, patient-friendly testing devices.
These devices have allowed him to investigate problems such as non-cardiac chest pain and swallowing problems after stroke, where his findings have already contributed to the development of new interventions.
Anthony said: “I was very proud to get this award, and hope that by increasing knowledge about the specific mechanisms of pain in patients with conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome we will be able to develop therapeutic and management strategies for individual patients. This will increase patient well-being as well as facilitating more efficient use of healthcare resources.
“The award is particularly well timed as we are about to embark on larger scale clinical trials of these new interventions, and are eager to raise the public profile of the research.”
Lord Warner said: “I am delighted to present these awards to key members of the NHS team, who are really making a difference to patients with their groundbreaking work. The healthcare scientist workforce is right at the heart of innovation and modernisation in the NHS.”
