Paediatrician at Leeds General Infirmary and researcher at the University of York's Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) wins 'Young Investigator of the Year' for work which will “shape the way children's health services are configured”
Consultant Paediatric Oncologist Dr Robert Phillips has today been awarded the SPARKS Young Investigator of the Year for his tireless work into child and adolescent health research.
Presented at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's Annual Conference, the SPARKS award, which is funded by Sport Aiding Medical Research for Kids (SPARKS) recognises excellence in research and is offered once a year to an outstanding young medical research worker in British paediatrics.
From social media delivered medical education to research into dietetics, neuropsychology and childhood cancer, Dr Phillips' research has brought together clinicians and researchers from the UK and overseas. It has also provided clinicians as well as patients and their families, with information on which to make important healthcare decisions – this has ultimately improved the experience of healthcare for children and their families.
Dr Robert Phillips received a trophy and both he and his department received cash prize of £500 each at the award ceremony held at Birmingham's ICC, on Thursday 30 April.
On winning the award, Dr Robert Phillips, a Consultant Oncologist and Member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said:
“I was delighted and completely surprised to be given this award. It's great to see that the science of evidence synthesis, where we take the data from existing research studies and combine it, has been recognised by the College and supported by SPARKS. This sort of research maximises the value of clinical study data, not wasting any of the information which the families, children and research teams involved in these studies have worked so hard to produce."
As well as winning the accolade for his extensive clinical research, Dr Phillips was singled out for another piece of work which specifically looked at reducing hospital admissions for children with 'febrile neutropenia' - a potentially life-threatening condition developed during cancer treatment.
All patients are given an aggressive course of antibiotics which improves outcomes but can often result in unnecessary hospitalisation. Dr Phillips established an international collaboration of researchers, clinicians and patient carers including 19 research groups from 15 countries who shared data on over 5,000 episodes of the life-threatening condition. This data was combined and analysed to develop a 'risk prediction model' to work out which children are at greatest risk of severe infection. Clinicians will be able to use the model to better predict risk of severe infection, and tailor treatment accordingly to lower the risk to the patient. Children with low risk may be able to go home, whereas those at high risk may need careful monitoring and a bed beside the nurses' station.
Dr Phillips has recently been awarded an NIHR fellowship* to build on this important work.
Professor Lesley Stewart, Director of the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York, who nominated Dr Phillips, said:
“The research that Dr Phillips undertakes has great potential to impact directly on clinical practice and patient experience. It also has high potential to positively shape the way that health services are configured – an achievement of great importance for child health not only in Yorkshire, but across the rest of the UK and beyond.
“Dr Phillips is one of the most committed and outstanding young researchers that I have come across. The combination of his research, statistical and clinical skills serve to deliver research that is relevant robust and high impact. In my opinion, the SPARKS award for Young Investigator of the Year could not have gone to a more deserving clinician.”
