Professor Nicholas Harvey has been honoured with the 2024 David Barker Award for Research.
The Award recognises outstanding contributions to medical research. It is presented each year to a consultant at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) with over a decade of service.
This year’s prize was presented by Professor Philip Calder during a UHS Spotlight event. These celebrate excellence across the hospital.
Celebrating research excellence
The award is named in memory of Professor David Barker, a leading medical professor in Southampton.
He was Director of the MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit at the University of Southampton from 1984 to 2003.
He was awarded a CBE for services to Preventative Medicine in 2006, and passed away in 2013.
Globally leading clinical academic
Professor Harvey is Director of the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre (LEC). He is also President of the International Osteoporosis Foundation. He a globally leading clinical academic.
His research spans the entire lifecourse, directly impacting clinical care. It has, for example, informed guidance on vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy.
Professor Harvey is an architect of the international fracture risk assessment tool FRAX®. He has also contributed to key UK and global guidelines.
He is part of the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
Signifying a ‘strong relationship’
In receiving the honour, Professor Harvey paid tribute to the longstanding university-hospital partnership.
“I am absolutely delighted to receive this prestigious award,” he said. “This is a recognition of the excellence and dedication of a large number of colleagues and collaborators across the MRC LEC, NIHR BRC, wider University and NHS trust, and worldwide.
“As the current Director of the MRC LEC, it is a particular honour and pleasure to receive the David Barker prize, honouring as it does a previous incumbent of this position.
“It serves as a wonderful sign of the strong relationship between our university and hospital, and the truly world-leading impact that comes from research undertaken across this partnership."