Dr. Tristan Clark has been awarded a Fellowship by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR supports research from bench to bedside for the benefit of patients and the economy, finding new ways of preventing, identifying and treating ill health.
Dr. Clark qualified as a doctor at Southampton in 1998 and undertook his early clinical training in Poole, Southampton, Portsmouth and Bristol. He subsequently spent time working overseas, including running TB and Visceral Leishmaniasis programmes in Sudan, with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). He completed his specialist registrar training in infectious diseases and general internal medicine in Leicester where he developed a research interest in influenza and conducted clinical trials of pandemic influenza vaccine including the first ever trial of pandemic H1N1-2009 vaccine. Dr. Clark said:
“I am delighted to have been awarded this personal NIHR fellowship. As a clinical infectious diseases physician I am constantly frustrated by the inability of standard tests to rapidly diagnose common and severe infection. This fellowship will allow me to continue my research studying the use and impact of novel molecular point-of-care tests for infections including influenza. The ultimate aim of this work is to improve the quality of patient care within the NHS.”
Professor Robert Read, Head of the Academic Unit of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, said of the award:
“This is a fabulous achievement by Dr. Clark, who has won a major cross-discipline award from the National Institute of Health Research. This will lay the foundation for internationally competitive influenza research in Southampton, and add to the growing strength of Infectious Disease research in this University.”