NHRP-supported innovation recognised as Dr Ben Hood receives national NIHR prize
Tuesday August 25, 2026
Dr Ben Hood, Cancer Research Nurse Consultant at Newcastle Hospitals and Chair of the National Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC) Research Nursing Steering Committee, has received a prestigious NIHR Research Delivery Leaders Prize.
The award recognises his national leadership in cancer research delivery and a range of innovations developed through Newcastle’s research community, including a research nursing e-learning programme supported by Newcastle Health Research Partnership that is now used across the UK.
Improving access to cancer trials
In his national role as chair of the ECMC research nursing steering committee, Ben provides strategic leadership for research nursing across early-phase cancer research, working with research nursing teams and clinical research leaders across the UK.
Alongside this, his work at Newcastle Hospitals focuses on developing and delivering innovative cancer research and improving how patients access and experience clinical trials.
The award recognises Ben’s wider contribution to research delivery, including strengthening the research workforce, involving patients and the public in research, improving inclusion and introducing innovative approaches to clinical trial delivery.
For the last 11 years, Ben has chaired the Perspectives in Cancer Research patient and public involvement group. During this time, the group has contributed to more than 100 research studies, helping to shape research questions, study design, patient information and how studies are delivered.
Recently, Ben worked with young people and their families to develop a website to provide easy-to-understand information for young people considering taking part in cancer trials. The resource has subsequently developed into a national platform used across teenage and young adult cancer services.
Homegrown in Newcastle
Much of Ben’s work has been developed through Newcastle’s research community before being taken into national networks and wider NHS and university settings.
This includes:
- One example of this impact is a research nursing education initiative led by Ben and supported through Newcastle Health Research Partnership seed funding. Originally developed to address misconceptions about research nursing and improve awareness among student nurses, the project evolved into a free national e-learning programme. Co-developed with student nurses and supported by partners across Newcastle’s research community, the programme is now used by NHS clinical research teams and universities across the UK to introduce learners to clinical research and careers in research nursing.
- An electronic consent pathway, co-produced with patients, which helped patients take part in remote research during the pandemic. The approach reduced practical barriers such as travel and additional hospital visits and has since been shared nationally.
Ben’s work has involved collaboration across Newcastle Hospitals, Newcastle University and the wider Newcastle Health Research Partnership, bringing together clinical research, education, innovation and patient involvement.
Learning from practice across NHS sites
In the fourth work package, the research will move into practice, examining case studies of NHS support programmes across three sites involved in the Workforce Voices partnership, which focuses on workforce sustainability in underserved areas. These case studies will explore how support initiatives work in real settings and where improvements could be made.
The final stage will bring everything together, convening disabled doctors, educators, organisational leaders and patients to agree practical recommendations and next steps.
“This is about sharing good practice and learning from what’s already happening locally, so it can be embedded more widely,” said Megan.
A team effort
Commenting on the award, Ben said:
“I’m absolutely delighted to receive the NIHR Research Delivery Leaders prize. Research delivery is fundamentally a team effort, and I’m particularly proud that this award recognises the contribution of research nurses and the wider research delivery workforce who make clinical research happen.
“My career has been built in Newcastle, but my work has increasingly developed a national focus through my role with the ECMC network and through work to develop research nursing, improve patient involvement and introduce new approaches to research delivery.
“I’m very proud to see that work recognised nationally, and to be able to represent Newcastle and the North East as part of this group of research leaders.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care and Chief executive officer of NIHR, said: “These prizes highlight the exceptional talent and dedication found across our health and care research community. Our winners represent the best of research leadership, driving life-changing improvements for patients – nationally and internationally – and tackling inequalities head-on.
“Our research workforce is critical to sustaining UK research capability and ensuring innovation is translated into better care and outcomes for patients. The UK’s strength in research depends on the people who lead, deliver and apply it.
“As we mark 20 years of the NIHR, we are proud to celebrate these outstanding individuals who are strengthening health and social care and making research more inclusive. The quality of the field was outstanding, and every winner should be immensely proud.”
James Frith, Health Innovation Minister, said: “Patients benefit most when our world-leading research delivers the latest innovations to those who need them, when they need them.
“That’s why we’re recognising 40 research leaders across England for their life-changing work transforming the care patients receive. This is our 10-Year Health Plan in action, bringing together the brilliance of British science with the power of our NHS.”