NIHR Senior Investigators are among the most prominent and prestigious researchers funded by the NIHR and the most outstanding leaders of patient and people-based research within the NIHR research community.
About receiving the award Professor Keane said:
The NIHR has been central to my career as a clinical academic. I’m originally from Ireland and was working in the USA in 2008 when I first learnt about the NIHR and the amazing clinical academic pathways it offered. This led me to switch my career focus from the USA to the UK, taking up first an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer post at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, and then an NIHR Clinician Scientist award. Support from the NIHR has been absolutely essential to allowing me to produce cutting edge research in AI for healthcare. It is one of the greatest honours of my career, and I feel immensely proud, to be given an NIHR Senior Investigator award.
With the new appointments announced today, and following the appointment of Professor Sobha Sivaprasad in 2022, the NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre now has four members of this prestigious group, including Professor Alastair Denniston (newly appointed) and Professor Jugnoo Rahi (reappointed for a second four-year term). This represents a major achievement for our BRC and recognises the key role our research leaders have nationally.
Senior Investigators receive a discretionary award of £20,000 per year of appointment to fund activities that support their research. Funding is awarded for four-year appointments on the recommendation of an independent Selection Committee.
As senior members of the NIHR Academy, they help guide research capacity development and enhance the career paths of NIHR researchers. This includes participating as mentors in the NIHR mentoring programme and supporting the NIHR Future-Focused Leadership Programme as guest faculty members.
Links
Obituary for Professor Allen Goodship
The UCL community will be extremely saddened to hear that Professor Allen Goodship passed away peacefully at his home on 16th April 2025 after a long illness.
24 Jun 2025
Medical Sciences graduate named Faculty Academic Rep of the Year
Solon Fountzopoulos was recognised for his work as the Undergraduate Faculty Student Representative, supporting learning and communication across the faculty.
24 Jun 2025
Q&A with UCL’s Three-Minute Thesis Competition winner Agatha Alves Anet
We spoke to the winner of UCL's 2025 Three-Minute Thesis competition about her research on anxiety disorders.
24 Jun 2025