Prof Pearse steps down
A five-fold increase in research. In the top two NHS trusts for opening new studies. The quickest in the country to set them up. Attracting the most recruits to commercial drug trials. And getting record numbers to participate in publicly funded research.
That is the legacy that Prof Rupert Pearse leaves as he steps down as clinical director of research for Barts Health and our academic partners at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).
Alistair Chesser, our chief medical officer, paid tribute to his experience, expertise and energy. “He has championed developing research across the organisation so we now have many areas which are increasingly productive in all of our hospitals.
“I am grateful to Rupert for his guidance and support, especially during the pandemic when his steady hand helped make us one of the most research-productive Trusts in the country. He combined this with a high media profile, explaining with great skill and charisma the realities of looking after severely ill patients with Covid.”
Maintaining our track record will be key to the success of our emerging clinical strategy, bolstered by the opening of our new clinical research facility at The Royal London, the work of the Academic Centre for Healthy Ageing at Whipps Cross, and planning permission for a life sciences development in Whitechapel.
- The number of research publications by authors affiliated to Barts rose from just over 500 in 2012 to more than 2,500 in 2021
- We opened 255 new studies in 2023/24, only three behind the NHS leaders at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
- We have the shortest average set-up time in the NHS (59 days)
- In the last year we recruited a record 23,000 patients to research projects, putting us top in the UK for commercial drug trials and seventh overall
- The Royal London leads the way, and has overtaken St Bartholomew’s on numbers involved in commercial trials, while Newham has overtaken St Bartholomew’s on publicly-funded projects.
- Our research activity earned almost £40m last year, over a quarter of which came from 415 commercial projects.
Rupert remains professor of intensive care medicine at QMUL and will continue his research alongside his clinical practice as a Barts Health consultant. He said: “The evidence shows that patients treated in research-active hospitals have better outcomes regardless of whether they are directly involved in the research, owing to the effects of research culture on clinical services.
“Given these benefits, ensuring all of our hospitals and departments are research-active is a health equity issue. We want all of our patients to benefit from this culture, and are now in an excellent position to achieve that.”