A BRADFORD-based consultant is to receive one of the UK's most prestigious research awards.

Dinesh Saralaya, Consultant Respiratory Physician at the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will receive the Royal College of Physician’s (RCP) NIHR Clinical Research Network 2019 award in the consultant category for “outstanding research leadership in the NHS”.

He is also Associate Director of Research at the Trust and the award is recognition for the transformation of its Respiratory Clinical Trials Unit into a global centre for severe asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) research. He said he was "truly delighted" at the honour, which he will receive on October 16 in London. The award comes with a cash prize of £6,000 which will be used to grow research further in Bradford.

The clinical trials unit has often led the way in global and European respiratory research, securing five global-first, three European and five UK-first recruits to respiratory trials in the last seven years alone, and is now home to three research nurses, a research assistant and a research co-ordinator.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals is now recognised as one of the preferred clinical trial sites in the world for severe asthma and COPD trials.

The unit’s reputation for research excellence led pharmaceutical giant GSK to choose Dinesh and his team to launch their worldwide vaccine study in COPD.

Professor John Wright, Director of Research at the Trust said: “Many congratulations to Dinesh on a richly-deserved award which recognises the significant contribution he has made to global respiratory research and respiratory patients."