SurfON Star Nominations
Published on Tuesday, 17 September 2024
In July 2024, we put out a call for nominations to recognise the exceptional work of our SurfON colleagues. We were overwhelmed by the positive responses and the heartfelt nominations we received. It was inspiring to read about the dedication, compassion, and hard work demonstrated by so many individuals across our SurfON sites.
We are proud to highlight just a few of the many deserving nominees and share the inspiring comments submitted by their colleagues.
Dr Harsha Gowda, consultant neonatologist in Birmingham Heartlands Hospital. He is amazing in keeping everyone motivated to recruit babies for SurfOn, he makes sure we know the latest updates, and he is incredibly passionate about research.
Eileen Foster, Birmingham Heartlands
I would like to nominate Dr Eleanor Jeffreys and SN Katie Edwards from the King's College Hospital team. They have really kicked us on in terms of identifying and recruiting patients. In addition, they have supported the medical and nursing staff on the ward. They have often stayed late to answer parent's questions or to ensure the study runs smoothly on our site.
Dr Christopher Harris, King's College Hospital
Victoria Melvin she is our research nurse and has made me inspired to continue to do my best to recruit and educate about our studies on the unit.
Stacey Dixon, The Princess Royal Hospital
Amy Skinner has been a fantastic API in the short time that she has been undertaking this position. She is always screening and engaging with the junior doctors in relation to study eligibility of all babies on the unit.
Helen Harizaj & Cynthia Kenala, Medway Maritime Hospital
When Richard is on duty he always ensures that we are notified of any potential Surfon Babies, and he will always approach the parents himself if on nights, he is a great help to the team.
Joanne Windrow, Liverpool Women's Hospital
Kathy is the lynchpin of our local SurfON project, without whom I feel like we could not run the study as well as we have. Kathy was our point of contact within the Neonatal team, introducing many staff to research for the time and assisting us in maintain GCP compliance. Kathy is a cheerleader for SurfON, constantly keeping the study in everyone's mind and actively screening. Kathy is so dedicated to the study, that I've actually lost count of the number of times she's came in on her day off to recruit new participants
Ryan Coe, Darent Valley Hospital
Sobhanman Mukhopadhyay, ST1 Paediatrics -the most helpful trainee currently in rotation in our NICU, had a significant contribution to the large number of babies recruited in May, and, as I was typing this nomination, I got another email to say he randomised another infant. I feel like Universe is backing me up on this.
Dr Raducu Clapuci, Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital
I would like to nominate Shakir Saeed PI for his outstanding contribution to research in particular opening of the SurfON Trial. As a hospital site, SurfON is the first neonatal trial to open here in Betsi and we are also in process of opening neoGASTRIC. Go team Betsi! Shakir is passionate about research and provides lots of teaching sessions for staff and it is a pleasure to work alongside him.We have recruited 10 participants and have now extended our target to allow another 10 recruits here in Bangor. Shakir has also had a leadership nomination and is more than a worthy champion for SurfON trial.
Hilary Owens, Ysbyty Gwynedd
My colleague, Kelly Deakins, is a clinical trials assistant that joined the SurfON trial in April 2023, when she had not long been in the research team and was fairly new to research.
Since joining she has been an amazing asset to the SurfON trial. She straight away was so interested in the study and couldn't wait to get involved in every way that she could, and it was amazing to have someone to share the excitement with when a SurfON recruit came through.
Although not directly consenting and randomising infants onto the trial, so her name rarely appears, she works really hard in the background ensuring everything is as it should be and doing everything in her power to make sure everything is done well. She has often stayed late past her shift end time to ensure things are sorted before she leaves, and always has such a lovely, friendly and positive attitude with everyone. She has really been amazing!
As the main research nurse for SurfON it is sometimes hard for me as I work across two sites and I'm the lead on lots of other paediatric trials, so if we have a SurfON infant randomised, I am sometimes not available to be back on site for a few days, but as Kelly is based here at Grimsby she is around a lot more often and is always straight onto the unit to check the consent form, that the eligibility is documented, randomisation is ok, and that all the other paperwork is in order. She's also been amazing in approaching the mothers with the questionnaires, checking their contact details, and even chasing those up that we missed on the day of discharge. She checks the nursing staff are happy with the respiratory logs and supports the unit so well as a whole. She is also very supportive of the medical staff, helping wherever she can from obtaining signatures on CV's to supporting the consenting/randomisation process of an infant. She also loves to ensure that all infants receive their SurfON certificate! Even when we've occasionally had some issues or problems, she's handled it so well and she is so thorough, you know that she'll have done a good job at resolving the problem to the best of her ability.
I cannot sing her praises enough, I don't know what we'd do without her! She's been such a help to the study, and is always so enthusiastic and she really enjoys being involved with the SurfON study, so I really feel that she deserves a nomination for special recognition.
Jasmine Stares, Diana Princess of Wales, Grimsby
I would like to nominate Jo Lavelle, ANNP, at Leicester for the SurfON special recognition. Jo is the reason we recruited our very first baby just one day after we opened by thinking SurfON and letting us know even as the baby was being wheeled into the unit! Since then she has remained a strong advocate for SurfON, including recruiting, confirming eligibility and generally being very supportive of this and other studies on the unit and research in general (she even took on the role of PI for another study).
Marie Hubbard, Leicester Royal Infirmary
I'd like to nominate Dr Birgit Wefers in Ninewells Hospital. She has shown dedication and persistent enthusiasm for SurfON, which has helped us in more ways than just SurfON. There was a hesitation within the team at the start of the study, as we were relatively new to the less invasive surfactant technique, however, through the persistent encouragement and raising awareness of criteria, and the benefits of this study, Birgit has made it feel like a much more attainable goal. We are all now much more comfortable with the less invasive technique and are utilising it more often, not just in relation to SurfON.
She has produced aid memoires and up to date information is widely visible in hot spot areas. I am grateful to her for the focus and determination she has displayed, in helping us play a part in this exceptionally important study for our babies and families.
Kathleen Brown, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School
I'd like to nominate my amazing Clinical Research Fellow colleague Ella Dzora. She is incredibly enthusiastic and has done an amazing job this year of getting involved in the SurfON study and has helped deliver regular training and updates for the study to the Neonatal Team. Sadly, she will be leaving us soon, and will be missed, but she has made a big difference to our team whilst she's been with us.
Jane Muir, Leeds General Infirmary
I would like to nominate Alison Youdale, our senior ANNP on the unit. She always screens and recruits for SurfON whenever possible. She is a research champion.
Helen Harizaj, Medway Maritime Hospital