Published on: 30th September 2025
Three colleagues from RNOH Therapies Department have been awarded NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Fellowships this year, securing a combined total of £170,000 in research funding.
Congratulations go to:
- Sophie Barlow, Highly Specialist Physiotherapist, Pain Management and Rehabilitation Team
- Lucy Fraser, Senior Rotational Physiotherapist in the Upper Limb Team
- Deborah Williams, ACP (Advanced Clinical Practitioner) Upper Limb Physiotherapist in our Upper Limb Team.
The NIHR Fellowships are prestigious and competitive awards aimed at supporting health and care professionals in developing their research careers. These fellowships provide protected time, funding, and tailored training, allowing recipients to enhance their research skills while staying connected to clinical practice. The funding also covers research and training costs, as well as backfill to free up recipients from their regular clinical duties.
A key offering is the Pre-doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (PCAF), which helps clinicians and practitioners prepare for doctoral-level study by providing research training, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Additionally, the new Pre-Application Fund has proven successful in helping staff craft strong applications for future NIHR awards.
Congratulations to Sophie, Lucy and Deborah. Their research is expected to make valuable contributions to improving patient care at RNOH.
Each of them shared some details on their respective projects:
Sophie Barlow, Highly Specialist Physiotherapist, Pain Management and Rehabilitation Team.
“In 2019 I carried out a project with the metabolic bone team via grant from the Brittle Bone society. The project investigated the therapy needs of adults with Osteogenesis Imperfecta who were attending clinic. Since then, I have presented the findings at conferences and discovered the lack of research in the area of therapy in rare bone disease.
I have since received support from the Therapies Research team and the metabolic bone consultants to explore other avenues of research funding. This led me to apply for an NIHR pre-application fellowship fund, and I was subsequently awarded £8066 in 2024 to release me from clinical hours for half a day a week for six months to write my Pre-Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (NIHR PCAF) application. This allowed me to find collaborators and build my application which was submitted in March 2025.
This application, which was supported by Queen Marys University London, was successful and I have been awarded £89,000 to undertake my PCAF on a part-time basis.
During this time, I will be writing a scoping review, completing a clinician’s survey, visiting other centres around the country who see patients with rare bone disease as well as attending training courses to support my academic research career. I will also be completing an NIHR Doctoral Award application to support my career aspirations of becoming a clinical academic. Throughout this process I have been engaging with patients and charity partners as they have a fundamental role in any research proposals moving forward. At the heart of my research is a desire to make therapy more accessible and person centred for people with rare bone disease.”
Lucy Fraser, Senior Rotational Physiotherapist, Upper Limb Team
“I applied to, and was awarded an NIHR pre-doctoral award (formerly known as the PCAF), which is an award aimed at early career researchers that provides a bespoke programme of training and development to facilitate research career progression. I developed my application as part of the RNOH/Barts/Brunel 6-month Internship Scheme RNOH/Bart’s Health and Brunel University London AHP and Nursing Research Internship Scheme is recommissioned for a second year. :: Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital utilising the time, training and mentorship provided during this programme and applied to the award with the topic of Atraumatic Shoulder Instability (ASI) and how this may relate to functional neurological disorder.
I have been awarded £72,000, which will allow me to take a full year out of my current Band 6 rotational role and will cover the costs of bespoke training courses, Masters modules, supervision and attendance at the British Shoulder and Elbow Society and CSP conferences.
Within the pre-doctoral award, I plan to further develop my research skills, increase my domain knowledge, network with other specialist units and create a PPIE group. I will also complete a scoping review during the award in order to identify knowledge gaps and direct future research.”
Deborah Williams, ACP Upper Limb Physiotherapist, Upper Limb Team
“Earlier this year I applied for the NIHR Pre-application Award Fund, which is an award aimed at early career researchers to provide them with funding for protected time away from clinical responsibilities to work up an application for an NIHR pre-doctoral or doctoral fellowship. I pleased to say that I have been successful in my application and will begin the award in September. The funding award also provides me with an opportunity for academic supervision, mentorship and to attend an international academic conference. As such I will be attending the Elhers Danlos Syndrome International Scientific Conference in Toronto in September.
My research area of interest is atraumatic shoulder instability and its common co-morbidities. This research award will also provide me with research time to write up a recent clinical study for publication, gather further data and scope relevant literature, all of will shape my PhD research question.
This application has been possible thanks to the support of a dedicated Therapies research lead, an established collaboration with Brunel University and the support of my clinical team.”