NCA Research & Innovation

21/11/2025

Thank you to all the participants in our Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust study looking at the role respiratory infections such as long covid play in persistently changing the immune system. We've had some wonderful about the inpatient research delivery team who support the study:
• The team have always been very friendly, polite and professional.
• Good staff, always polite and very welcoming - all is great.
• The staff are always pleasant and informative, they explain each step and why it's being done and I always receive an email for the next visit.
• I can contribute for research and help to find out how covid works for long periods after the person gets infected. Also I can speak about my health and illness and worries with the staff without any shame. I think everything is going well.

20/11/2025

Neurosurgery registrar at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust Abdurrahman Islim has co-led a research study looking at a tool developed to predict whether the most common type of brain tumour, meningioma, will grow or cause symptoms, to help clinicians make better-informed decisions in patient care.

It's great to see the results have now been published in JAMA Oncology - read more on our website https://www.ncaresearch.org.uk/news/new-tool-helps-predict-brain-tumours-require-treatment/

19/11/2025

Congratulations to neurosurgeon Miss Saba Raza-Knight from Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust who has been awarded the Norman Dott Gold Medal for the most outstanding performance in the FRCS neurosurgery board exam.
The award means she will receive an invitation to visit the Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona for up to six weeks and to attend the American Association of Neurological Surgeons congress.
Salford's clinical director for neurosurgery Professor Omar Pathmanaban, himself a previous winner of the Norman Dott Medal, said: "We are blessed to have an abundance of incredibly talented and devoted trainee neurosurgeons at Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences and Saba's incredible achievement is testament to her hard work and talent and the extraordinary breadth and depth of experience offered in our training programme."

19/11/2025

The GM Care Record is a real asset for research too!

17/11/2025

Expert advice here from Professor Akheel Syed, a consultant endocrinologist at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. He's written articles on starvation and elimination diets for the British Thyroid Foundation.

❓Can elimination diets help with weight loss?

❓Do diet, stress and gut bugs play a role in thyroid disorders?

❓Do the genetics of thyroid disease explain the problems thyroid patients have?

To explore these questions and more, take a look at our wellbeing and weight management resources 🔗 https://www.btf-weightloss.org/Registered/Advice.aspx

13/11/2025

Our research star of the month at Salford Care Organisation is iInpatient research team lead Beth Charles.
She is a tremendously kind and supportive colleague who also shares her skills and best practices generously, uplifting the capability and confidence of the wider team. She works collaboratively with staff across NCA to improve research delivery and integration within clinical practice and is a great role model, inspiring those around her through her professionalism, kindness, and commitment to high-quality research. The team say she is an inspiring leader whose passion for research drives improvements for patients, staff, and the organisation as a whole. Thank you Beth!

11/11/2025

We are hugely grateful to Prof Jackie Carter and all her colleagues and friends who are supporting the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre.
The centre, a partnership between Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, The University of Manchester and the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, is dedicated to discovering and developing new treatments and ways of care that provide better outcomes and transform the lives of patients living with neurological diseases.
As Jackie leaves her role at the university, she has asked for small contributions to fund brain tumour research in memory of the late campaigner, student Laura Nuttall, and in support of her own son, Huw, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour at just 31.
Thank you to everyone and especially Jackie.

Help Jackie Carter raise money to support University of Manchester

10/11/2025

A huge congratulations to our Library and Knowledge Service's evidence team at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust who were awarded highly commended at the London Searching and Training Forum 2025 awards in the field of best service.
The evidence team offer a great deal of support to colleagues carrying out research. Searching for relevant and reliable evidence can be a time-consuming and difficult task but the team can save you time and help you find the highest-quality evidence for your work, as well as offering specialist training for evidence and literature searches.
They also have critical appraisal training sessions, including training on levels of evidence, study types, bias and basic statistics as well as all levels of journal club support.

10/11/2025

Great to read about this All About Alopecia (AAA) event, which brought people and researchers together to share experiences, learn practical tips on living well and to hear about cutting-edge research.
As Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust consultant dermatologist Dr Matt Harries says: "We are not only sharing research but also creating community and support. That is impact in itself, and it shows why involving people in our work is so important for research that benefits all."

06/11/2025

Research is always a team effort so we're really chuffed to celebrate one of the 'behind the scenes' heroes as our research star at Oldham Care Organisation this month!
Darren Gough, from estates and facilities, might not be directly involved in delivering research but has made a big difference to our team. He has been really helpful and accommodating with making adjustments to their new office, making sure the team can continue with their day to day work with minimal disruption. He always has a big smile on his face and is happy and enthusiastic to support the team.

04/11/2025

We're so proud of research nurse Kandeel Batool who has shared her experience of hypothyroidism to help and inform others. She's a wonderful ambassador for the power of research and a tireless advocate for patients - she absolutely embodies our Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust values of care - appreciate - inspire!
https://www.btf-thyroid.org/kandeels-story-hypothyroidism
British Thyroid Foundation

Kandeel's sharing her journey with Hashimoto's to let others know that with the right treatment and support things can get better

03/11/2025

A big thank you to our research star of the month at Fairfield General Hospital, research practitioner Claire Carty.
Claire took on leading the musculoskeletal portfolio at Bury and Rochdale 18 months ago and has transformed the research service that we can offer for our patient at these sites. She has worked diligently to break down barriers and establish good working relationships with the clinical teams . Through her hard work, Rochdale was the top recruiter to the Remora 2 trial, and more recently working with PI Dr Dhivya Das they have recruited their first patient to the Leader study at Rochdale.