Professor Gary Ford, Chief Executive of the Oxford Academic Health Science Network, has been identified as one of seven NHS research legends in the run-up to the NHS 70th birthday celebrations.
Professor Ford’s work to develop stroke pathways and establish the FAST public awareness campaign earned him a place alongside such research luminaries as Sir Richard Doll and Sir Magdi Yacoub in the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) ‘I Am Research’ campaign.
In a blog post supporting Professor’s Ford’s inclusion as the research ‘legend’ for the 2000s, Professor Christine Roffe said his work had transformed the treatment of stroke.
“Prof Ford has been instrumental in embedding research into almost every stroke unit in the UK … contributing to better outcomes”, she wrote.
Professor Ford said: “It has been my privilege to have worked for 25 years with highly talented committed researchers in the UK and across the world to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of stroke.
“As a stroke physician it is greatly satisfying for me to see the results of that collaborative endeavour delivered every day in stroke units across the NHS, transforming the lives of so many people with acute stroke.
“Research has changed stroke from an untreatable condition to a time-critical emergency requiring highly organised care systems.”
Professor Ford was awarded the CBE for services to research in stroke medicine in 2013.