Respiratory projects led by Manchester BRC researchers recognised at Making a Difference Awards
Congratulations to researchers supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) who were recognised at this year’s Making a Difference Awards 2025, hosted by The University of Manchester (UoM).
The Awards recognise the outstanding social and environmental impact UoM staff, students, alumni and external partners have on communities and the wider society.
Members of the RADicA study team
‘Improving asthma diagnosis – the RADicA study’ was named winner of the Outstanding Benefit to Society through Research category.
The Manchester BRC-funded Rapid Access Diagnostics in Asthma (RADicA) study, aims to identify the most efficient set of breathing tests to most accurately diagnose asthma. It has also contributed to improved diagnostic guidelines for identifying and managing asthma, announced by NICE in November last year.
The RADicA research clinic is based at the NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT).
Professor Angela Simpson, along with Professor Stephen Fowler, Respiratory Medicine Theme Co-Lead at Manchester BRC and Professor Clare Murray, Asthma Programme Lead, run the study. To date, more than 400 adults and children have been recruited.
Prof Fowler said: “Professors Murray, Simpson and I would like to acknowledge the outstanding contributions, dedication and collaborative efforts of everyone involved in RADicA, including the research practitioners, doctors, and the study delivery team. Their hard work has led to significant changes in asthma diagnosis nationally.”
Speaking in the film shown at the ceremony, Jacky Smith, who is an Honorary Consultant at Wythenshawe Hospital and Professor of Respiratory Medicine at UoM, said: “The impact of the RADicA study has been twofold already. Firstly a lot of patients from primary care have been accurately diagnosed as having asthma or not, which is massively valuable to the community.
“Secondly data from RADicA has been used to inform new asthma guidelines that have just been published.” Watch the full film here.
Members of the Let’s Talk About Cough team
The ‘Let’s Talk About Cough’ project led by Prof Smith, Director of the NIHR Manchester CRF, was also Highly Commended in the outstanding public engagement initiative category. She is one of the country’s leading clinical academics in the field of cough and also Inflammation Cluster Lead for the NIHR Manchester BRC.
Let’s Talk About Cough created empathy and understanding about chronic cough and its significant impact on people’s lives through the creative sharing of personal stories. The project produced an innovative audio work that shared the voices of those affected by chronic cough, exploring the complex nature of this often-misunderstood condition.
The 2025 Awards ceremony took place in UoM’s Whitworth Hall on Thursday 8 May, with Chancellor Nazir Afzal OBE and Vice-Chancellor Duncan Ivison. They celebrate how these achievements are making a difference and offer the opportunity to share best practice about social responsibility initiatives and encourage others to get involved.
Read more about the Making a Difference Awards 2025 winners and highly commended teams on The University of Manchester website.