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The inaugural MRC Impact Prize recognises teams who have made outstanding impacts in health and medical research. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in the spring.

The RECOVERY Trial is the world’s largest study of COVID-19 therapies led by Sir Martin Landray, Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology, Oxford Population Health, and Sir Peter Horby, Moh Family Foundation Professor of Emerging Infections and Global Health, at the  Nuffield Department of Medicine’s Pandemic Sciences Institute.

 The RECOVERY Trial was a trial of COVID-19 therapies in UK hospitals at the very start of the pandemic, only 9 days after the idea was first conceived, and quickly discovered that dexamethasone reduced deaths by up to a third. It has involved over 48,000 participants and many thousands of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and research administrators at 200 hospitals. It’s been supported by staff in the NIHR Clinical Research Networks, NHS and governmental bodies, collaborators in the UK and internationally, the pharmaceutical companies that provided study treatments, and our funders including the MRC. It would not have been possible without the dedication and support of all those involved.

Professor John Iredale, MRC Executive Chair said: “These MRC prizes pay tribute to some of the extraordinary impacts that science carried out by our research community in the UK and abroad have delivered for us all. It is especially pleasing that the MRC has been able to recognise the world-class work of the two outstanding scientists receiving our MRC Millennium Medal. The impact of their work is not only via the world-class science they have undertaken but also in their championing of open and inclusive research environments that can only make UK science and research more successful. The breadth of impact achieved by the finalists in our first MRC Impact Prize competition is also hugely impressive and humbling. We are proud to be recognising scientific teams and individuals making a global difference to advance medical research.”

The winners of the inaugural MRC Impact Prize will be announced at a ceremony in the spring and will receive up to £20,000 to widen the outreach or impact of their work or to advance their learning and development.