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OUH Consultant awarded Emergency Medicine Professorship

27/01/2023
This article is more than one year old.

An Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) Emergency Department Consultant has been honoured by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).

Prof Alex Novak, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Ambulatory Care, was recently awarded an RCEM Associate Professorship for his contribution to developing Emergency Medicine research in Oxford and nationally.

Prof Novak is the Director of Emergency Medicine Research Oxford (EMROx), which oversees emergency medicine research at OUH and aims to foster, develop and promote emergency medicine research activity in Oxford and beyond.

Prof Novak said: "I'm delighted to have received this award, and hugely grateful to all those who have worked with and supported me and my team through this journey so far. This senior post represents a landmark moment for academic emergency medicine in Oxford and serves as recognition of the tremendous work of the EMROx team as whole, as well as our large network of collaborators within the Trust, University and Oxford BRC, as well as our industrial, clinical and academic partners across regional, national and international borders.

"The acute care sector represents a vast and challenging area of clinical enterprise, and research in this area is rapidly developing and expanding to meet its demands. We aim to establish Oxford as one of the leading centres of emergency medicine research in the UK and worldwide, and this first senior academic appointment is a significant step towards that goal."

In recent years EMROx has expanded and diversified its team to develop a growing track record of research leadership, delivery, design and publication, winning multiple grants and awards. It currently manages a portfolio of over 40 studies in the department. Key projects recognised by the RCEM award include the creation of the Thames Valley Emergency Medicine Research Network (TaVERN), and numerous studies under the National Consortium of Intelligent Medical Imaging (NCIMI) which seek to develop and evaluate artificial intelligence-enhanced imaging in clinical settings.

OUH Clinical Lead for Emergency Medicine, Dr Adham Khalek, said: "Professor Novak's appointment by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine is just recognition of the massive contribution he and the EMROx team have made to the field of Emergency Medicine research in recent years. Alex has been an absolute driving force in making our Emergency Departments such a successful hub of research. Under his direction and leadership, research has allowed our departments to benefit from extra staff, resources, conferences and wider network collaboration.

"A lot of press coverage recently has rightly been on the state of the wider urgent and emergency care system. While this is totally correct, it is also wonderful to be able to highlight all the successes that are still happening in the ED and still make this a great place to work."