Award Professor Comninos receives prestigious research award

Professor Alex Comninos has won the prestigious researcher award in this year’s Royal College of Physicians (RCP) Awards, which is run jointly with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Alex is a consultant endocrinologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, where he heads the endocrine bone unit (bone & calcium disorders) and fracture liaison service (managing post-fracture bone health). He is also a professor of practice (endocrinology) in the department of metabolism, digestion and reproduction at Imperial College London, where he has an extensive teaching portfolio including as head of academic tutoring for clinical students. His research work directly contributes to the objectives of the NIHR Imperial BRC Metabolic and Endocrine Theme.

He is one of just two winners of this annual RCP and NIHR award nationally, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to clinical research. This reflects how Alex’s research has helped to improve care and treatment for patients, and also his commitment to creating opportunities for more staff and patients to get involved in research.

Alex’s extensive clinical research (he has published nearly 100 research papers and contributed to over £3.5 million in research funding) is focused on reproductive hormones, specifically their influence on behaviour and bones, and has led to multiple international awards and prizes. Recent highlights include early discovery studies for a new treatment (NK3R antagonists) for menopausal hot flushes, with new drugs based on these studies now available to patients which could help millions of women worldwide (Fezolinetant). His research has also recently identified kisspeptin as a potential new treatment for low sexual desire as well as bone disorders like osteoporosis, laying the foundations for drug development to support patients with a range of conditions.

Alex has also co-developed a clinical research team made up of research fellows and nurses, focusing on kisspeptin, reproductive endocrinology, behaviour and bones. He currently supervises four PhD fellows and one MD fellow investigating these themes. He also led the establishment of the Imperial Trust’s leading fracture liaison service, the top-performing service of its type nationwide. Alex continues as the clinical lead for this service and the endocrine bone unit, while also working regular shifts in acute medicine.

The RCP Awards recognise clinicians who:

• demonstrate clinical leadership, enabling their organisation to increase participation in clinical studies.
• engage with patients to inform them of new opportunities to participate in clinical research.
• contribute to the successful delivery of clinical research studies, with a particular emphasis on industry (commercial contract) studies.

Professor Alex Comninos, consultant in endocrinology and diabetes at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and professor of practice (endocrinology) at Imperial College London, said: “It’s a real honour to achieve this award from the Royal College of Physicians and NIHR. Clinical research is always a team effort and I’m grateful to the many Trust and university colleagues who work alongside me, in particular my colleagues Professor Dhillo, Professor Meeran and Dr Abbara who have supported my journey ever since I was a junior doctor here. Furthermore, I am deeply grateful to our patients who volunteer their time and trust to support our clinical trials. Without them, there is no clinical research and no medical breakthroughs.

“I’m incredibly passionate about expanding research opportunities in our hospitals and the outsized impact we can have on the lives of our patients, now and in the future. Working together, and leveraging our different expertise, we’re able to keep on pushing boundaries and ensure we remain at the cutting edge of medical science.”

Professor Tim Orchard, chief executive of Imperial College Healthcare, said: “It’s wonderful to see Alex’s huge contributions being recognised with this prestigious award. I am very proud that our Trust has so many leading researchers, like Alex, who are absolutely committed to finding new ways to improve care for our patients. This is a reflection of the vital partnership work between Imperial College London and our Trust, which brings together clinical care and academic excellence.”