Inspiring Welsh research recognised at Health and Care Research Wales Awards

Researchers from across Wales have once again been celebrated for their inspiring and innovative work at the Health and Care Research Wales Awards 2025.  

The awards were presented at the tenth annual Health and Care Research Wales conference on 16 October at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Opening the conference, Wales’ Chief Medical Officer, Professor Isabel Oliver, said, 

I am delighted to  join you all in celebrating 10 years of Health and Care Research Wales.  This important annual event provides an opportunity for the whole community to come together to network, share ideas and best practice.  

“Research is vital to secure a healthier Wales. It drives innovation, shows us what works best to serve populations and is critical to helping us secure healthier outcomes. 

“The achievements over the last ten years are a solid foundation for the future of research in Wales and I look forward to building on this great work in the next ten years.”  

The awards recognised the Welsh research community across four categories: Public Involvement, Health and Social Care Impact, Rising Research Star and Embedding Research, a new category for this year. A fifth award was given for the conference’s most engaging exhibition.   

The winners were decided by a panel of judges from across the sector, and were all awarded funding of up to £250 to attend a training course, conference, workshop or event to develop an area of their research skillset.   

Presenting the awards, Gareth Cross, Director of Health and Care Research Wales, said, 

It’s an honour and a pleasure to present these awards to some of the very best in Welsh research. The strength and volume of entries this year shows what an exciting and dynamic research environment we have here in Wales, and is testament to the hard work, passion and innovation of the individuals and teams involved. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for your brilliant work.” 

Read on for the full list of winners.   

Health and Care Research Award winners 2025   

Public Involvement Award: CASCADE Parents Research Advisory Group, CASCADE at Cardiff University  

This award recognises the very best use of public involvement in a health or social care research study, using the UK Standards for Public Involvement.     

The winner was CASCADE Parents Research Advisory Group. The Group is made up of parents with lived experience of children’s social care, who play an important role in directing and disseminated CASCADE’s research, including co-producing an article published in the British Journal of Social Care this summer.    

The panel was impressed with the clear demonstration of exemplary public involvement activity in practice, and praised the group’s well-structured, longstanding commitment to involvement.  

Accepting the award, Rachael Vaughan, Engagement Manager at CASCADE, said, "In social work, a lot of the interventions are done to families, not with them. Because of the nature of their experiences, it's really important that the same thing isn't done in research and that we're working with them and make sure their voices are central.   

“It’s rare to hear so much from parents, particularly those who have had the most severe intervention by social workers. We've worked really hard to work in partnership with the parents to find the best way to work together. They find it rewarding to be a part of which came through in the paper we wrote together.   

“I always remember one parent telling me that there's not much that she can do now to change things that have happened in her life and some of her circumstances, but if she can use it to change something for one other person, maybe it happened for a reason. “ 

 Health and Social Care Impact Award – ACT-for-PNMH, Cerith Waters and Jennifer Berrett, Cardiff University; Claire Traylor, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board 

This award recognises the difference Welsh research is making to people’s everyday lives and the difference people can make to that research.        

The winners were Cerith Waters, Jennifer Berrett and Claire Traylor for their perinatal mental health intervention based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT-PNMH).  

The judging panel noted the importance of this topic, the clear public involvement throughout and the “train-the-trainer” approach. ACT-PNMH has so far been introduced in five out of Wales’ seven Health Boards, and partnerships have been formed with colleagues in NHS England, USA, Pakistan and Malaysia to enable international delivery.    

Accepting the award, Cerith Waters said, "ACT-for-PNMH is a psychological intervention for the treatment of mental health conditions during the perinatal period, delivered in specialist perinatal mental health services in NHS Wales. It addresses an important gap in service provision by widening access to evidence-based psychological therapy for women with moderate to severe mental health conditions during pregnancy, or the first two years postpartum. 

“Following treatment, women experience significant reductions in psychological distress, depression and anxiety symptoms and significant increases in psychological flexibility. Further, the delivery of ACT-for-PNMH has been shown to be feasible, safe and acceptable for women and NHS services in Wales.”

Rising Research Star Award – Dr Wioleta Zeleck, Cardiff University   

This award is for researchers who are in the early stages of their health or social care research career, making significant contributions to their field, and an emerging future leader.    

The panel was impressed with the increase in submissions for this category compared to last year, but the winner was Dr Wioleta Zeleck, whose pioneering work into inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease has already received international recognition. Alongside her position as a Race Against Dementia Fellow and UK Young Academy member she is also passionate about mentoring the next generation, leading national training and supervising PhD and MSc students.   

Dr Zeleck said, “My very first fellowship was supported by Health and Care Research Wales and that was where everything started for me, looking at these conditions more generally and how we can target components for therapy.  

“I really love seeing how people progress, and I'm trying to do everything I can to support them, whether it is a training course or a different mentor or placement. I had a great mentor who supported me and I want to carry on this culture and help them as much as I can.”  

 Embedding Research – Infectious Diseases Team, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board   

This new award category recognises the achievements of individuals or teams where research is embraced, integrated into services and a core part of the organisation’s culture.   

The winner was the Infectious Diseases Research Team at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, for successfully making research part of routine clinical care. This shift in culture is evidenced by their position as a top-tier recruiter across a number of different infection trials, including the SNAP trial. Cross-disciplinary work between clinicians and the laboratory meant they reviewed every patient with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia, a common life-threatening infection. Recent trial data has proved the benefit of alternative antibiotics over the current standard of care, a finding that will change global practice.   

Accepting the award, John Underwood, Infectious Diseases Consultant at University Hospital of Wales, said, “I really believe clinical trials should be part of routine, clinical care. There will be clinical research going on in almost every field of medicine. There’s good evidence to show hospitals that are actively involved in research have better patient outcomes generally. It improves clinical care and drives up standards. It allows patients to access the latest treatments and even if they don't benefit themselves, they're benefitting people in the future.” 

Most Engaging Exhibition Award 

The conference exhibition featured a total of 27 organisations from across the Health and Care Research Wales research community.   

Delegates voted for the most engaging and creative stand throughout the day, with the award presented to the Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University.   

Read more about the tenth Health and Care Research Wales conference.