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A number of individuals and teams based at the NHLI received invitations and honours to this year’s Staff Recognition Awards and Imperial Garden Party.

Held on Wednesday 8 July, this year’s celebrations featured a number of recent success stories that have come out of the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), from professional services apprenticeships to research projects and support teams. NHLI is proud to showcase such exemplary commitment to excellence across the board in our staff community.

Lynne Cox Award for Excellence in Research Support

The Lynne Cox Award recognises individuals and teams whose outstanding contributions and innovative approaches have a meaningful impact on Imperial’s research.

This year’s winner was David Gaboriau, a microscopy specialist at NHLI’s Facility for Imaging by Light Microscopy (FILM). On receiving this award, he said, “I'm delighted and honoured.”

Highlighting the work of his colleagues, Dr Gaboriau said, “Although individual, this is only possible with the fantastic support of the whole FILM team and management, past and present, who have worked to make FILM a friendly and successful place for the Imperial community to come image and do the best science possible. I’d like to say a huge thank you to all members of the FILM team and the steering committee for their support over the years."

“I am looking forward to many more years of imaging and of exciting science!”

President’s Awards for Excellence in Societal Engagement

The President’s Award for Excellence in Societal Engagement honours staff who have shown exceptional dedication to delivering meaningful engagement activities and promoting a culture of societal engagement.

The team from – including Ellen Dowell (Creative Producer of Public Engagement), Clare Lloyd (Professor of Respiratory Immunology) and Simone Walker (Senior Research Technician) – received the team award in this category.

Women & Asthma is a public engagement project, funded by the Wellcome Trust, which worked with lived experience participants, community partners and creative collaborators to explore the impact of asthma on women’s lives through craft and storytelling.

Creative Producer Ellen said, “Receiving the President's Award is recognition of the remarkable community brought together through this project and of the power of combining research with lived experience. Above all, it reflects the commitment, generosity and trust of everyone involved – travelling across the country to take part in workshops and events, sharing deeply personal experiences, and listening to each other with openness and care."

“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, raising awareness of asthma research and the impact of asthma on people’s lives.”

Researcher Simone added, “It a pleasure to be able to receive this award as part of the team of creatives, lived-participants and scientist that made up the Women & Asthma project – . Without all, the project could not have been a success."

"This was a very different type of public engagement to anything I had done before, and the end result has been very rewarding for all involved. I am grateful to have been part of something that has allowed these voices and stories to be heard.”

Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Animal Research

JB Guichard, Honorary Research Associate at NHLI, was awarded the Application of the 3R’s (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) Award in Animal Research for his work on a project entitled ‘Refinement Driving Reduction: vA Restraint-Free Paradigm for Chronic Rodent Disease Models’.

Speaking about the award, Dr Guichard said, “I am very grateful to receive this nomination, which recognises a project that was built on the idea that animal welfare and scientific quality should advance together.”

“In our chronic cardiometabolic rat model, procedural stress was not only a welfare concern but also a direct scientific confounder, as it could affect autonomic tone, heart rate variability and electrophysiological measurements. We therefore developed and implemented a restraint-free, habituation-based dosing approach, combining voluntary oral administration, refinement of subcutaneous procedures, and strain-specific husbandry improvements.”

“Across more than 1,600 chronic administrations, we were able to completely eliminate mechanical restraint, reduce handling time, and improve welfare monitoring, while also strengthening the robustness of the physiological data. For me, this work shows that refinement is not only an ethical responsibility, but also a powerful driver of better translational science."

JB also thanked his many collaborators, adding, "I am especially grateful to the NACWO, NVS and NTCO teams at Imperial, as well as to colleagues at the Montreal Heart Institute, whose expertise and support were essential in turning this into a sustainable operational standard.”

Imperial Garden Party

The Imperial Garden Party celebrates staff and ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ who have made exceptional contributions, supported key initiatives, or embraced new challenges.

All invitees were nominated by their colleagues or by ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½, in recognition of their commitment to Imperial’s core values of respect, collaboration, excellence, integrity and innovation.

(l-r: Roisin Armstrong, Simone Walker, and Jacyra Da Silva Baptista)

Roisin Armstrong, Section Manager, and Simone Walker, Senior Research Technician, were nominated for successfully completing the Imperial and Corndel Data-Driven Professional Programme Level 3 Apprenticeship.

On being nominated, Roisin said, “It was a lovely ​surprise to be invited. I really valued the opportunity to complete the Data Technician apprenticeship, and it was extremely useful in expanding my Excel and Power BI skills in data analysis and visualisation."

“I now use the skills I have learnt every day in my role as a Section Manager, and they've made a real difference to how I approach my work. It's very rewarding to have the development recognised, and I'm grateful to have been nominated.”

Simone said, “I am extremely thankful for my nomination from the Learning and Talent team. It’s wonderful that my efforts and commitment to enhance my skills, and contribution to college are recognised at this level."

“I undertook this apprenticeship during a period of vast change – a campus move and staff changes. Juggling all the demands on my time was a challenge, but with the support of my line manager and utilising my communication and time management skills, I ensured that high standards were maintained at all times.”

Jacyra Da Silva Baptista, Staffing and EDI Coordinator, was nominated for completing a Team Leader/Supervisor Apprenticeship.

On receiving a nomination, Jacyra said, “I am honoured to be invited to the Imperial Garden Party and to be recognised for my work in completing the apprenticeship. The apprenticeship has been a valuable opportunity to develop my leadership skills, build confidence, and apply what I've learned in my role at Imperial."

“I'm grateful for the support and encouragement I've received from my colleagues and managers throughout the programme. It is a privilege to be recognised alongside so many colleagues whose contributions make a positive difference across the University."