A Royal Free Hospital clinical academic nurse has received an award in support and recognition of her work in diabetes and kidney disease.

Dr Hellena Habte-Asres has been granted the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) senior clinical practitioner postdoctoral award. This award provides funding, enabling her to continue her research programme aimed at addressing the important gap in diabetes care for individuals with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). 

Hellena's research aims to improve the health outcomes of people living with diabetes and advanced CKD by developing and evaluating an integrated care model. Additionally, she is seeking to assess the economic impact of these integrated care models on healthcare systems to ensure their sustainability and scalability, while also enhancing the quality of care.

Hellena said: “I’m very grateful to the NIHR for their support and recognition of the importance of this research. I also want to express my appreciation to Professor David Wheeler, Professor Dorothea Nitsch, Professor Angus Forbes, Dr Sally Hamour, Dr Miranda Rosenthal and Alisha Ali, as well as all the stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, people with diabetes and CKD, and their families, who contributed to the development of this project.

“With this funding, I am committed to advancing the understanding and management of diabetes in individuals with advanced CKD. Thank you to everyone involved for their invaluable support and commitment to this important endeavour.”