Future leader in trauma research wins award

Mr M. Waqas Ilyas has received a national prize for his contributions to hip trauma research.

Mr Ilyas was named a winner at this year's Orthopaedic Trauma Society (OTS) and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) awards.

The honour recognises how he has gone above and beyond in his role as a Trainee Principal Investigator (PI). It was presented at the OTS Annual Congress in Sheffield earlier in June.

Mr Ilyas is a Specialty Doctor in Orthopaedics at University Hospital Southampton (UHS).

He is involved in multiple NIHR studies. These investigate different aspects of management in patients admitted to hospital with a broken hip.

Tackling a significant health challenge

There are more than 70,000 hip fractures in the UK each year.

This is a very serious injury, where surgery is often required to fix or replace the broken bone. Patients usually spend between one and four weeks in hospital while they recover.

It can be difficult for people with hip fractures to get the same amount of strength and movement back that they had before. This may lead to them needing to use a walking stick or frame.

Mortality is also high. Around seven percent of people with a hip fracture die within a month, and about 25% within a year.

The World Hip Trauma Evaluation (WHiTE) platform trial is assessing new interventions that could improve outcomes for hip fracture patients.

Mr Ilyas is Co-PI on three WHiTE platform studies under the supervision of Professor Douglas Dunlop in Southampton.

He previously completed the NIHR Associate PI scheme. This is a six month in-work training opportunity, providing practical experience for healthcare professionals starting their research career.

Well-deserved recognition

Mr Ilyas was nominated for the Best Musculoskeletal Trauma Trainee PI 2024–2025 award by his colleagues.

In the nomination form, they credited the “fantastic support” he has given to the Trauma & Orthopaedics and Emergency Department research team. They noted Mr Ilyas’ dedication and enthusiasm, explaining how his involvement has made a difference.

Mr Ilyas said: "It is a great pleasure to receive this award. It wouldn't have been possible without the amazing R&D team at UHS who have supported us in running these trials.

“I would like to give special thanks to Rachel, Kerry, Kate, Iberedem, Owen, Matthew, Maria, Ehiomen and Anna. I am also grateful to all the consultants and juniors who helped with recruitment for these studies, and to Ruaraidh and Renata for their support. Lastly, thank you to Prof Dunlop and Dr Baxter for their supervision and guidance.”