Cathy Geeson, Deputy Chief Pharmacist at the hospital, is aiming to create a medicines optimisation assessment tool which will enable pharmacists to give the patients most at risk priority.

Funding for her research, a prestigious National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) fellowship, was applied for with the support of the NIHR Research Design Services for the East of England based at the University of Bedfordshire.

The research design facility is part of a nationwide NIHR-funded initiative to support researchers within the NHS, providing them with methodological, statistical and funding advice.

The University’s Putteridge Bury campus-based facility has staff with a broad range of expertise in health research especially within health inequalities, public health and health commissioning.

This three-year study, granted by University College London, will review over 2,000 hospital admissions and will be carried out at Luton and Dunstable Hospital and Watford General hospital

Ms Geeson said: "I'm delighted to receive the Fellowship as it will enable me to develop my clinical academic career whilst carrying out a research project which has the potential to make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of patients.

“I’m grateful to the NIHR for the opportunity, and also incredibly grateful for the support and guidance that I received from Dr Suzanne Murphy and the Research Design Service (RDS) throughout the application process. This was invaluable in supporting the development of the application, and of myself in my first major grant application. I cannot commend Suzanne or the RDS more highly.”

Dr Suzanne Murphy, associate director of the NIHR Research Design Services at the University of Bedfordshire, said: "Cathy fully deserves the Fellowship, she was an outstanding candidate with a research proposal that fully reflects the aims of the NIHR to conduct leading-edge research focused on the needs of patients. We were delighted to support her application for this very competitive award.”