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Professor Parth Narendran, Honorary Consultant Physician at University Hospitals Birmingham, has received national recognition for his pioneering work in type 1 diabetes after winning the Research (Patient Engagement) Award at the Royal College of Physicians’ Excellence in Patient Care Awards 2026.

The award recognises Professor Narendran’s leadership of the ELSA (EarLy Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes) programme, a UK-first study designed to identify children at risk of developing type 1 diabetes before symptoms appear.

By detecting the condition earlier, ELSA is helping to reduce emergency diagnoses and ensure children and their families receive education, clinical support and regular monitoring before insulin treatment is required. It also identifies children for newly available medicine to delay the development of insulin-requiring type 1 diabetes.

More than 40,000 children aged 3-13 have already been screened as part of the first phase of the study, with results showing that screening is effective and feasible in a real-world setting.

The second phase of the research, ELSA 2, launched in January and will expand screening to all children across the UK aged 2-17 years, with a focus on younger children (2-3 years) and older teenagers (14-17 years).

Professor Narendran was presented with the award at a ceremony held at the Royal College of Physicians’ (RCP) northern headquarters, The Spine, in Liverpool on Thursday 9 July.

Professor Narendran said: “We envision that the future of type 1 diabetes care will be to identify patients at the very earliest stages, before they need insulin, and keep them there with newly available medicines. The ELSA research study is an effort in this direction and is a huge piece of work, supported by clinical research teams around the four nations, clinicians, laboratory scientists, patient charities, and, of course, patients and families. We are very grateful to the RCP for this recognition.”

The RCP Excellence in Patient Care Awards celebrate members and fellows worldwide who are driving improvements in patient care through education, clinical practice, research and policy.

This year’s winners represent NHS trusts across the UK and organisations as far as Hong Kong, showcasing the very best in innovation, compassion and clinical leadership.