New Year Honours

Leading figures from across the University community have received royal recognition in the annual Queen's New Year Honours.

Professor Keith Harding, director of the University's Wound Healing Research Unit and the TIME Institute in the School of Medicine and Professor Judith Hall, head of Anaesthetics, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine also in the School were honoured with a CBE and OBE respectively. Emeritus Professor of Medicine, John Williams, was awarded an OBE.

Welcoming the news, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan said: "On behalf of the whole University, I would like to congratulate those individuals who have received honours. Their hard work and dedication has helped transform healthcare and medicine and I am delighted that their contribution has been recognised."

Professor Harding has set up a large clinical practice for patients with wound healing problems. His research interests include outcomes research, physical measurement and biological aspects of healing. Most recently, Professor Harding co-developed a simple but effective test to predict whether chronic wounds will respond to conventional treatment, which could save the NHS tens of millions of pounds annually. He was awarded a CBE for services to medicine and healthcare.

Professor Harding said: "In accepting this award I see it as recognition of the efforts of a large team of colleagues and their hard work to benefit a group of patients who often struggle to find clinicians and researchers who are focused in this area of medicine."

Founder of the charity Mothers of Africa, Professor Judith Hall was awarded an OBE for services to Academic Anaesthesia and Charitable services in Africa. Professor of Anaesthetics, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine in the School of Medicine, Professor Hall's research focuses on immunity of the severely ill patient, mechanics of sedation and the prediction of blood loss. She set up the Cardiff University Simulation Centre in the Cochrane Building, with state-of-the art training equipment for students and is helping improve maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa though her charity work.

Professor Hall said: "I feel very honoured and I hope I can use this honour to further the things I feel passionate about: bringing research closer to patients and Mothers of Africa's work helping people in Africa help themselves though education."

John Williams, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Cardiff University, lately Professor of Medicine and Director of the Institute of Nephrology received an OBE for services to patients with renal disease in Wales. Until December 2011 Professor Williams was the Lead Clinician Advisor on renal medicine to the Welsh Government and is currently the chair of the All Wales Renal Clinical Network. 

Professor Williams said: "I am honoured to receive the award and am indebted to the many patients and clinical colleagues who have supported my clinical practice and research throughout my career as a nephrologist. Without their involvement this would not have happened."