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Professor Martin Landray has been honoured as part of Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. He is among a number of University of Oxford researchers to be honoured this year, many of whom have played key roles in leading the University’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Professor Landray becomes a Knight Bachelor for services to Science and Public Health. He said ‘It is a huge privilege to receive this honour for services to public health and science. It is wonderful to see our use of streamlined clinical trials to improve treatment of major causes of poor health recognised in this way. Guiding the RECOVERY trial of treatments for COVID-19 over this past year has been an extraordinary experience with important lessons for so many other conditions in the future. 

‘I am very grateful for this personal recognition – but I could not have done this alone. Medicine and science require collaboration and partnership. I am lucky to have had many truly inspirational mentors and outstanding colleagues, and I hope that all those who have supported me feel able to share in this recognition. My greatest thanks go to my wife and family who have shared this journey with me.’ 

Martin Landray is Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology in the Nuffield Department of Population Health, and Honorary Consultant Physician in the Department of Cardiology at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Martin works to further understand the determinants of common diseases through the design, conduct and analysis of efficient, large-scale clinical trials and prospective cohort studies. 

He co-leads the RECOVERY trial with Professor Peter Horby who becomes a Knight Bachelor for services to Medical Research. In June 2020, they announced that dexamethasone, an inexpensive and widely available steroid, reduced the risk of death for patients with COVID-19. Dexamethasone became standard treatment across the NHS within hours and worldwide within just a few weeks. Since then, it is estimated to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.  

Martin has also led a series of major clinical trials assessing treatments for cardiovascular and kidney disease. These have enrolled over 65,000 individuals, producing results that have modified drug licenses, influenced clinical guidelines and changed prescribing practice to the benefit of patients. He is internationally recognised for his work on better regulation of clinical trials, and also continues to practise clinical medicine as an Honorary Consultant Physician in the Department of Cardiology at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 

Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said ‘I am absolutely delighted by the recognition of our extraordinary colleagues who have worked so creatively and so tirelessly to develop a vaccine, and therapeutics, to protect us all from COVID-19. They and the teams that have supported them are saving lives around the world every day. We are all deeply proud of them.’ 

Visit the University of Oxford website for the full list of those recognised today.