Three Manchester Professors recognised in King’s Birthday Honours list
Three professors from The University of Manchester have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours in recognition of their extraordinary contributions and service.
Professor Ian Hall has been awarded an OBE for his services to public health, to epidemiology and to adult social care, particularly during Covid-19, Professor Richard Wakeford has been awarded an OBE for his for services to the advancement of the science of radiation protection and Professor Paul Klapper has been awarded an OBE for services to viral diagnostic testing.
Ian Hall is a Professor of Mathematical Epidemiology and Statistics at The University of Manchester. He is a long-standing member of SPI-M (the pandemic disease modelling advisory group) and played a critical role in the operations of this group during the swine flu and Covid-19 pandemics.
During the Covid-19 pandemic he was academic chair of the SAGE working group of Social Care and participated in the SAGE Environmental Modelling Group as well as attending SAGE itself. He was also involved in a number of research projects, including the national core study on transmission (PROTECT) and Project TRACK to understand and control the risks on public transport. He also helped analyse data from a new heat map, providing a national picture of the spread over time.
Since the pandemic, Professor Hall has continued working with UKHSA through an honorary contract, notably with Health Equity Division on vaccination strategies in prison and homeless settings.
His other research interests include the impact of diseases on vulnerable populations and the study of vector-borne infectious diseases and environmental infections, such as Legionnaires Disease.
Richard Wakeford is an Honorary Professor in Epidemiology in the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH), having been Professor in Epidemiology at the Centre before retiring at the end of 2019. He specialises in the epidemiology of exposure to ionising radiation, particularly as related to radiological protection.
Professor Wakeford is a member of various committees, including the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation and the International Commission on Radiological Protection. He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, and for 25 years was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Radiological Protection.
Richard completed his PhD in high energy physics at the University of Liverpool in 1978 and worked for British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) for nearly 30 years. It was the many challenges faced at BNFL where he developed his skills in radiation epidemiology and radiological protection. He was privileged to work with Sir Richard Doll during this time. After taking early retirement from BNFL, Richard joined the University, initially through an association with Dalton Nuclear Institute and then joining COEH.
Paul Klapper is Professor of Clinical Virology at The University of Manchester. He began his career in virology in 1976 working as a laboratory technician at Booth Hall Children’s Hospital. He completed his PhD while working at Manchester Royal Infirmary on the diagnosis of herpes simplex encephalitis – a topic he continued to work on for over 20 years and led to the development of a reliable molecular diagnostic test for the condition. He also helped establish independent quality assurance testing in the infancy of viral molecular diagnostic testing.
Throughout his career, Professor Klapper has been at the forefront of several key developments of viral diagnostic testing. Notably, he worked with the Greater Manchester Hepatitis C testing strategy, developing community-based testing methods to aid control of the HCV pandemic. In 1981, he became an NHS Clinical Scientist, working in both Manchester and Leeds as a Consultant Clinical Scientist. Ten years later, in 1991 became a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathology.
On retiring from the NHS in 2012, Professor Klapper joined The University of Manchester as a Professor of Clinical Virology. Early in 2020, he volunteered to help with establishment of large scale Covid-19 testing and became the clinical lead for the Alderley Park testing facility. He also served as a Clinical Advisor for testing with the Department of Health.
Professor Klapper continues to conduct vital research in blood-borne virus infection and in congenital human cytomegalovirus infection.
The birthday honours are awarded by the King following recommendations by the prime minister, senior government ministers, or members of the public.
The awards recognise people who have made significant achievements in public life or committed themselves to serving and helping Britain.
