Congratulations to Dr Katherine Walesby, Ms Elaine Francis, and Dr Angeline Price!
The BGS Rising Star Awards are given out each year to people who show exceptional promise in their research or clinical quality work and have the potential to be leaders within the field of healthcare for older people.
This year, we have awarded three Rising Star Awards: one for research, one for clinical quality, and one specifically for nurses and allied health professionals in research.
Rising Star Award for Research
Winner: Dr Katherine Walesby
Katherine is a Specialist Registrar (ST7) in Geriatric and Internal Medicine in Edinburgh and an Honorary Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh.
Her research focuses on using routinely collected data to ascertain dementia, with particular attention to the importance of country-specific data and the role of geographical information in understanding variation in dementia diagnoses.
Alongside her clinical and dementia research work, she is a member of the Public Health Scotland Technical Advisory Group supporting the development of a new Dementia Index using routinely collected data.
Over the coming years, she aims to build on her research investigating dementia diagnosis and location using routinely collected data. Her goal is to use the data to inform healthcare needs and gain a better understanding of geographical variation in dementia prevalence through collaborative research.
Katherine said:
I am deeply honoured to have been awarded the British Geriatrics Society Rising Star in Research award. It is a privilege to be part of an organisation with inspiring individuals committed to improving care for older people.
My research journey has been shaped by challenges, as well as incredible support. I am very grateful to the many clinicians, academics and mentors who have supported and encouraged me over the years. I hope this recognition also enthuses others to engage with research in geriatric medicine.
Thank you to the BGS for this prestigious award. I am excited to continue contributing to research that improves outcomes for older people.”
Rising Star Award for Clinical Quality
Winner: Ms Elaine Francis
Elaine is a Registered Mental Health Nurse, Professional Nurse Advocate and Specialty Clinical Educator at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Her work focuses on workforce development, quality improvement and compassionate, personhood-led care for older people living with frailty, dementia and complex needs, alongside their carers and families.
Elaine leads the Trust’s Enhanced Care for Older People (EnCOP) workforce development programme, delivering innovative, evidence-based education across acute, community and non-clinical settings.
Alongside her leadership role, Elaine is undertaking a PhD exploring how frailty influences hospital discharge decision-making for women. Over the coming years, she aims to further embed frailty-informed practice across healthcare systems, continuing to champion compassionate, relational care that places older people, carers, families and the workforce at the heart of every decision.
Elaine said:
I am absolutely delighted and deeply honoured to receive the BGS Rising Star Award for Clinical Quality. This recognition reflects a journey shaped by personal experience and a deep commitment to improving care for older people and those living with frailty, grounded in the belief that compassionate, personhood-led care is everyone’s responsibility.
I am sincerely grateful to Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for its encouragement, continued support, and trust. I am also grateful to colleagues across the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, whose EnCOP workforce development programme has enabled meaningful, system-wide learning and improvement.
I would like to thank the British Geriatrics Society for recognising the vital role of workforce development and quality improvement in transforming care for older people. I hope this recognition encourages others to lead with curiosity, courage and compassion, and to continue championing frailty as a shared priority across all areas of healthcare.
This award highlights that frailty is everyone’s business, and that real improvement happens when education, practice and decision-making are shaped by the voices of older people, carers and families, and supported by a confident, compassionate workforce."
Rising Star Award for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals (NAHPs) in Research
Winner: Dr Angeline Price
Angeline is a nurse and researcher working at Salford Royal Hospital. Since qualifying, she has worked across both acute and community settings, developing expertise in the care of older people. She holds an MSc in Advanced Practice and recently completed an NIHR funded PhD exploring the impact of emergency laparotomy on older people living with frailty. Angeline is the Nurse/AHP Clinical Lead for the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit, Chair of the Royal College of Nursing Perioperative Forum and Meetings Secretary for the British Geriatrics Society.
Over the next five years, Angeline aims to continue developing as a nurse clinical academic, progressing into more senior roles that enable her to embed nurse-led innovation across services for older people nationally.
Angeline said:
Receiving the BGS Rising Star Research Award for NAHPs is a huge honour. Being recognised in this way at the conclusion of my PhD is deeply rewarding, allowing me to reflect on my journey as a nurse researcher and underscoring how research and leadership can directly improve outcomes for older people. The award highlights the vital role that nurses and other professionals play in advancing research, service development, and innovation to enhance the experience and quality of care for this population.
This award also reflects the invaluable guidance and encouragement I have received from other nurses throughout the BGS. Their support has been instrumental in my own development, and I hope this recognition continues to shine a light on the importance of nurturing and celebrating nursing leadership within geriatric medicine, inspiring others to pursue research, service improvement and innovation in their own practice.”
Learn more about our Rising Star Awards.
