University professor handed MBE at royal ceremony
A university professor from Staffordshire has been officially presented with her MBE by the Prince of Wales.
Elaine Hay was awarded the honour for services to medical research during a recent ceremony at Windsor Castle.
She said it was a "wonderful" day and one she and her family would remember for many years to come.
"After we shook hands and he congratulated me again, I walked away feeling quite overwhelmed by the experience," she said.
She added: "It was great to get the opportunity to talk to Prince William about my workplace, Keele University and Staffordshire."
Ms Hay said he was interested to hear about the research she had carried out into the causes and consequences of back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders.
Her career has involved making improvements to patient care by testing new treatments.
She is also the author of about 400 peer-reviewed papers in publications, including The Lancet and British Medical Journal.
Her work has contributed to national policies and international guidelines, and has led to services in the NHS being redesigned to reduce wait times.
In the last 30 years, Ms Hay has secured almost £40m in external grants to support new research into diseases and conditions, like osteoarthritis and tennis elbow, leading to Keele University and its partners becoming internationally renowned in the field, university bosses said.
She first came to north Staffordshire in 1994 as a consultant and senior lecturer in community rheumatology at the Haywood Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and Keele University.
In 2004 she was promoted to professor of community rheumatology at Keele and was one of the three founding members of the university's research institute for primary care and health sciences.
She led a clinical trials programme which bosses said was influential in transforming research at the university.
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Keele professors among New Year Honours recipients
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All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law. References [1] Paz-Ares L, et al. Lurbinectedin (lurbi) + atezolizumab (atezo) as first-line (1L) maintenance treatment (tx) in patients (pts) with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC): Primary results of the phase 3 IMforte trial. Presented at: ASCO Annual Meeting; 2025 May 30-Jun 03; Chicago, IL, USA. Abstract #8006. [2] Belluomini L, et al. Maintenance or consolidation therapy in small-cell lung cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Seminars in Oncology. 2022; 49(5): 389-393. [3] Roviello G, et al. No advantage in survival with targeted therapies as maintenance in patients with limited and extensive-stage small cell lung cancer: a literature-based meta-analysis of randomized trials. Clin Lung Cancer. 2016; 17(5): 334–340. [4] Paz-Ares L, et al. 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Available from: Roche Global Media Relations Phone: +41 61 688 8888 / e-mail: Hans Trees, PhD Phone: +41 79 407 72 58 Sileia Urech Phone: +41 79 935 81 48 Nathalie Altermatt Phone: +41 79 771 05 25 Lorena Corfas Phone: +41 79 568 24 95 Simon Goldsborough Phone: +44 797 32 72 915 Karsten Kleine Phone: +41 79 461 86 83 Nina Mählitz Phone: +41 79 327 54 74 Kirti Pandey Phone: +49 172 6367262 Yvette Petillon Phone: +41 79 961 92 50 Dr Rebekka Schnell Phone: +41 79 205 27 03 Roche Investor Relations Dr Bruno Eschli Phone: +41 61 68-75284 e-mail: Dr Sabine Borngräber Phone: +41 61 68-88027 e-mail: Dr Birgit Masjost Phone: +41 61 68-84814 e-mail: Investor Relations North America Loren Kalm Phone: +1 650 225 3217 e-mail: Attachment 03062025_Phase III IMforte study of Tecentriq_en
