Our People

Professor Dinesh Saralaya

Clinical Director, NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre Bradford, Consultant Respiratory Physician

Dinesh is currently a Consultant Respiratory Physician, Honorary Senior Lecturer at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Director for The National NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre, Bradford. He leads the severe asthma service at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bradford. He has also been the Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Bradford Institute for Health Research since 2014.

Dinesh is the National Clinical Lead for Industry for the Respiratory Disorders Speciality Group, NIHR and Strategic Clinical Lead for Industry Research at the Yorkshire & Humber Clinical Research Network.

Dinesh has led the Respiratory Clinical Trials unit at BIHR since its inception in 2009. This unit has grown to become one of the largest self-funded respiratory clinical trials in the UK. The unit is one of the top 5 most reliable & experienced severe asthma clinical research units in the UK. He has been the chief co-ordinating investigator in the UK for over 40 multi-national phase 2 & 3 severe asthma and COPD trials. The Unit has recruited several Global and European first patients into these trials. The unit attracts patients for its Clinical Trials Programme from across the Yorkshire region. The unit has well established links with all major pharmaceutical companies as well as major clinical trials organisations. He has particular interest in inhalation profiles in patients with severe asthma and COPD and has published his work in this field. In 2018-19 Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was the only large acute trust in Yorkshire & Humber to achieve >80% recruitment to time and target in the clinical trials run at the centre. This culminated in Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation trust being chosen to host one of 5 National NIHE Patient recruitment centres. Dinesh has co-authored several original research papers and abstracts on severe asthma, COPD and on inhalation profiles amongst these patients.

The Clinical trials unit he leads has focussed its attention in ensuring the large BAME Community in Bradford has access to several large clinical trials and access to cutting edge treatments.

In the COVID -19 Pandemic the Bradford institute for Health Research has recruited over 30% of its patients in COVID-19 treatment trials from the BAME Community.

In 2015 & 2016 Dinesh was awarded the best Principal Investigator award for the UK for his delivery into the commercial respiratory research portfolio by NIHR. In 2019 Dinesh was awarded the Joint NIHR / Royal College of Physicians National Award for his Contribution to the National Research Effort.

Dinesh set up the severe asthma serviced in Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2006 and has published several of his research work on severe asthma since then. He runs a weekly severe asthma clinic at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chairs a severe asthma MDT held fortnightly. He is an active member of the wider Yorkshire Severe Asthma Network. He has particular interest in inhalation profiles in patients with severe asthma and COPD and has published his work on this field. He has pioneered the use of Omalizumab in the treatment of severe allergic asthma and has been involved in most clinical trials involving the newer biologic treatment in severe asthma. In 2016, Dinesh was one of the leading investigators in the APEX 2 study, which was the largest real-life study in the UK on the real life effectiveness of Omalizumab in the treatment of severe allergic asthma.

In 2020, Dinesh was appointed Director, for the NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre, Bradford. This is one of 5 centres in England focussing on recruiting into large Phase 2-4 Commercial Clinical Trials. He is a member of the National NIHR PRC Advisory Board. Since its inception the PRC at Bradford has recruited over 1300 subjects in phase 2&3 clinical trials. During this period the PRC Has recruited Global, EU & UK firsts into these trials.

Dinesh is an international key opinion leader in the design and conduct of Phase 2 &3 Severe Asthma and COPD trials across the world. Most recently he has worked in the design of Novel Phase 3 COPD trials delivered from the subjects’ homes. In 2023 he was awarded the best Principle Investigator award by the Yorkshire & Humber NIHE CRN.

Contact Professor Dinesh Saralaya