Professor Pankaj Sharma from the Department of Biological Sciences has been honoured with an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to research in strokes in South Asian people.
Professor Pankaj Sharma.
Professor Pankaj Sharma has been honoured with an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2025 for his services to research in strokes in South Asian people.
Professor Sharma is a Professor of Neurology from the Department of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London. His research attempts to identify the causes of cardiovascular diseases.
His OBE has been awarded for two decades of research work on stroke in the British South Asian population – a group that is often understudied but has a high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality risk.
He has also worked to create the world’s largest biobank, BRAINS (BioRepository for DNA in Stroke) for stroke among South Asian people, which has allowed detailed study of the causes and consequences of why stroke is so prevalent in this population. It is expected that this work will generate further important data for years to come.
Professor Sharma said: “It is a privilege to be recognised for the quiet but dedicated work that my group and I have been undertaking for so many years in understanding and trying to improve the health of British South Asians.
“BRAINS, likely the world’s largest biobank for South Asian stroke, involved recruiting patients from throughout the UK as well as India, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. My greatest thanks go to all those patients without whom this work would not have been possible.”
Professor James McEvoy, Head of the Department of Biological Science, congratulated Professor Sharma on his achievement, saying: “Professor Sharma has made an excellent contribution to the Department over the years, both to our undergraduate teaching and our research, and this is a well-deserved recognition of his work.”
The King’s Birthday Honours List recognises those who have made a significant contribution to British life and awards them with honours. The awards are handed out twice a year in the UK – once at the New Year, and once in June on the monarch’s official birthday.
