On 25 November 2025, Dr Gráinne Whelehan, postdoctoral Research Associate in the NIHR Leicester BRC Lifestyle theme, received the British Nutrition Foundation’s Drummond Pump-Priming Award.
The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) is an independent charity that promotes evidence-based understanding of food and nutrition, and its Drummond Award celebrates outstanding early career researchers shaping the future of the field.
Dr. Whelehan’s research focuses on understanding how different dietary behaviours influence the body’s response to increases in blood sugar within a multi-ethnic cohort, continuing to strengthen Leicester BRC’s contribution to national nutrition and public health research.
The awards ceremony was attended by HRH The Princess Royal. As Patron of the BNF, The Princess Royal met this year’s recipients to hear more about their work, including Dr Whelehan’s research into diet, lifestyle and long-term health.
Dr Whelehan said: “I’m honoured to receive this award. It provides an invaluable opportunity to advance my work in human nutrition and diabetes, by helping me to generate pilot data needed for future, larger grant applications.”
The Drummond Pump-Priming Award is one of the BNF’s highest honours for early career researchers and marks a significant milestone in Dr Whelehan’s growing contribution to the field.
NIHR Leicester BRC congratulates Dr Whelehan on this achievement and looks forward to supporting the next stages of her research.