Longstanding Leeds industry collaboration wins major healthcare award
A long-running collaboration has been recognised for transforming how joint replacements are developed and tested.
The University of Leeds and DePuy Synthes UK have won the “Partnership between Academia & Business Award” at the Medilink Healthcare Business Awards 2026, held at Cutlers’ Hall in Sheffield on 30 April. The award celebrates collaborations that improve healthcare delivery or create new approaches to patient care.
The programme, led by Professor Sophie Williams and Professor Ruth Wilcox of the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, reflects more than 25 years of collaboration. Over that time, it has supported more than 40 PhD students, produced over 100 co-authored papers, and helped shape careers, with many doctoral graduates now working within DePuy.
A key outcome is the development of a computational tool for testing hip replacement designs under demanding mechanical conditions, including “edge loading”. This enables rapid, large-scale assessment in product development, reducing reliance on physical testing and improving design precision.
Professor Williams said: "We’re absolutely delighted to have received this recognition for work we have done in this partnership, improving pre-clinical evaluation of joint replacements, and would like to thank everyone who has helped make it such a success over the last 25 years.”
Leeds triumphed in a strong field, ahead of entries including GE Healthcare with the University of Sheffield, InViva Digital Healthcare with the University of Bradford, OCUWELL with the University of Liverpool, and Revela with Durham University.
