THE achievements of a Sale resident have been celebrated at an award ceremony by the Christie.

As part of the Christie annual research and education awards, Dr Raffaelle Califano won the School of Oncology International award.

The awards, now in their third year, reinforce the pioneering research and world class education provided at the Christie, and celebrate the outstanding students and researchers who work there.

Dr Raffaelle Califano is internationally recognised, with a leading role in education and training in cancer care, promoting the work of The Christie as a leading centre for education and training.

Through chairing the young oncologists committee of the European Society for Medical Oncology, he is influencing young oncologists, cancer research activities and international cancer experts across Europe.

He played a key role in bringing a leading international three-day lung cancer course to the Christie in February.

As an international leader of research and development, the Christie is the largest cancer treatment centre of its kind in Europe, supporting a wide range of early phase clinical trials and other critical research.

Through partnerships with the Manchester Cancer Research Centre and Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, the Christie brings together one of the biggest concentrations of expertise, ambition and resources in the world, to help create a future without cancer.

Linked to internationally acclaimed research, the Christie School of Oncology delivers high quality education and training, helping to develop the skills of hundreds of medical professionals each year. The School of Oncology benefits from some of the country's leading experts in cancer care, treatment and services.

The awards acknowledge the achievements of both the Research Division and School of Oncology at the Christie over the past 12 months and highlight how the Christie plans to become one of the world's top five comprehensive cancer centres by the year 2020.

Winners were presented with certificates by Professor Derek Crowther, former director of the Clinical Trials Unit at the Christie.

Among the winners, was Professor Malcolm Ranson, who received a lifetime's achievement award for his work on lung cancer. Professor Ranson led the very first phase 1 clinical trial at the Christie of the pioneering getifinib treatment - a targeted therapy aiming to block pathways for specific mutations for non-small cell lung cancer.

This treatment has resulted in patients surviving for, on average, two years, compared with previous treatments which gave patients an average nine month life expectancy. He has been a consultant for 19 years and is internationally recognised, putting Manchester and the Christie at the forefront of lung cancer research and drug development.

Interim chief executive of the christie, Roger Spencer said: "I want to congratulate our winners and everyone who was nominated. Awards like this show how lucky we are at The Christie to have such a talented, hardworking and inspirational team who are committed to putting our patients first and developing pioneering treatments to beat cancer.

"The awards also underline how important our work is throughout the UK, and around the world. Projects such as the Manchester Cancer Research Centre will make a big difference to patients, not just in Manchester, but across the world."