Chris Butler
Colleges
Current DPhil students
Abigail Moore: Understanding acute functional decline and its relationship to UTI in older people living in care homes
Trenton Honda: The epidemiology of UTI and antibiotic resistant uropathogens
Josh Fieggen: Optimizing Early Diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma through Predictive Modelling in the UK Biobank
Cecilia Okusi: avian influenza
PA: Yuliia Kozyntseva
yuliia.kozyntseva@phc.ox.ac.uk
Chris Butler
BA MBChB DCH CCH MD FRCGP (Hon)FFPH FMedSci Doctor Honoris Causa in Medicine and Healthcare
Professor of Primary Care
- Associate Head for Research, Nuffield Department of Primary Health Care Sciences
- Lead the Infections and Acute Care Research Group
- Clinical Director of the University of Oxford Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit
- Deputy Clinical Director of the NIHR Community Healthcare MedTech and In-vitro Diagnostics Co-operative
- Senior Research Fellow, Trinity College
- Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
- National Institute of Health and Care Research Senior Investigator (emeritus)
- Extraordinary professor, University of Stellenbosch
- Honorary Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine at University of Cape Town
- Part time Professor, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University
Research
I trained in Medicine at the University of Cape Town, did doctoral work at the University of Wales College of Medicine, and studied Clinical Epidemiology at The University of Toronto. I was appointed Professor of Primary Care in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford in 2013. I practices as a salaried GP, part-time, in the Cynon Valley in South Wales for many years, and was the patient-nominated Royal College of General Practitioners Wales General Practitioner or the Year in 2019.
Research
My research focuses on common infections (especially the appropriate use of antimicrobials, antimicrobial resistance, point of care testing, and treatments for viral infections), and health care communication and behaviour change (co-author of Motivational Interviewing in Health Care).
I have led or helped lead more than 30 randomised clinical trials in trials in primary care, including the PRINCIPLE and PANORAMIC adaptive, platform trials of community treatments for COVID 19, that have recruited >40,000 participants and evaluated 9 medicines. I am the coordinator of the European Clinical Alliance for Research in Infectious Disease adaptive platform trial of therapeutics for acute respiratory infections (ECRAID-Prime), and the Chief Investigator of, SHIELD-1, a trial of peginterferon lambda for acute viral respiratory infections.
I have published >500 papers and have recently published trial results in the world’s top three general medical journals. My H-Index is >80. Our PACE Study won the Royal College of General Practitioners Research Paper of the Year Award in 2020.
In March 2024, The University of Antwerp conferred “Doctor, Honoris Causa in Medicine and Health Sciences to Christopher Butler for making a fundamental contribution to primary care research into infectious disease management in the context of antimicrobial resistance and other pandemics, by building quintessential primary care research infrastructures and introducing efficient and democratic research models, which help reduce the impact of infectious diseases on individual and population health.”
Supervision
I have supervised 19 doctoral students to successful completion and currently supervise 4 doctoral students.
Grants
Chief or Co-Chief investigator for the following current or recent selection of studies:
1.Enhancing host immunity for pandemic preparedness and seasonal respiratory viral infections (SHIELD-1), Funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation
- European Clinical Research Alliance on Infectious Diseases – Primary care adaptive platform trial for pandemics and epidemics (ECRAID-PRIME), EU Funded,( https://ecraid.eu/ecraid-prime-work-packages)
- Platform Adaptive trial of Novel antiviRals for eArly treatment of COVID-19 in the Community (PANORAMIC), EU funded (https://www.panoramictrial.org)
- Platform Community Clinical Trial of community treatment for epidemic and pandemic infections (PRINCIPLE), NIHR funded ( https://www.principletrial.org)
- Platform randomised controlled trial of point of care diagnostics for enhancing the quality of antibiotic prescribing for community acquired acute respiratory tract infection in ambulatory care in Europe (PRUDENCE) EU IMI funded, (https://www.value-dx.eu/index.php/2020/06/26/evaluating-the-clinical-and-cost-effectiveness-of-ca-arti-diagnostics-through-prudence-trial/)
- General Practitioner (GP) use of a C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Point of Care Test (POCT) to help target antibiotic prescribing to patients with Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD) who are most likely to benefit (The PACE Study), NIHR-MRC EME funded.
- Antivirals for influenza Like Illness? An rCt of Clinical and Cost effectiveness in primary CarE (ALIC4E), part of the EU Funded Platform foR European Preparedness Against (Re-)emerging Epidemics (PREPARE) consortium.
- Probiotics to Reduce Infections iN Care homE reSidentS (PRINCESS), and double blind RCT, NIHR Funded.