£110 million health research fund confirms elite biomedical status for CUH

Cambridge University Hospitals and the University of Cambridge have been awarded a record share of an £800 million government research fund, confirming the city’s status as one of the country’s elite Biomedical Research Centres.

Backed by the National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge is currently one of just five comprehensive Biomedical Research Centres in England. The Trust has held this designation since 2007, and will now have another five years’ funding, worth a total of £110 million. The money will contribute to the development of ground-breaking medicines, treatments and patient care.

This is the UK’s biggest-ever investment in early-stage health research. In Cambridge, the money will back projects designed to benefit patients with diseases such as cancer and diabetes, specifically targeting advances in diagnosis, prevention and treatment. The Cambridge partnership has also been awarded a new specialist Biomedical Research Unit focussed on dementia – a field in which it was identified as a national research leader.

Dr John Bradley

Dr John Bradley, director of the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre said: “We are delighted to receive the news that we have retained our Biomedical Research Centre designation – and even more pleased that the international selection panel has recommended a considerable increase in our funding. This will allow the partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals and the University of Cambridge to build on the substantial achievements of the last five years. A renewal was never guaranteed – this was a competition with the best of England’s health research institutions.”

Professor Patrick Sissons, Regius Professor of Physic, said: “The fundamental basis of our research programmes is that they are all designed to benefit patients. This award makes it possible for us to lead the way in translating fundamental biomedical research into clinical research, and ultimately into advances in healthcare that can be put into practice within the NHS and around the world.”

The 11 research themes at Cambridge University Hospitals will be: brain injury; cancer; cardiovascular disease; dementia and neurodegeneration; genomics; mental health; infectious diseases and disorders of the immune system; obesity, diabetes and musculoskeletal disorders; transplantation; population science; and women’s health. More information is available on the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre website.

> Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre

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