Our Future Health - Biomedical Research Centre welcomes the public

On 1 October, the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Cambridge University Hosptials invited everyone in the local community to hear about its research achievements and to find out about opportunities to participate actively in the future of our health services.

In 2007 Cambridge was chosen as one of only five comprehensive biomedical research centres in the UK funded by the National Institute for Health Research. These centres focus on translating basic scientific discoveries into practical improvements in health services, such as methods of preventing diabetes in children or reducing the risks of pregnancy. New tests to diagnose common diseases early are being developed, as are smart ways to make surgery more precise or to take some of the risks out of transplantation.

Our own Biomedical Research Centre is managed jointly by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Cambridge University's School of Clinical Medicine. It has now completed its first year of operations and reported to the NIHR a variety of research highlights, high-profile publications and impacts on the health service provision.

We are keen to encourage involvement by Trust Members, patients and the general public in research and in shaping the work of the Centre going forward. This involvement can range from active participation as healthy volunteers or patients in clinical studies to serving on panels and committees overseeing the quality of research.  You could take part in the “Cambridge BioResource" – a large group of local people who give small blood samples used to find the genetic causes of diseases or have your body fat measured by the researchers in our stet-of-the-art Clinical Research Facility.