Experimental research set to double at NUH thanks to £2.6m investment
The largest clinical research facility in the Midlands will be developed by the Research & Innovation department of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) following the announcement today (28 February 2022) of £2.6m funding from the National Institute for Health Research.
The funding will be invested in the expansion of the NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility (CRF), which is based at NUH, enabling it to double in size. The team behind the funding bid which was submitted last September, includes those who have worked on COVID-19 vaccine development, new treatments for COVID-19 and new drugs for cancer in both children and adults over the last five years.
Clinical Director for Research & Innovation at NUH, and the Director of the NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility, Professor Stephen Ryder says the funding will have a significant impact on the local capacity to develop new treatments for use in the NHS:
“Nottingham is very fortunate to have this investment because experimental medicine research is the vital first step in finding breakthrough treatments which will directly benefit our patients. The research we do in the Nottingham Clinical Research Facility targets the illnesses and conditions that result in reduced life expectancy for some communities in Nottingham, a health gap which without an increase in clinical research is in danger of growing.
“Over the last five years we have seen a 30% increase in cancer research trials, for example, because the Clinical Research Facility at NUH has provided the skilled staff, dedicated facilities and equipment to support our clinicians to successfully lead new research.”
Dr Maria Koufali, Managing Director of Research & Innovation at NUH says the new funding will mean the rapid expansion of experimental medicine research in Nottingham: “We need to expand to meet the health challenges we face. The Nottingham Clinical Research Facility has been and continues to be a significant contributor to COVID-19 discoveries, but we also have challenges in other conditions including cancers, mental health, respiratory and inflammatory diseases. This funding will support our planned expansion of inpatient research facilities at NUH for adults and children, and a 50% increase in facilities overall for experimental medicine research.”
This investment will support more research trials to take place and will include research based on Nottingham’s expertise in Magnetic Resonance Imaging as well as specialist areas such as gene therapy, stem cell transplantation, neurology and hearing loss.
The Nottingham CRF currently provides specialist research units in all three of NUH’s hospitals. The biggest expansion enabled by this funding will be at the Queen’s Medical Centre where 16 adult and 4 children’s inpatient beds will be created for research as well as dedicated outpatient facilities for adults and children, more than doubling the existing research facilities.
Since 2017, when it was first established with funding from the National Institute for Health Research, the Nottingham CRF has involved over 40,000 people taking part in more than 460 research trials. Key to the success of the Nottingham CRF has been its ability to attract significant extra investment in its research resulting in a 60% increase in experimental medicine income since 2017; the aim is to increase that investment by another 70% by 2027.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The funding awarded by the National Institute for Health Research is £2.6m and covers the period from September 2022-August 2027.
About the NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility
The NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility (CRF) provides world-class expertise in experimental medicine.
It is based at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and across our hospitals we have over 2,000m2 of dedicated and purpose-built research facilities, staffed by experienced clinicians, committed to delivering cutting-edge research for adults and children.
Our expertise in experimental medicine is at the forefront of COVID-19 research for effective treatments and vaccines, as well as contributing to the world’s understanding of Coronavirus.
Nottingham CRF is one of 19 clinical research facilities currently funded by the NIHR across the country. This will increase to 28 CRFs in September 2022. This support from the NIHR is an indicator of the quality of the research that we do.
About the NIHR
The mission of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:
- Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
- Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
- Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
- Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
- Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
- Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.
NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK Aid from the UK government.