UK to invest £775M in translational health research

09 Mar 2011 | News
The UK government announced what it says is the largest ever funding package for translational medicine of up to £775 million over 5 years.

The UK government announced plans to boost translational research through a £775 million fund to support partnerships between the National Health Service and university researchers, to move research from the lab through to improved treatments and therapies.

There will be a particular focus on translating research in high priority disease areas such as dementia, cancer and heart disease. The money will be channelled through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Projects in translational health research funded in the past include stem cell technologies to cure blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration; the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging to diagnose autism; the development of a new blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease; a new device for measuring blood pressure more accurately, and treatments for obesity.

Sally Davies, Director General of Research and Development at the UK Department of Health and the Chief Medical Officer said, “The successful NHS and university partnerships will receive long-term funding to provide the best environment to support [….] translational research. [This] will provide vital support for research funded by NIHR and public sector, charity and industry partners.”

Further information about the call for proposals is available at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/proposals/Pages/default.aspx

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