Sheffield researchers awarded £3.1m funding to pioneer new drugs and treatments
25 November 2016
RESEARCHERS at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and the University of Sheffield have been awarded £3.1 million to continue to pioneer new drugs and treatments that may one day transform patient care.
The funding, announced by the Department of Health and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), will enable even more patients to take part in groundbreaking research at the Royal Hallamshire and Northern General Hospital’s dedicated Clinical Research Facility.
Sheffield was one of only 23 research centres across England awarded funding, which will see its status as a designated NIHR Clinical Research Facility renewed for a further five years.
The award will enable clinicians, scientists and nurses to drive forward research into diseases which are areas of national priority such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and respiratory diseases. All of which are important causes of premature death.
The investment is the second time in recent months that researchers from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals in partnership with the University of Sheffield have successfully secured a multi-million pound grant to support world-leading health research, with a £4m grant announced in September to set up an NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. This will develop new treatments for diseases of the brain and nervous system.
Over 30,000 patients have taken part in clinical research at Sheffield’s state-of-the-art NIHR Clinical Research Facilities since they were first established in 2006. The units also support research in clinical areas of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, such as wards, operating theatres and the Accident & Emergency Department.
Professor Chris Newman, Director of the Sheffield NIHR Clinical Research Facility and Faculty Director of Research and Innovation at the University of Sheffield, said: “We are delighted to have once again been designated as an NIHR Clinical Research Facility. We are incredibly proud of our Clinical Research Facilities, and this major grant complements the £4m grant awarded by the NIHR in September to establish an NIHR Biomedical Research Centre in Translational Neuroscience in Sheffield.
"This builds on Sheffield’s international reputation and represents a major vote of confidence from the NIHR for fast tracking new and innovative research in Sheffield, which ultimately drives forward new discoveries into tangible benefits for patients, families and carers.”
The longstanding partnership between Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Sheffield puts the city region in a very strong position to translate world-leading research into benefits for patients.
The investment will enable leading academic and clinical experts to continue their pioneering research and develop new treatments that will change people's lives for the better. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Sheffield have been at the forefront of medical research for many years and the benefits of the Clinical Research Facility will continue to enhance this, not just for the local community, but nationally and internationally.
The Sheffield Clinical Research Facility was established in 2006 as a joint venture between the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and became an NIHR Clinical Research Facility in 2012. The Clinical Research Facility has dedicated research units on both the Royal Hallamshire and Northern General Hospital campuses.
During this time it has worked with more than 250 researchers, run over 1,000 clinical trials and facilitated more than 55,000 clinical trial visits for research studies – which often have extremely complex set-up and delivery requirements, and grown to employ over 70 staff.
