New Leeds Biomedical Research Centre launches with £20.4m of Funding

Professor Philip Conaghan launching the event speaking in front of an audience with a presentation title slide being projected behind him reading: "Welcome to the new BIG NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre"

Leeds Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) has launched with £20.4m funding to expand its portfolio of medical research. This will significantly strengthen the centre’s mandate for improving care for patients, with new research into numerous medical conditions.

Having previously operated with a sole research ‘theme’ of Musculoskeletal Disease, Leeds BRC has now expanded to six themes including: Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection, Cardiometabolic Disease, Haematology, Pathology and Surgical Technologies.

The BRC is part of a national network of centres funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), aimed at uniting local academia and NHS resources to transform research into real world treatment improving patient outcomes.

The event to mark the launch was held in Leeds with a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony by representatives of the BRC’s partners from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT), the University of Leeds and the University of York.

Director of the BRC, Professor Philip Conaghan said: “our new £20M multi-themed NIHR Leeds BRC brings together existing excellence in clinical research across Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Leeds to address multiple long-term conditions and we are especially delighted to have brought the University of York into the NIHR Leeds BRC partnership and look forward to extending this collaboration in the coming years.

Our patient informed research will deliver important early translational results to improve the health and wealth of our communities as well as enabling us a strengthened opportunity to develop the clinical research workforce of the future”.

Presentations from the Event

Welcome and Introduction – Prof Philip Conaghan

Surgical Technologies – Prof David Jayne

PPIEP and EDI – Amy Rebane

Pathology – Prof Philip Quirke

Antimicrobial Resistance – Prof Mark Wilcox

Musculoskeletal Disease – Prof Ann Morgan

Haematology – Dr Darren Newton

Cardiometabolic Disease – Prof David Beech

Academic Capacity Development – Anne-Maree Keenan