NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre together with city and regional leaders, recently welcomed HM Treasury to showcase how Leeds’ £40m NIHR infrastructure is accelerating national ambitions to tackle health inequalities and position the UK as a global leader in life sciences.
The high-profile visit from the Treasury’s Growth and Resilience team began at the University of Leeds’ innovation hub, Nexus, with a roundtable highlighting how the city’s world-leading research and innovation are driving real-world impact.
Director of the NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Prof Philip Conaghan, chaired the discussion, where a range of experts from academia and industry outlined how Leeds is driving progress through its pioneering, partnership-powered NIHR@Leeds infrastructure.
NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, hosted by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in partnership with University of Leeds and University of York, took centre stage and the visit shone a light on the BRC as an international centre of excellence, supporting translational research across antimicrobial resistance & infection, cardiometabolic disease, haematology, musculoskeletal disease, pathology and surgical technologies.
Philip Conaghan explained how NIHR Leeds BRC has developed musculoskeletal expertise and facilities not available anywhere else worldwide – from prevention of immune diseases through blood tests and ultrasound, to novel therapies including a first positive trial of a new class of analgesics.
NIHR funding was brought to life when the visitors heard from game-changing, clinical-stage start-up Atlas Endoscopy, based in state-of-the-art facilities at Nexus, who have developed a ground-breaking robotic colonoscopy device with BRC support.
The event concluded with a visit to St James’s University Hospital, with a tour of the state-of-the-art NIHR Leeds Clinical Research Facility, just one of the five CRF sites at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. As part of this, delegates met with Executive and Senior Leaders to hear about the strength and scale of world-class clinical research at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust – one of the UK’s largest teaching hospitals, delivering impact and patient benefits across the region and beyond.
Professor Philip Conaghan, Director of NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre said: “Together with our partners across NIHR, this was a truly inspirational visit which enabled us to demonstrate how NIHR infrastructure is critical to the health and wealth of the nation.
“From discovery to real-world impact, we showcased what’s possible at NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre when the NHS and academia work side by side — transforming early diagnosis, driving prevention, and adding life to years for millions and delivering economic benefits. Crucially, with our partners around the room, we were able to highlight how our collaborative partnerships turn research into reality, transform the future of healthcare as well as bringing wider economic value.”
Read more about Leeds welcoming HM Treasury to the showcase impact of the city’s £40 million NIHR infrastructure via the Health Innovation Leeds website.