Guide to NIHR Infrastructure
The NIHR infrastructure has been set up to support high quality research across the innovation pathway.
Early-phase and experimental medicine research is supported in NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Units, in Clinical Research Facilities and in Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres.
NIHR Biomedical Research Centres are based within England's leading NHS and University partnerships and focus on driving forward innovation and translational research in biomedicine. Five Centres have a comprehensive remit, working across a range of disease and therapeutic areas. A further seven centres work in individual specialist areas, including ageing; cancer; genetics and developmental medicine; mental health; microbial diseases; paediatrics and child health; and ophthalmology.
NIHR Biomedical Research Units bring together some of England's leading health researchers and clinicians to carry out translational clinical research in a number of areas of high disease burden and unmet clinical need. These include cardiovascular disease; deafness and hearing problems; gastrointestinal disease; musculoskeletal disease; nutrition, diet and lifestyle, respiratory disease; infection; and pancreatic disease.
NIHR Research Centres for NHS Patient Safety and Service Quality are centres of international expertise where NHS professionals can work with experts in a wide range of research disciplines. Their focus is to investigate ways to improve the safety, quality and effectiveness of the services that the NHS provides to its patients.
Clinical Research Facilities and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres provide a purpose-built environment for patient-centred research, where clinical researchers are able to make use of cutting-edge clinical facilities, technologies and expertise and have access to patients. They provide an environment where collaborations between basic and clinical scientists help to ensure that advances in biomedical research feed through into improvements in healthcare.
Later-phase and multi-centre clinical studies are supported by NIHR Clinical Research Networks who provide a single point of national access for this type of research in the NHS. The Networks offer expert support for study and protocol feasibility assessment; access to systems to speed clinical trial set up processes, including costing, contracting and R&D approvals; and staff and resources to ensure efficient patient recruitment and study delivery.
Healthcare Technology Cooperatives work to accelerate the development and adoption of technologies, treatments, devices and services to help people with debilitating conditions deal with their daily challenges. They are a new type of NHS-led virtual organisation that brings together patients and carers, healthcare staff, academics, inventors and industry to develop practical and innovative healthcare products to address areas of unmet patient and clinical need. There are currently two pilot Healthcare Technology Cooperatives working in the areas of urinary continence and bowel function.
Applied health research and translation of research findings into improved patient outcomes are carried out by NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs). They are structured as collaborative partnerships between a university and its surrounding NHS organisations and conduct research focused on the needs of patients, particularly targeted at chronic disease and public health interventions.
If you would like help finding the experts and facilities to support your research please contact the NOCRI team.