providing the NHS with the support and facilities it needs for first class research

Biomedical Research Centres

NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) drive progress on innovation and translational research in biomedicine into NHS practice.

The Centres, based within the most outstanding NHS and University partnerships in the country, are leaders in scientific translation. They receive substantial levels of funding to translate fundamental biomedical research into clinical research that benefits patients and they are early adopters of new insights in technologies, techniques and treatments for improving health. The BRCs:

drive innovation in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ill-health
translate advances in biomedical research into benefits for patients
provide a key component of the NHS contribution to our nation’s international competitiveness by making the best BRCs even better.

The NIHR established the first round of BRCs in 2007. Designation and funding for these BRCs ended in March 2012. Following a new, open competition launched in February 2011, the NIHR has designated and funded a second round of eleven BRCs. These were announced on 18 August 2011. DH press release.
View photographs of the Secretary of State's visit to the NIHR Newcastle BRC.

New Biomedical Research Centres
Each BRC has either a very substantial portfolio of world-class biomedical research across a range of clinical and research areas, or a substantial portfolio of world-class biomedical research in a specific clinical or research area. The eleven new BRCs began operating on 1 April 2012.

NHS Organisation	University Partner	Research Themes
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	University of Cambridge	Brain Injury and Repair; Cancer; Cardiovascular Disease; Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disorders; Genomics; Immunity, Infection and Inflammation; Mental Health; Metabolism, Endocrinology and Bone; Population Health Science; Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine; Women’s Health
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust	University College London Institute of Child Health	Molecular Basis of Childhood Disease; Diagnostics and Imaging in Childhood Disease; Gene, Stem and Cellular Therapies; Novel Therapies for Childhood Diseases
Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust	King's College London	Cancer; Cardiovascular Disease; Cutaneous Medicine; Environment, Respiratory Health and Allergy; Imaging and Bioengineering; Infection and Immunity; Transplantation; Translational Genetics
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust	Imperial College London	Biobanking; Cancer; Cardiovascular; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Genetics and Genomics; Imaging; Haematology; Infection; Interventional Public Health; Neonatal Medicine; Neuroscience; Obesity, Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism; Paediatrics; Renal Medicine and Transplantation; Respiratory; Rheumatology; Stratified Medicine; Surgery and Technology; Woman’s Health
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust	University College London Institute of Ophthalmology	Gene Therapy; Genotyping, Phenotyping and Informatics; Inflammation and Immunotherapy; New Technologies and Devices; Regenerative Medicine and Pharmaceutics; Visual Assessment and Imaging
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	Newcastle University	Genomics; Ageing and Frailty; Fibrosis and Repair; Mitochondrial Dysfunction; The Ageing Brain – Dementia and Stroke; The Ageing Body (chronic liver disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes); The Ageing Limbs (musculoskeletal disease); Therapeutics in Old Age
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust	University of Oxford	Biomedical Informatics and Technology; Blood; Cancer; Cardiovascular; Dementia and Cardiovascular Disease; Diabetes; Functional Neuroscience and Imaging; Genomic Medicine; Immunity and Inflammation; Infection; Prevention and Population Care; Surgical Innovation and Evaluation; Translational Physiology; Vaccines
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust	Institute of Cancer Research	Breast Cancer; Cancer Genetics; Cancer Imaging; Cancer Therapeutics; Clinical Studies; Molecular Pathology; Prostate Cancer; Radiotherapy
Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust	University of Southampton	Nutrition, Growth and Development; Nutrition, Lifestyle and Healthy Ageing
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust	King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry	Bioinformatics and Statistics; BioResource, Biomarkers and Genomics; Clinical and Population Informatics; Developmental Disorders; Disorders of Affect and Addiction and Their Interface with Medicine; Neuroimaging; Neuropsychiatric Disorders; Patient and Carer Participation; Clinical Trials - Innovation and Implementation
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	University College London	Body Imaging; Cancer; Cardiovascular Disease; Cellular and Gene Therapy; Ear, Nose and Throat; Education, Training and Biostatistics; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Infection and Inflammation; Neurodegeneration; Neurodiagnostics; Neuroimaging; Neurotherapeutics; Oral Health; Respiratory, Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Exercise, Sports and Health (RACE); Women’s Health

Funding
Each Biomedical Research Centre is awarded funding over five years. The amount awarded to each centre is determined by the scale and nature of the research activity that it conducts and the anticipated impact of that activity. The awards have been made to the NHS partner, and can only be used to support the recurrent costs of patient focused research.

NIHR Briefing document

4.2 Biomedical Research Centres

Athena SWAN
The NIHR has stated that for future competitions to designate and fund NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, Biomedical Research Units and Patient Safety Translational Research Centres, it does not expect to short-list any NHS/University partnership where the academic partner (often the Medical School/Faculty of Medicine) has not achieved at least the Silver Award of the Athena SWAN Charter for Women in Science.