NIHR-funded Incubators

Incubators support research delivery. They build research capacity in key areas across England.

Incubators are vital for building research capacity. They operate in key areas at a national level, for example in mental health, emergency care, AI and digital. They provide targeted high-level career development support for researchers, led by experts in the field.

How Incubators work

Incubators develop research capacity and build professional communities with funding and support from the NIHR.

We fund key stakeholders to identify barriers that exist in key areas of research. The Incubator communities then identify and implement solutions. Incubators are managed across multiple sites and organised by discipline.  

Current Incubators

  • Applied Health and Care Research Methodology Incubator, led by Professor Dawn Teare
  • Clinical Education Incubator, led by Professor Gillian Vance, Professor Janice Ellis and Dr Bryan Burford
  • Community Rehabilitation Incubator, led by Professor Lindsay Bearne
  • Diagnostic and Therapeutic Radiographers Incubator, led by Professor Helen McNair
  • Emergency Care Incubator, led by Dr Edward Carlton and Professor Heather Jarman
  • Mental Health Social Care Incubator, led by Professor Catherine Robinson and Dr Michael Clark
  • Paediatric Critical Care Incubator, led by Dr Padmanabhan Ramnarayan
  • Pharmacy Professionals Incubator, led by Professor Debi Battacharya
  • Race Equity and Diversity in Careers Incubator, led by Professor Yemisi Takwoingi and Professor Mahendra Patel
  • AI & Digital Healthcare Incubator, led by Professor Alastair Denniston and Dr Xiao Liu

Previous Incubators

We supported Incubators in the following areas between 2019 and 2023:

  • Social Care Incubator
  • Public Health Incubator
  • Nursing and Midwifery Incubator
  • Incubator for Mental Health Research
  • Advanced Surgical Technology Incubator

The Wessex REACH Initiative

We also piloted a regional approach called the Wessex REACH Initiative

REACH was created to develop the future generation of health and care-related researchers. The initiative operates across a range of disciplines and specialties in the Wessex region.

More information

If you wish to receive more information about incubators