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Home > Health and care professionals > Support by profession > Public health research > Other information sources for public health research

Other information sources for public health research

Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs)

Our Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs) act as centres of excellence in health protection research in England.

They are research partnerships between NIHR, universities and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), formerly Public Health England.

We invested £58.7 million to fund HPRUs from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.

Examples of research

UKHAS use findings from our research to keep the public safe. Examples of recent findings include:

  • routine analysis of NHS data on consumption of antimicrobials can predict the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria
  • steps local authorities can take to reduce the risk of mental health problems in communities at risk of flooding

HPRUs in England

Click on the links below to find out more about each HPRU:

HPRUHost institution
Behavioural Science and Evaluation University of Bristol
Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections University College London
Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards Imperial College London
Emergency Preparedness and Response King’s College London
Emerging and Zoonotic Infections University of Liverpool
Environmental Change and Health London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Environmental Exposures and Health - Imperial College Imperial College London
Environmental Exposures and Health - University of Leicester University of Leicester
Gastrointestinal Infections University of Liverpool
Genomics and Enabling Data Warwick University
Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance - Imperial College Imperial College London
Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance - University of Oxford University of Oxford
Modelling and Health Economics Imperial College London
Respiratory Infections Imperial College London
Vaccines and Immunisation London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Policy Research Units (PRUs)

Our Policy Research Units (PRUs) undertake research to help the government and arms-length bodies make policy decisions about health and social care.

The Public Health Policy Research Unit is hosted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Find out more about Policy Research

Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs)

Our Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) support applied health and care research. The ARCs also work together on some national leadership areas:

  • Population health, led by the North Thames ARC
  • Prevention, led by North East and North Cumbria ARC

The following Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) do research in public health and prevention:

Clinical Practice Research Datalink

Access quality and anonymised primary care data for public health studies through the the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD)

Need help?

Please email publichealthhub@nihr.ac.uk if you haven't found what you are looking or have a question.