Our links with the NIHR nationally
We are part of a rich regional landscape, but we also have significant links with the NIHR nationally.
This ensures our scientific endeavours benefit patients across the county. It also supports our ongoing work with other research partners, healthcare providers and industry.
We are part of three main national initiatives:
NIHR Senior Investigators 
NIHR Senior Investigators are among the most prominent and prestigious researchers funded by the NIHR. They are the most outstanding leaders of patient and people-based research within the NIHR research community.
We continue to have consistent success in securing such appointments. Each of the NIHR Newcastle BRC’s research themes have leaders or senior researchers appointed as Senior Investigators. These are:
- Professor Avan Sayer (Newcastle BRC Director and Ageing Syndromes theme lead)
- Professor David Jones (Liver Disease theme lead),
- Professor David Burn (Dementia theme lead)
- Professor John Isaacs (Musculoskeletal Disease theme lead)
- Professor Nick Reynolds (Skin and Oral Disease deputy theme lead)
- Professor John Simpson (Skin and Oral Disease Theme Researcher)
- Professor Lynn Rochester (Dementia Theme Researcher)
NIHR Translational Research Collaborations
The NIHR has established ready-formed networks of the UK’s leading universities, NHS trusts and research centres. These collaborations carry out early phase translational research and tackle experimental medicine challenges in selected therapeutic themes.
These collaborations are set-up to support and work with the life sciences industry, charities, researchers and other funders and partners. The Newcastle BRC plays an active role in three of the main NIHR TRCs:
- We host the Dementia TRC, chaired by Professor David Burn, Dementia Theme lead
- We were founding members of the Diet and Activity Research Translation (DART) and,
- We lead sub-themes of the UK Musculoskeletal TRC
NIHR Health Informatics Collaborative (HIC)
We are a partner in the NIHR Health Informatics Collaborative (HIC). This is a partnership of 29 NHS trusts and health boards, including the 20 hosting NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs).
This collaborative works together to facilitate the equitable re-use of NHS data for translational research.
Electronic patient records in NHS trusts contain a wealth of routinely collected clinical data useful for translational research. However, these data are not easily accessible to the individual NHS trust or researchers.
The aim of the NIHR HIC is to improve the quality and availability of routinely collected data for collaborative, cross-centre research.