£3.8 million for public health research partnership

15 January 2014

The University of Bristol, with partners at University College London, Cambridge MRC Biostatistics Unit, and the University of the West of England, has been awarded government funding of £3,865,761 for health protection research.

The money will be used to fund one of 12 National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs) – partnerships between universities and Public Health England (PHE) in a range of priority areas.

HPRUs will act as centres of excellence in multidisciplinary health protection research in England, with the intention of increasing high-quality applied health protection research. Of the 12 topic-based priority areas proposed, the University of Bristol partnership was awarded funding for the cross-cutting theme ‘Evaluation of Interventions’, with work streams covering economic evaluation and modelling; population studies; primary care; evidence synthesis; and behavioural science. Patient–public involvement will be led by the University of the West of England in collaboration with the University of Bristol’s CLAHRC (NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care) team.

Professor Matthew Hickman from the School of Social and Community Medicine and Dr Isabel Oliver, Director of Field Epidemiology for Public Health England, are project co-Directors. The work stream lead investigators are as follows:

Economic evaluation and modelling: Professor Peter Vickerman (School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol); Dr Mary Ramsay (PHE)
Population studies: Professor Adam Finn (School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol); Dr Isabel Oliver (PHE)
Primary care: Professor Alastair Hay (School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol); Dr Tony Nardone (PHE)
Evidence synthesis: Dr Daniela De Angelis (MRC Biostatistics Cambridge); Dr Mary Ramsay (PHE)
Behavioural science: Professor Susan Michie (UCL); Dr Richard Amlot (PHE)
Patient–public involvement: Professor Dave Evans (University of the West of England)

Several other co-investigators working within the work streams are academics from the University of Bristol’s School of Social and Community Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences, and School of Veterinary Sciences.