NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and Unit
Funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)|, the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre and NIHR Southampton Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit are partnerships between University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHSFT) and the University of Southampton School of Medicine|.
The NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre
The centre is a global leader in improving nutrition, diet and lifestyle amongst patients and society through the translation of experimental research into effective clinical, policy and community interventions. It is the only NIHR Biomedical Research Centre in this field, a status conferred in August 2011 with £9.7M of funding, which built on decades of leadership and a previous NIHR Biomedical Research Unit award in 2008.
Looking at the impact of food and lifestyle on people’s health from conception through to old age (the ‘lifecourse’ concept) is at the heart of the Centre’s approach to improving patient outcomes and tackling the surge in conditions like heart disease, type-two diabetes and obesity. Current work covers the range from dietary interventions at conception, through understanding dietary epigenetic impacts (biological influences on how genes behave) on foetal development and improving acute neonate nutrition care, to the adolescent health literacy project ‘Lifelab’ and studies aimed at understanding and empowering dietary choice amongst elderly people.
The NIHR Southampton Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit
The unit is an internationally recognised leader in improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment of respiratory problems arising from inflammation, injury and allergic reactions. This standing was reflected in the renewal of its Biomedical Research Unit status and a funding award of £7.3M by the NIHR in August 2011.
Pioneers in understanding the role of allergens and physical changes to children’s’ airways in asthma, the Unit is utilising shared expertise in the lifecourse approach to further understanding of early-life respiratory disease development. As well as research aimed at slowing progression and better controlling airway diseases , the Unit continues to lead in developing personalised approaches to diagnosis and medication of respiratory conditions, particularly acute injury in and adults and children.
Along with the NIHR-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility|, the centre and unit embed research at the heart of the hospital, within a total area of 4000 m². Driving more research activity in Southampton and fostering a centre of excellence, bringing the best of new research ideas into clinical care.