As well as a CRF, Leicester hosts multiple parts of the NIHR infrastructure, which creates a seamless link from the laboratory to early phase clinical trials to late phase commercial research, together with the support of services to help design, co-ordinate and deliver high-quality research in the NHS.
NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre
NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are collaborations between NHS organisations and universities. They bring together academics and clinicians to translate scientific discoveries into potential new treatments, diagnostics and technologies. The Leicester BRC specialises in 6 research areas:
- Respiratory and infectious diseases
- Lifestyle – including type 2 diabetes
- Personalised cancer prevention and treatments
- Environment and health
- Using data to understand long term health conditions and health inequalities
- Cardiovascular disease
NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre: Leicester (PRC)
Leicester hosts one of 5 PRCs in England, which are 100% dedicated to delivering late phase commercial research
NIHR Clinical Research Network East Midlands (CRN)
The CRN East Midlands is one of 15 regional bodies who support and co-ordinate the delivery of high-quality research.
NIHR-CRUK Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) Leicester
ECMCs drive the discovery, development and testing of new treatments to combat cancer.
The Leicester BRC hosts one of 18 NIHR BioResource Centres across England. The NIHR BioResource recruits and maintains a resource of data and samples donated by over 200,000 people. Researchers can use this resource to call up potential participants for studies to understand the links between genes, the environment, health and disease.
NIHR Research Design Service (RDS) East Midlands
The RDS provides a network of skilled advisers offering free and confidential advice to develop competitive funding applications for health and social care research.
Wider NIHR partnerships
Leicester CRF is part of the Midlands Health Alliance. Its purpose is to facilitate industry access to leading experts within NIHR infrastructure across the region.
We are also proud to be part of the UK Clinical Research Facility (CRF) Network. The UK CRF Network supports CRFs to deliver clinical trials of the highest standard and promotes the UK as the place for investment in and economic growth from health research.