NIHR Urgent Public Health (UPH)

The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialty, led by Professor Anne Schilder, is one of 30 clinical research specialties which bring together communities of clinical practice to provide networks of research expertise. Our membership is made up of research-interested clinicians and practitioners at both national and local levels. 

Last year (2019/2020) the NIHR supported 76 studies and recruited 2,642 patients to ENT studies. The NIHR supported these studies through our funding programmes, research schools and units. 

The research supported by the ENT specialty includes studies involving Otology, Neurotology/Skull Base Surgery, Rhinology, Head and Neck including Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery and Laryngology. 

Find out more you can visit our website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-in-your-area/ent/

Access our Study Support Service online at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/study-support-service/

The Gastroenterology Specialty, led by Professor Mark Hull, is one of 30 specialties which bring together communities of clinical practice to provide networks of research expertise and clinical leadership. It is made up of research-interested clinicians and practitioners who work at both national and local levels to ensure the studies that are included in our portfolio of research are delivered successfully in the NHS. 

Last year (2019/2020) the NIHR supported 232 studies and recruited 28,840 patients to Gastroenterology studies. 

Find out more you can visit our website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-in-your-area/gastroenterology/

Access our Study Support Service online at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/study-support-service/

Professor Mark Hull is retiring from the Gastroenterology National Specialty Lead position at the end March 2021. We are currently recruiting, access the job pack here: Gastroenterology National Specialty Lead Job pack.

The Hepatology Specialty, led by Professor William Rosenberg, is one of 30 specialties which bring together communities of clinical practice to provide networks of research expertise and clinical leadership. It is made up of research-interested clinicians and practitioners who work at both national and local levels to ensure the studies that are included in our portfolio of research are delivered successfully in the NHS. 

Last year (2019/2020) the NIHR supported 142 studies on the Hepatology portfolio and recruited 10,931 patients to Hepatology studies. 

Find out more you can visit our website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-in-your-area/hepatology/

Access our Study Support Service online at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/study-support-service/

The Infection Specialty, led by Dr Andrew Ustianowski and Professor William Hope, is one of 30 specialties which bring together communities of clinical practice to provide networks of research expertise and clinical leadership. It is made up of research-interested clinicians and practitioners who work at both national and local levels to ensure the studies that are included in our portfolio of research are delivered successfully in the NHS. 

Last year (2019/2020) the NIHR supported 221 studies and recruited 43,524 patients to Infection studies. 

In addition, we support research in Urgent Public Health situations. Urgent public health outbreaks can cause serious risk to human health. In the event of an urgent public health outbreak (e.g. a pandemic) the NIHR must be able to rapidly set-up relevant research studies and ensure that these studies are successfully conducted so that their findings can inform the on-going care of patients during the outbreak. 

Find out more you can visit our website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-in-your-area/infection/

Access our Study Support Service online at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/study-support-service/

The Respiratory Disorders Specialty, led by Professor Anthony De Soyza, is one of 30 specialties which bring together communities of clinical practice to provide networks of research expertise and clinical leadership. It is made up of research-interested clinicians and practitioners who work at both national and local levels to ensure the studies that are included in our portfolio of research are delivered successfully in the NHS. 

Last year (2019/2020) the NIHR supported 303 studies, and recruited 27,314 patients to Respiratory Disorders studies. 

Find out more you can visit our website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-in-your-area/respiratory/

Access our Study Support Service online at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/study-support-service/

An ATMP is a medicinal product which is either i) a gene therapy, ii) a somatic cell therapy, or iii) a tissue engineered product. There are currently ~90 ATMP trials ongoing in the UK, and ~1000 worldwide. The Cluster undertook scoping to identify challenges that may be contributing to the low number of trials in the UK, identifying:

• Lack of specialised training across multiple groups
• Restricted access to infrastructure and lack of clarity as to the infrastructure needed
• Clarifying the role of pharmacy professionals
• No single industry offering

However, the biggest challenge related to the number of enthusiastic stakeholders duplicating each other’s work. Our simple solution has been to pull together a NIHR ATMP Coordinating Group
chaired by Cluster B and including all relevant stakeholders (Figure).

Working Groups deliver the day-to-day business and include (lead):

Education and workforce (Uta Griesenbach, Professor of Molecular Medicine at Imperial College and British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy President): Developing training and educational programmes and activities for the entire workforce impacted by ATMP studies.

Pan UK ATMP Pharmacy (Anne Black, Regional QA Specialist Pharmacist and Nicola Stoner, Cancer Consultant Pharmacist): Developing guidelines and providing expertise on pharmacy processes and pathways required for ATMP studies.

Infrastructure and Governance (Joanna Gray, UK Clinical Research Facility Clinical Manager, Birmingham): Ensuring that NHS Trusts have the necessary infrastructure and knowledge required to be involved in ATMP studies

Industry (Madina Kara, NOCRI Senior Research Collaboration Manager): Developing a single ATMP offering for the UK, which can be used by all industry entry points.

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (Jayne Spink, CEO, Genetic Alliance UK): Aiming to enable members of the public and patients to become more aware of and involved in ATMP studies.