£20m invested in research centres to improve UK's health

A new £20m investment has established five Centres of Excellence across the UK to strengthen research into complex public health issues such as obesity, smoking and health inequalities.

The Centres bring together experts from a range of disciplines with practitioners, policy makers and wider stakeholders. Together they will tackle public health issues which are likely to have a significant impact on the health of the nation.

The successful Centres, which were awarded funding via a competitive process, are based in Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast, Cambridge and Nottingham. Each will receive up to £5m over 5 years to create new academic posts and develop strong training and career development programmes.

The investment will also support the technical staff, IT systems, equipment, administrative support, research facilities and other infrastructure needed to carry out high quality research.

Research conducted at the centres will cover a broad range of public health issues, and will include topics such as diet and nutrition; physical activity; and alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

The £20m investment was provided by a partnership of funders which came together under the umbrella of the UKCRC. The funding partners were: the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Health and Social Care Research & Development Office for Northern Ireland, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Wales Office of Research and Development - Welsh Assembly Government, and the Wellcome Trust.