New Biomedical Research Units announced

Twelve new NIHR Biomedical Research Units will be established to focus on "translational research" that will take advances in basic medical research out of the laboratory and into the hospital clinic.

The new Units will work in major areas of ill-health and clinical need which have traditionally received relatively limited amounts of research funding including heart disease, deafness and hearing problems, gastrointestinal and liver disease, musculoskeletal disease (including arthritis), nutrition (including obesity) and respiratory disease (including asthma).

The Biomedical Research Units will complement the existing twelve NIHR Biomedical Research Centres. Each NIHR Biomedical Research Unit will receive £3.75 million over the next four years, representing a total investment of £45m, enabling these smaller, but excellent, research groups to increase significantly their ability to undertake translational research.