The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford (OxBRC) is based at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and run in partnership with the University of Oxford. It was one of five centres funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in 2007 through a competitively awarded grant of £57m over five years. In April 2012, as a recognition for its outstanding contribution to healthcare research it was awarded £95.5m to 2017 and in September 2016 was awarded £113.7m for 2017 to 2022 to support translational research.
Biomedical Research Centres are part of the Government’s initiative to improve the translation of basic scientific developments into clinical benefits for patients and to reinforce the position of the UK as a global leader in healthcare related research. The OxBRC is a partnership that brings together the research expertise of the University of Oxford and the clinical skills of staff of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with the aim of supporting translational research and innovation to improve healthcare for patients.
Oxford has long been at the forefront of medical research, whether it is the genetic and molecular basis of disease, the latest advances in neuroscience, or clinical studies in cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and others. Oxford also has one of the largest clinical trial portfolios in the UK and considerable expertise in taking discoveries from the lab into the clinic.
The Oxford BRC undertakes ‘translational research’, taking laboratory research into a clinical setting (from the bench to the bedside). This kind of research is about first-time studies of medical innovations in patients, which are intended to improve healthcare delivery for the benefit of all patients.
The Oxford BRC is an organisation characterised by creative connections and collaborative relationships. These are facilitated between different research themes, with other local research resources connected by the Strategic Partnership Board. Broader connections with other NIHR Biomedical Research Centres/units, Clinical Networks and experimental medical facilities have also been developed.
Oxford BRC is divided into 20 themes and four Clusters: Precision Medicine, Technology and Big Data, Immunity and Infection and Chronic Diseases.
