Researchers from Oxford’s two NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRC) took over the city’s Westgate Centre on Thursday 30 May to showcase the world-class healthcare research they are carrying out an their annual Open Day.
Hundreds of half-term visitors, including a large number of children, were able to find out about work of researchers looking to improve diagnosis, treatment and care for health conditions as diverse as cancer, mental health, dementia, asthma, heart disease, diabetes, infection, sleep problems or genetic diseases.
The NIHR Oxford BRC is a partnership between the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust, while the NIHR Oxford Health BRC is a partnership between the University and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. Together they conduct research across 26 different healthcare themes.
The event was opened by the Oxford BRC Director Professor Helen McShane and Oxford Health BRC Director Professor John Geddes.
As well as highlighting to the public the important research taking place in Oxford, the Open Day was a chance to encourage people to get involved in research, whether by participating in trials or getting involved in designing and evaluating studies.
NIHR BRCs are collaborations between universities and NHS organisations that bring together academics and clinicians to translate scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies that benefit NHS patients.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the UK’s largest funder of health and care research.