London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has been awarded £1m as a foundation partner of the new national institute Health Data Research UK. The School will join four other London universities, UCL, Imperial College London, King's College London and Queen Mary University of London, in the collaborative partnership.

Health Data Research UK is initially awarding £30 million funding to six sites across the UK, of which London is one, to address challenging healthcare issues through use of data science.

Each site has world-class expertise; a track record in using health data to derive new knowledge, scientific discovery and insight; and works in close partnership with NHS bodies and the public to translate research findings into benefits for patients and populations.

From April this year, the six sites will work collaboratively as foundation partners in Health Data Research UK to make game-changing improvements in people’s health by harnessing data science at scale across the UK. 

Liam Smeeth, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for the School and will help build a partnership across London. Computerised health related data offers enormous potential for research and health improvement. This funding from Health Data Research UK will further the work of LSHTM in helping bring together the School's world leading expertise in research methods with our NHS partners. It will also allow us to build on our established teaching excellence to help develop a new generation of data scientists.”

Each site’s research organisations will receive long-term funding awards and will become part of a collaborative research community working together to deliver the priorities of Health Data Research UK.  This initial funding is awarded following a rigorous application process, which included interviews with an international panel of experts.

This is the first phase of investment to establish Health Data Research UK.  A further £24 million will be invested in upcoming activities, including a Future Talent Programme and work to address targeted data research challenges through additional partnership sites.  

Health Data Research UK is a joint investment co-ordinated by the Medical Research Council, working in partnership with the British Heart Foundation, the National Institute for Health Research, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland), Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, and Wellcome.

For further details, please visit the Health Data Research UK website.

To read the full news story, please visit the Health Data Research website.