Health Protection Agency Contributes To Vital Infection Research, UK

Main Category: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 22 Jul 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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The Health Protection Agency is a contributor to two research consortia who have been granted a total of £9million by the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) to carry out crucial research into microbiology and infectious diseases. The two consortia are based in London and Oxford.

The Oxford consortium comprises the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (a partnership between the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals and the University of Oxford), the Health Protection Agency, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. The Consortia will focus on research to increase understanding of how infectious diseases are transmitted with the aim of improving control of their spread.

The London consortium is based at Imperial College London. It will focus on research into individual and organisational behavioural change, modelling, epidemiology, rapid diagnosis and surveillance of selected infectious diseases to address the challenge of healthcare-associated infection. It will bring together clinical, laboratory, public health, academic and managerial research expertise to drive forward translational and applied research on infection. The overall aim is to embed infection control into healthcare delivery.

Dr Christine McCartney Director of the Regional Microbiology Network, whose Division is taking the lead on this work for the Agency said, "We are delighted to be a part of both of these consortia and will be providing all our skills and expertise in microbiology to ensure they are a success.

We will be contributing to the essential research carried out by these consortia which will help to modernise microbiology and to further develop our microbiological skills to their best effect to protect patients from infectious diseases. The London consortium will be looking in particular at healthcare associated infections and how we can work with the NHS to reduce hospital infection and make the delivery of healthcare safer for patients"

The UKCRC Translational Infection Research Initiative is a partnership of seven funders who have committed up to £16.5m investment to strengthen infection research in the UK. The Partners are: the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; the Medical Research Council; the National Institute for Health Research; the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Research and Development Office; the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates; the Wales Office of Research and Development for Health and Social Care, Welsh Assembly Government; and the Wellcome Trust.

The UKCRC Translational Infection Research Consortia awards were made on a competitive basis and provide funding for research infrastructure, new academic posts and training programmes, including studentships. Each Centre will receive funds over a 5-year period.

The Translational Infection Initiative was designed to provide a direct boost to research into infectious disease through investment in new research partnerships, focused on high quality, collaborative research targeted at national priority areas.

The UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC), established in 2004, is a partnership of organisations working together to establish the UK as a world leader in clinical research by harnessing the research potential of the National Health Service. The Partners include the key stakeholders that shape the health research environment, including research funders, the NHS, government, industry, academia, regulators, charities and patients.

Detailed information on UKCRC activities can be found in the UKCRC Progress Report 2004 - 2006, which is available on the UKCRC website: http://www.ukcrc.org.

http://www.hpa.org.uk