Leading the way - pioneering School for Public Health Research launches today
Experts from the University of Sheffield are at the forefront of a pioneering new collaboration launched today (18 April 2012) with the aim of building closer relations between researchers and public health practitioners.
The University's School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) is one of eight leading academic partners across the country to form the new National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research (SPHR) – which will receive total funding of £20m over the next five years.
The new School was a commitment in the Government's 2010 White Paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People and will place emphasis on what works practically, can be applied across the whole country and better meets the needs of policy makers, practitioners and the public.
The School's inaugural Director, Professor Jon Nicholl, Dean of ScHARR at the University of Sheffield, is leading the partnership between the eight academic centres;
- The University of Sheffield
- University College London
- The University of Bristol
- The University of Cambridge
- The LiLaC collaboration between the University of Liverpool and the University of Lancaster
- Fuse, The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health: a collaboration between Newcastle, Durham, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside universities
- The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
- The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Professor Nicholl said: "This is a very exciting new opportunity for the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) to make a real difference in public health research and help improve people's health and wellbeing across the country."
The School's partner institutions are committed to developing a collaborative working relationship and sharing expertise. Working alongside Professor Nicholl, Deputy Dean of ScHARR, Professor Liddy Goyder, will coordinate the University of Sheffield's expertise in a wide range of areas, developing joint research with School partners and beyond.
Notes for Editors: About the NIHR
The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. http://www.nihr.ac.uk/
About the University of Sheffield
With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK's leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen's Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom's intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world.The University's research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.
For further information, please visit School for Public Health Research
For further information / interviews please contact: Amy Pullan, Media Relations Officer, on 0114 222 9859 or email a.l.pullan@sheffield.ac.uk