UEA to receive share of £15 million funding boost for region
By: Communications
University of East Anglia researchers have been awarded a share of £15.3 million to tackle real-world health and care challenges across the region and beyond.
The funding comes from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) – and is part of a wider £157 million investment over five years across 10 Applied Research Collaborations (ARC).
At UEA, the funding will go towards research tackling mental health inequalities, dementia, and improving palliative and end-of-life care, among other things.
Prof Philip Baker, Pro Vice Chancellor for Medicine and Health Sciences, said: “Securing this major investment is a tremendous endorsement of the outstanding research being led at UEA.
“It will accelerate our work with partners across the region to address some of the most pressing health and care challenges facing our communities. By combining academic excellence with real world collaboration, we can ensure that new knowledge is translated into meaningful improvements for patients, families and frontline services.”
UEA to lead on key research themes
Of five programme themes being funded around the region, four are being led or co-led by University of East Anglia researchers.
Prof Kristy Sanderson from UEA’s School of Health Sciences will lead a theme around mental health and wellbeing. This programme will focus on issues such as tackling mental health inequalities and improving outcomes for neurodiverse people and women in underserved communities.
Dr Adam Wagner from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, will lead work to measure and understand people’s health and social care needs and preferences, alongside evaluating approaches to addressing these.
Research on social care, dementia and ageing will be co-led by Dr Tamara Backhouse, from UEA’s School of Health Sciences. This work will focus on areas such as care homes, digital technologies, AI, and dementia – with an emphasis on under-served populations including rural and coastal communities.
Finally, Prof Morag Farquhar, also from UEA’s School of Health Sciences, will lead a programme to improve care for palliative and end-of-life patients of all ages, as well as for unpaid and family carers.
These themes were refined after a six-month-long consultation with Integrated Care Boards, patients, the public, service providers and academics.
Other key UEA movers and shakers
Prof Philip Baker, Pro Vice Chancellor for Medicine and Health Sciences, has been appointed to sit on the NIHR ARC East of England board. This group is collectively responsible for shaping and delivering strategy and ensuring financial accountability.
Prof Christopher Burton, Dean of UEA’s School of Health Sciences, will sit on the partnership’s Management Operations Group (MOG) to ensure effective and productive relationships between the ARC and partner universities.
Dr Naoko Kishita from UEA’s School of Health Sciences has been appointed to lead the Research Capacity Development team, strengthening the region’s capacity for health and care research. This work will support professionals across all career stages and sectors involved in ARC East of England, with a focus on developing future research leaders.
The NIHR ARC East of England is hosted by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, working in partnership with five regional universities (UEA, the University of Cambridge, University of Essex, University of Hertfordshire and Anglia Ruskin University), Health Innovation East, NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Systems, local authorities, patient led organisations, charities and industry partners to deliver research that improves outcomes, experiences and access to care.
Since its inception in 2019, ARC East of England has delivered impactful research across the region, building on earlier collaborative work that helped establish long lasting partnerships with researchers, communities, and health and care organisations.
The latest £15.3 million NIHR investment builds on an initial £9 million awarded in 2019, which enabled the partnership to generate around £62 million in additional research funding and deliver more than 260 research projects between 2019 and 2025.Prof
Stephen Morris, from the University of Cambridge, will take up the role of ARC East of England director on April 1.
He said: “It is an honour to lead the NIHR ARC East of England into its next phase. Our work is most powerful when it is rooted in partnership with patients, the public, practitioners and researchers across the region. This new funding allows us to build on strong foundations and ensure that the research we deliver genuinely responds to the priorities of our communities and improves lives across health and social care.”
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