How we fit into the wider health research landscape

The NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC) is part of a complex, thriving health research landscape.

The NIHR Bristol BRC is part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth.

We are hosted by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with the University of Bristol. Our associate partners are Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, North Bristol NHS Trust, the University of the West of England and the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board. We also work with other NHS, academic, charity and commercial organisations.

We benefit from the exceptional research skills, facilities and resources that Bristol boasts. This includes our partnership with Children of the 90s, a multi-generational study that’s unique for the breadth and depth of its data, and the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit which conducts some of the UK’s most advanced population health science research.

We also have a special partnership with the Bradford Institute for Health Research which allows us to work with a more varied population.

The national NIHR infrastructure

We are one of 20 BRCs across England funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

NIHR BRCs are collaborations between NHS organisations and universities. They bring together academics and clinicians to translate scientific discoveries into potential new treatments, diagnostics and technologies. To understand more about the kind of research we do at NIHR Bristol BRC, see our research and about us pages.

We participate in the NIHR Statistics Group. We are also part of the NIHR Mental Health, Diet and Activity, Respiratory and Oncology Translational Research Collaborations (TRCs). Read more about NIHR Translational Research Collaborations.

The NIHR in Bristol and the West

We also work closely with other parts of the local NIHR, including:

Bristol Clinical Research Facility (NIHR Bristol CRF), with whom we share strategies and staff
Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), with whom we share staff

Bristol is fortunate to host other key NIHR infrastructure, including:

Find out more about the different parts of the NIHR in Bristol and the West of England region.

BRCs in the South West

We are developing closer working relationships with the BRC infrastructure in the wider South West region, creating a hub with our colleagues in Exeter and Southampton BRCs.