NIHR Newcastle BRC in Ageing and Multiple Long-Term Conditions

Vision Our vision is to transform lives through world-leading research in ageing and multiple long-term conditions (MLTC).

We will take 21st century approaches to driving discoveries from the laboratory into the clinic to advance diagnosis, treatment and prevention for complex patient groups often not represented in experimental medicine research. Rationale One in four people in England are living with MLTC.

These conditions can develop at any stage of life but become more common and burdensome with age, leading to significant personal and societal cost such as increased need for health and social care.

Ageing and MLTC have been consistently raised as research priorities, not only by the UK Government Life Sciences Vision 2021 and research funders, but also by patients and members of the public.

Groups such as our BRC Public Partnership Advisory Group, VOICE and the James Lind Alliance on Multiple Conditions in Later Life have all emphasised the importance of inclusive engagement, particularly with these under-served populations, to ensure research meets patient need.

Strategy We are uniquely placed to deliver on our ambitious vision through building on existing research capacity and capability across the Newcastle Hospitals Newcastle University Partnership.

Themes have been chosen for breadth and depth of world-class experimental medicine research that is focused on areas of high patient burden and innovative technology solutions: Sarcopenia Dementia Liver Disease Musculoskeletal Disease Neuromuscular Disease Skin and Oral Disease Digital Health Precision Care Furthermore the themes have been challenged by patients to broaden their focus beyond single long-term conditions (LTCs) to address the complexity and impact of additional diagnoses.

For example our new partnership with the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Trust will enable themes to study the effect of poor mental health on single and MLTC.

This critical mass of research excellence combined with synergistic working will enable us to realise the benefits of bringing the research together as a Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and maximise the effectiveness of NIHR's funding.

For example we will standardise approaches to characterising ageing and MLTC across the themes, build cross-theme expertise in symptoms such as low mood and fatigue (a patient priority for LTCs), and link rare disease research areas.

We will exploit scientific advances in data driven approaches such as the Human Cell Atlas and wearable technology across themes.

This will lead to a powerful unified voice on research evidence and an approach shared between university researchers, the NHS and the public to speed up the implementation of scientific breakthroughs into benefits for patients.

Capacity Building Our BRC is the only one based in the North East of England, an area with high levels of deprivation and poor health.

Sustained investment from NIHR, including recently awarded Academic Health Science Centre status, and our partnerships across infrastructure, industry, charities and funders means we are perfectly positioned to have regional, national and global reach plus impact.

Drawing on our previous success and experience in training innovations, we will deliver the exciting goal of a step change in capacity building of next generation researchers.