NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre

Improving brain health: the future in mind One in four people will experience mental illnesses in their lifetime. Whilst some recover completely, many struggle for years with symptoms. A person s risk of developing dementia is one in 14 over the age of 65, rising to to one in six over the age of 80.

We urgently need better treatments and care which prevent illness, alleviate symptoms, decrease distress and promote recovery.

Recognising this, the UK government included dementia and mental health (together called "brain health") as priorities alongside cancer, ageing and respiratory diseases in its Life Sciences Vision: Build Back Better (July 2021). This report highlighted the potential for scientific and technological advances to improve brain health.

We will make the most of these scientific advances in our proposed BRC.

Based in Oxford but drawing on national strengths, the BRC will serve as a platform from which we can develop a national network of centres of excellence.

Building on the success of the current BRC, we plan to deepen the translational research power of University of Oxford and its NHS partner, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Additional University and NHS partnerships across England will increase the strength of our research, the capabilities of our infrastructure and provide opportunities for diverse patient populations to participate in research studies.

We will build on current BRC achievements including: development of psychological treatments which are now standard care in the NHS and across the world, benefiting millions of patients developing new medicines and testing existing medicines for their effectiveness in enhancing brain health the creation of new companies attracting major external investment and leading to job creation exploiting the learning of Oxford's successful COVID19 pandemic response in which we led key studies of COVID-related brain health and vaccine hesitancy.

We have expanded our existing Themes to exploit emerging science, advances in infrastructure and capacity plus national priorities.

We will enhance the cope of our brain health focus by targeting mental health in young people and the higher risk for multiple long- term conditions (MLTC) in people with mental illnesses - both are recognised as major priorities.

MLTC will be studied in Themes addressing biological mechanisms (Better Sleep, Pain), the role of behavioural change, plus initiatives based in community and public settings such as green spaces, art galleries and museums.

Strong patient and public involvement and engagement is woven into each Theme ensuring studies are most helpful in the service of patients.

Vision and goals Our long-term vision is to create a national network of centres for innovation in brain health research, working with universities and NHS Trusts across England to improve lives.

Our goals are to: bring the best multidisciplinary science, researchers and PPIEP to brain health. add scale, power, diversity and impact by involving national partners alongside international collaborations exploit our inter-Theme collaborations and expertise to tackle the most pressing questions transform our excellent science into new treatments and diagnostic tools, delivering personalised care strongly informed by patient involvement and national research priorities