The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) launches an open competition for funding today for research to inform the work of NHS Blood and Transplant.

Universities in England are invited to enter into a research partnership with NHSBT, to drive forward priority blood and transplantation research in four priority areas.  

Speaking about the partnership funding initiative, Lorna Williamson, Medical and Research Director at NHSBT said:  

"I am delighted that the National Institute for Health Research continues to recognise the importance of blood and transplantation research.  The competition being launched today by the NIHR will lead to the funding of ambitious experimental research projects that will inform future clinical practice for services that we provide to the NHS and beyond."

The four priority research themes are:-

A. Donor health, behaviour and population genomics

Donor health is a new area of research for NHSBT, and one that has been neglected by the international research community. The strategy in this area aims to support research that focuses on answering two key questions: i) how can we improve the health of blood donors and ii) how can we ensure the sustainability of the blood supply.

 B. Organ donation and transplantation

The NHSBT programme of research in organ donation and transplantation is focused on understanding how to improve the quality and number of organs available.  This programme supports the drive to increase the number of organs available for transplantation and to improve outcomes for transplanted patients. 

 C. Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and immune therapies 

The NHSBT programme of research in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and related therapies is focused on the development of more appropriate, efficient and cost-effective treatments. 

D. Generation of blood cells in vitro

The NHSBT programme of research in regenerative medicine is focused on the production of mature red blood cells and platelets from stem cells. The aim is to use information from basic biological studies to inform how we can generate blood cells from stem cells for future use in patient treatments. 

The NIHR-funded centres will support the work of NHS Blood and Transplant, by creating an environment where world-class research can thrive. The focus will be on building evidence about blood donor health and ways to improve transplant outcomes as well as developing new cellular therapies and regenerative medicine techniques.  These areas have been chosen as priority areas as they have the potential to have a big impact upon NHSBT’s blood, organ and stem cell services in future. 

The closing date for submission of applications by universities in England that are interested in being considered for the NIHR BTRU award is 17 April 2014 at 1.00pm. For more information and to access the application form and guidance notes for these partnership opportunities please visit http://www.ccf.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/BTRUCompetition.aspx