National Institute for Health Research funds ‘bench-to-bedside’ project run by Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool. Tony McDonough reports.

A Liverpool project to turn groundbreaking scientific medical research into diagnostic tools and treatments for patients has secured £3.4m of funding.

The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool are to spearhead the ‘bench-to-bedside’ programme.

The funding is coming from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and will aim to speed up the translation of scientific advances for the benefit of patients.

Click to hear consultant clinical pharmacologist Richard Fitzgerald talk about the project

New research

Translational medicine is a rapidly growing discipline in biomedical research.

It uses a multi-disciplinary, highly collaborative approach that sees research done in the laboratory directly used to develop new ways to treat patients.

The Clinical Research Unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which carries out 30 early phase research studies a year, received £1.4m enabling more early phase and experimental medicine research.

‘Strong history’

Aidan Kehoe, chief executive of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We have a strong history of carrying out research which is vital to improving the quality of lives of patients around the world.

“This will be further enhanced with the opening of the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital and development of the Liverpool Health Campus which will devote 100,000 square metres to life sciences, within the heart of the Knowledge Quarter.”

Life-changing treatments

Trish Pegg, 53, from Neston, volunteered to take part in clinical research at the Royal after her late husband was given 12 more years of life thanks to treatment made available after clinical testing.

She said: “By being part of the research, I wanted other families to benefit like ours did.

“As well as saying thank you, this was an opportunity to give something back and be part of the work that goes into finding a life changing treatment for the illness.”

Every year thousands of children at Alder Hey participate in clinical studies to help find new medicines and treatments for children with both common and rare childhood illnesses.

From the funding Alder Hey has received £2m to help two specific units supporting research within the brand new Alder Hey in the Park children’s healthcare campus, the Clinical Research Facility and the Institute in the Park.”