University supports delivery of £157m investment to transform health and care system

Published on 16, October, 2025

The University of Sunderland is part of a major new funding drive to support research collaborations in improving health and care across the north-east and beyond.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has announced a £157 million investment over five years in 10 NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs).

Partners from the north-east and North Cumbria have been successful in securing £15.3 million of this funding for an Applied Research Collaboration in our region, which will be hosted by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust. Funding will begin from April 2026.

The 10 ARCs will support the transformation set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan, the Life Sciences Sector Plan and the Government’s Health and Growth Missions by tackling some of the UK’s most pressing health and social care challenges through high-quality applied research. They will also drive effective interventions and models of care into practice at pace.

The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration hosted by CNTW NHS Foundation Trust is a partnership that includes the University of Sunderland alongside five other universities (Cumbria, Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, and Teesside), the Integrated Care Board (ICB) North East and North Cumbria (NENC), health and care providers, Health Innovation Network (HIN) North East and North Cumbria, and voluntary sector organisations.

The funding will enable regional partners to build on work already delivered by the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, since 2019. This will include working regionally and nationally to scale-up successful work from our region and other regions to maximise impact and address health and social care priorities.

The Collaboration will be directed by Professor Eileen Kaner (Professor of Public Health and Primary Care Research) and Professor Ruth McGovern (Professor of Public Health and Social Care) from Newcastle University. Its Leadership Team includes colleagues from all six regional universities.

There will be several researchers from the University of Sunderland involved in this new partnership – but representing the University on the Leadership Team are Associate Professor in Public Health for Medicine Dr Floor Christie-de Jong and Professor of Human Metabolism and Integrative Physiology, Matthew Campbell.

Dr Christie-de Jong, who will co-lead the ‘Preventing ill-health, including multiple long-term conditions’ research theme, said: “The ARC brings together researchers, practitioners, service leaders, businesses, charities and members of the public to generate and use research that prevents ill health, promotes good health and offers the best care for everyone.

“Multiple long-term conditions and health inequalities are particularly acute in our region, which faces some of the highest rates of preventable disease and associated risk factors in England. Through this collaboration, we have a real opportunity to drive change and improve health outcomes for our communities.”

Professor Campbell will lead the cross-cutting Health and Care Innovation theme, developing stronger links with business, industry and social enterprise.

He said: “This funding announcement is a major boost for the north-east’s health research ecosystem. The decision to fund the next iteration of NIHR ARC NENC, supports a critical part of infrastructure in our region, to strengthen our capacity to turn innovation into real-world impact.”

The Collaboration will support a network of funded researchers, students and practitioners who will work closely with health and care providers, patients and members of the public to develop and deliver research which addresses some of our most pressing health and social care issues.

Work will include research around:

• Preventing ill-health, including multiple long-term conditions
• Addressing inequity in health and care services
• Supporting children, women’s health, and family health
• Improving care services so they are safe, effective and efficient
• Supporting people with long-term conditions into work and supporting people to remain well in work.

There will also be a focus on driving forward the use of research evidence to promote health and improve care.

The national package of funding will enable ARCs to:

• Identify, develop and deliver high-quality research on applied health, public health and social care that tackles the UK’s healthcare challenges, particularly in under-represented areas.
• Provide resource and expertise to support implementation of effective interventions and models of care into practice across the country, working closely with system partners.
• Provide enhanced health economic expertise to ensure the economic impact of evidence is better understood to support decisions on efficiency and growth.
• Speed up the implementation of research findings into use, to improve health and care delivery.
• Address health inequalities.

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care and CEO of the NIHR, said: “This new funding shows the NIHR’s ongoing commitment to developing and delivering high-quality health and care research across the country. The investment will enable the Applied Research Collaborations to continue to bring new treatments and technologies to patients and the public, supporting the aims of the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan to champion innovation and power transformation.”

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