About Us
The Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) is a centre of excellence in delivering high quality applied and clinical research that improves lives not only for the Bradford population but nationally and beyond.
The BIHR is part of the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Since it was established in 2007, the BIHR has developed strong expertise in clinical research and notably applied health research and has become one of the leading centres for applied health research in the country.
At the core of BIHR is a unique partnership between the region’s healthcare providers and universities. This collaborative approach brings together academic minds and frontline medical expertise under one roof. Together, they drive research and put it into practice in ways that enhance people’s lives. With over 500 ongoing research projects per year the BIHR has accomplished the following:
- An international reputation in applied health research with a particular focus on child health, older people and quality and safety of health care including the Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Yorkshire and Humber
- A strong track record in clinical research with ability to recruit patients quickly (global and national firsts) and meet recruitment targets. The Trust hosts one of five NIHR National Patient Recruitment Centres
- World class community research cohorts. Born in Bradford, the global-first experimental birth cohort study Born in Bradford’s Better Start and the Academic Unit for Ageing and Stroke Research (ASR) CARE 75+ frail elderly cohort; these are world leading examples of community engagement in research and translation of research into policy and practice.
- One of the leading improvement agencies, the Improvement Academy, and one of the top patient safety teams the Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research Group
- Whole system research. Bradford has an excellent track record of collaboration across health and education sectors and close co-production with patients and communities. In 2019 it was awarded a UK Prevention Research Consortium to establish an ActEarly ‘City Collaboratory’ to tackle the wider determinants of health.
- Connected data. Bradford hosts the Connected Bradford programme that is working to enable safe and secure sharing and analysis of data to redesign pathways of care.
BIHR has state-of-the-art facilities that have undergone multi-million expansions over the years including a dedicated Clinical Research Facility. This world-class infrastructure allows our researchers to conduct groundbreaking research studies and clinical trials.
With increasing research activity, grant funding, and cross-institution partnerships, BIHR is going from strength to strength in delivering its research ambitions to make a real and lasting impact on health and wellbeing – for people in the local community, across the nation and worldwide.
Further information about our research ambitions can be found in our strategy.
