£16.3 million for health and care research in Wessex

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has awarded University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Southampton £16.3 million to continue valuable applied research across the South of England.

It is part of a £157 million investment over 5 years in 10 NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) in England.

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."

Applied health research targets the immediate issues facing the healthcare, public health and social care system.

The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Wessex has been running since 2019, and this funding will allow research with the new ARC to continue until 2031.

Director Professor Catherine Bowen is leading the new ARC and is based at the School of Health Sciences at the University of Southampton.

She said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our region to lead health and care research that is shaped by what really matters to our communities. We have built a strong senior team, and I am especially pleased to be working alongside my co-director, Prof Michael Boniface, from the world-renowned School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton.

Securing this funding was the result of an intensive 18-month process, during which we listened carefully to leaders across health, public health, and social care, as well as members of the public, community groups, and the voluntary sector.

Our research will focus on areas that people told us matter most: dementia, ageing, long-term conditions, social care, technology, and the health and well-being of veterans, young people, and families.

We are now looking forward to getting started, building partnerships, launching our new research programmes, and making sure that our work delivers real benefits for the people who need it most.”

The main research themes are: Healthy Communities and Prevention, Living Well with Long-term Conditions, Mental Health, Integrated Health and Social Care, Data and Technology.

David French, chief executive at University Hospital Southampton (UHS), said: “This funding is a powerful endorsement of the world-leading research and expertise at UHS and its partners across the region. With support now secured through to 2031, our centres and facilities are ideally placed to transform cutting-edge ideas into real-world treatments – driving improvements in healthcare that will benefit our patients and communities for years to come.

 “The NIHR ARC Wessex is a dynamic collaboration of partners united in tackling the most pressing health and care challenges facing our population."

ARC Wessex works with universities, the NHS, councils, voluntary and community organisations and most importantly the public and patients in Wessex. This new ARC will focus on five flagship programmes alongside its research themes targeting some of the biggest health and care challenges facing the UK. These include obesity, dementia, multiple long-term conditions, addiction and everyday data.

Professor Michael Boniface, Deputy Director of the new ARC is based at the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton. He said: “Through our system-facing flagship programmes we’re not just generating new solutions — we’re working with partners to build the systems that can use and sustain innovation. Each theme tackles a national priority — from addiction and obesity to dementia, long-term conditions, and digital transformation. Together they align with the NHS Long Term Plan, creating approaches we can scale from regional strength to national impact”

The theme leads are:

• Professor Nisreen Alwen MBE (Healthy Communities and Prevention) - University of Southampton

• Professor Mari Carmen Portillo (Living Well with Long-Term Conditions) - University of Southampton

• Professors Michael Boniface and John McBeth (Technology and Data) - University of Southampton

• Professors Sam Chamberlain and Samuele Cortese from the University of Southampton and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust (Mental Health)

• Professor Lee-Ann Fenge from Bournemouth University and Professor Ruth Bartlett from University of Southampton (Integrated Health and Social Care)

Research themes are underpinned by a core team for research training and development, public and patient involvement, engagement and inclusion, and Implementing systems. This core team includes leaders from the Universities of Southampton and Bournemouth, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Health Innovation Wessex, Help and Care and Action Hampshire.

Christine McGrath is Managing Director of Wessex Health Partners, who was involved in the bid and represents research organisations in the Wessex region.

“This is a great vote of confidence in the Life Sciences in Wessex, showing that we are leading as a region due to our cross-organisational expertise, skills, facilities, networks and, above all, our ability to work together to meet pressing health and care needs. The money represents a substantial inward investment into the region and will make a real difference to patients and the public.”

Between 2019 and 2025 ARC Wessex generated £100 million in research funding from an initial grant of £9 million – and the next ARC is expected to do the same.

The new ARC will begin its work in April 2026 and finish in April 2031.

For more information contact:

Jamie Stevenson – Communications and Partnerships Manager

NIHR ARC Wessex – jamie.stevenson@soton.ac.uk

University Hospital Southampton – media@uhs.nhs.uk

The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. 

We do this by:

• funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care

• investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services

• partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research

• attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges

• collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system

• funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries

NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. 

Our work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK international development funding from the UK government.

Wessex Health Partners (WHP) is a strategic alliance of NHS organisations, universities and Health Innovation Wessex, working across Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to accelerate better health and care through research, innovation and training

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) is one of the largest acute teaching trusts in England with a turnover of more than £1.3 billion in 2023/24. UHS provides hospital services for 1.9 million people living in southern Hampshire and specialist services – including neurosciences, respiratory medicine, cancer, cardiovascular, obstetrics and specialist children’s services – to more than 3.7 million people in central southern England and the Channel Islands.

UHS is consistently one of the UK's highest recruiting trusts of patients to clinical trials and in the top ten nationally for research study volume as ranked by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In partnership with the University of Southampton, UHS has £27 million of NIHR infrastructure dedicated to bringing the latest treatments to patients. For more information, visit www.uhs.nhs.uk/research.