The NHS has teamed up with academia to launch a new paediatric research centre, Leeds Children’s Hospital and the University of Leeds have announced.
The £5m CHORAL (Children’s Health Outcomes Research at Leeds) Research Centre will be the largest children’s research undertaking ever committed to by the hospital, with the ultimate aim of the programme being to harness the power of data to tackle the health inequalities children and their families face.
In view of this, three multi-disciplinary groups will be set up to explore areas in which research can improve outcomes for young people, including cancer, mental health and life-threatening conditions.
Professor of Paediatric Oncology at the University of Leeds, and Honorary Consultant at Leeds Children's Hospital, Adam Glaser, has been appointed director of the research centre.
Professor Glaser will preside over the research conducted at CHORAL alongside Professor Richard Feltbower and Dr Simon Pini from the university’s School of Medicine as well as Dr Carole Burnett, a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds’ Institute of Medical Research.
Professor Glaser said: “I am incredibly excited to launch the CHORAL Research programme here in Leeds. This is a fantastic opportunity to establish a world-leading research centre in the city, led by Leeds Children’s Hospital. Through a clear focus on child health, the CHORAL team will deliver truly transformative research to improve the lives of future generations in Yorkshire, and beyond.”
Funding from the charity partner of The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds Hospitals Charity, has made the launch of CHORAL possible, alongside further support from the university and the trust itself, with the charity contributing £2.6m to kickstart research, the university investing £2.4m and the trust adding another £500,000.
Leeds Hospitals Charity Chief Executive, Esther Wakeman, added: “We’re delighted that donations and Gifts in Wills have enabled us to support this worthwhile research project that will unlock new opportunities and benefit so many young people and their families.
“As a charity, we’re committed to reducing health inequalities in Leeds and investing in the treatment of rare diseases, both of which will be addressed through this ground-breaking research centre at Leeds Children’s Hospital.”
The CHORAL Research Centre is expecting to welcome its first patients to clinical trials in the latter part of this year.
To learn more about CHORAL, click here.
