The Royal Anniversary Trust

2009
Cardiff University
Tackling violence through research, new use of data and original collaborations between medicine and criminal justice
Taking a multidisciplinary approach to health and criminal justice, while also developing groundbreaking partnerships with the police, NHS and local authorities, Cardiff University’s Violence and Society Research Group has helped achieve big cuts in community violence. In Cardiff, it identified ‘hot spots’ for alcohol-related violence; subsequent police action has delivered unusually large reductions in the number of assaults for eight consecutive years. The Group’s prototype Crime Reduction Partnership has since become a standard practice across the UK.
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk

2009
Keele University
Pioneering early intervention and primary care in the management of chronic pain
Over the past decade, the University’s Primary Care Research Centre has worked closely with general practices, the public and user groups to become an international leader in the field of chronic pain primary care. It has pioneered new treatment techniques for chronic pain and osteoarthritis and helped develop national policy guidelines and practices for the treatment of back pain. In 2008, the Arthritis Research Campaign named Keele as its National Primary Care Centre.
http://www.keele.ac.uk

2009
King’s College London
International collaborations promoting excellence in mental health care
The distinctively person-centred approach to mental health care taken by the College’s Health Service and Population Research Group has produced more reliable assessments of individuals’ mental health needs. Its research has impacted mental health strategies for areas such as ante- and post-natal care, depression and schizophrenia in the UK and overseas. The Group’s extensive collaboration in more than 80 countries has led to interventions informed by local knowledge, as well as cost-effective new treatments.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk

2009
London School of Economics and Political Science
Applying research to the advancement of global health and social care policy
The LSE is a world leader in research on health and social care challenges. Its innovative methods and multidisciplinary approach has included the policy implications of demographic change and comparative health systems analysis. Successfully bridging the gap between research and policy, its work for the NHS has improved national stroke services and developed new models for community care management, while its five postgraduate programmes are training future leaders in health and social care policy worldwide.
http://www2.lse.ac.uk

2009
Newcastle University
Research on ageing, with important applications for health and care
Life expectancy in the UK is increasing rapidly, giving enormous practical importance to the groundbreaking research of Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing and Health. By combining medicine, science and sociology, the Institute has pioneered research into the genetic and biological basis of ageing, while its work on dementia, nutrition and chromosome damage has contributed to ground-breaking national interventions, including the Face, Arm, Speech, Time (“F.A.S.T”) test for strokes.
http://www.ncl.ac.uk

2009
University of York
Influential research into social policy and practice producing significant benefits for society’s most vulnerable members
Through its groundbreaking research into poverty, ageing, disability, chronic ill-health and family problems, the University’s Social Policy Research Unit has had a major impact on social policy and practice around the world. Its work has directly led to improved support for disabled children’s families, young people leaving care, frail older people living at home, carers and vulnerable families and individuals. Acknowledged as a leader in its field, the Unit’s research methods have been widely adopted abroad.
http://www.york.ac.uk

2007
University of Cardiff
Transforming healthcare for families with inherited disorders
The University’s Institute of Medical Genetics has over many years played a leading and significant role in identifying the causes of inherited diseases and developing new diagnostic tests. These have been embedded in the National Health Service and are in use in many overseas healthcare systems. The Institute’s work has had a major impact on patient care and promoted wider public awareness of genetics in medicine.
http://www.cf.ac.uk

2007
Imperial College London
Effective and affordable control of parasitic diseases in rural Africa
Parasitic diseases are a major cause of debilitating and often fatal conditions affecting millions in sub-Saharan Africa. With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and strong support from drug companies the College has led a strategically effective project to bring low-cost treatment of these diseases to upwards of twenty million people in the six participating nations. The project, delivered on the ground by local ministries of health, is set to expand to additional countries across the world.
http://www.imperial.ac.uk

2007
The University of York
New disciplines and economic models for efficient healthcare
The University’s Centre for Health Economics is recognised as a global leader in developing new economic approaches for national health care systems. It has developed groundbreaking concepts for measuring benefit and productivity. This is crucial for the effective use of finite resources in an environment where health expectations are ever increasing. The Centre’s methods are in use around the world and it has made outstanding contributions in key areas of UK public health policy.
http://www.york.ac.uk

2005
Birkbeck, University of London
Neuropsychological work with the very young: improving the understanding of brain function and cognitive development
Birkbeck’s internationally recognised research investigates one of the increasingly exciting areas of scientific enquiry — the relationship between the mind and the brain. The neural basis of human mental abilities (such as the perception of faces and objects, attention, memory and language) is examined with an emphasis on their development during infancy and childhood. The purpose is to find out how specific brain mechanisms develop to give rise to the cognitive functions that underlie our everyday interactions with the external world and with other people. This research is already helping NHS professionals to diagnose and better treat brain injuries and developmental disorders such as autism, leading to significantly improved outcomes for patients and carers.
http://www.cbcd.bbk.ac.uk

2005
University of Dundee
Enabling the discovery of new drugs and their development to treat major global diseases
Working with a consortium of public sector agencies and six of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, the university’s unique research methods are accelerating and enhancing the process of discovering new drugs to treat a series of major global diseases which kill and harm millions each year. The university offers a one-stop shop to the pharmaceutical industry, giving access to knowledge both about a key enzyme family, whose activities have implications for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases and allergies, and about drug development targeting that enzyme family. Its innovative knowledge transfer programme has already yielded commercial benefits to all the parties involved.
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/lifesciences/mrcppu/

2005
University of Exeter
Using genetics to improve clinical care for diabetic patients
Through ten years of pioneering genetic research, the university has developed means for diagnosing Type 2 diabetes much earlier than previously possible and consequently for less painful, less intrusive and less costly treatment. Its work integrates molecular genetics, clinical observation, human physiological investigation, patients’ views and the education of patients and professionals. It has shown that molecular genetic testing for diabetes can dramatically improve clinical care, often resulting in insulin injections being replaced by tablets. The work has been shared with patients and health professionals throughout Europe and is a model for treating other diseases.
http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/diabetesgenes

2005
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Reducing blindness worldwide
Eighty per cent of blindness worldwide is either preventable or reversible, and the university has played an internationally influential role in researching and providing training in the prevention and treatment of diseases causing blindness in developing countries. Students learn skills that enable them to assess and control the major diseases that cause blindness and to deliver high-quality eye care to people living in the poorest and most remote rural communities in the world. Staff have been a significant influence in establishing Vision 2020 — the Global Initiative to Eliminate Avoidable Blindness — and it is estimated that the programme will save 100 million from blindness over its 20-year period.
http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/iceh

2005
University of Oxford
Uniquely large-scale medical studies: preventing disability and prolonging life
The university has conducted uniquely large-scale studies into the prevention and treatment of cancer, vascular disease and other life-threatening chronic conditions. These projects typically involve extensive collaboration between many investigators not only in the UK but also throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. By studying the causes and treatment of disease in a range of settings, the findings can be widely generalised to different populations throughout the world. The clear results that have emerged from these studies have led to substantial changes in public health policies and treatment strategies worldwide — saving hundreds of thousands of lives and preventing serious disability.
http://www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk

2002
Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh
Clinical applications of speech science
The Department of Speech and Language Sciences has significantly enhanced diagnosis and therapy for people with speech disabilities and has gained an international reputation for its specialised training. The department has developed innovative procedures including electropalatography, a computerised technique that provides a safe and convenient way to record the tongue's actions during speech, as well as the Vocal Profile Analysis Scheme which provides a framework for assessing voice quality. These research tools have been adopted in a range of disciplines including sociolinguistics, forensic phonetics, psychology and drama.
http://sls.qmuc.ac.uk

2002
University of Sheffield
Health and social care of older people: research and policy development
Through its Institute for Studies on Ageing, the university is addressing many of the key health and social care issues arising from increased expectations for a higher quality of life in old age. The institute brings together the clinical sciences, sociological studies, palliative care, osteoporosis and nursing. With such a powerful interdisciplinary base, the university’s ageing research programmes cover many important fields that directly influence health and social care policy. A range of assessment methods produced at the institute for determining the health and social care needs of older people and their carers are now used in many European countries.
http://www.shef.ac.uk/sisa

2002
University College London
Oral health care: teaching, research and patient care
Through innovation and practical application of the Eastman Dental Institute’s research findings, patient care has been greatly enhanced in the developed and developing world. Scientists work with clinicians in key areas including oral and craniofacial disease, clinical service delivery and materials science. The institute was recently designated the first World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Orofacial Health, Disability and Culture. Its research has global benefits, ranging from the development of photodynamic treatment of precancer to a low-technology water decontamination system, now used extensively by aid organisations in disaster zones worldwide.
http://www.eastman.ucl.ac.uk

2000
University of Aberdeen
Clinical applications of medical imaging technology
Millions of people throughout the world benefit from the pioneering work carried out in the field of non-invasive medical imaging technology at the Department of Bio-Medical Physics and Bio-Engineering. Having developed the first instrument in the UK capable of capturing images of slices of the human body and displaying them on a computer, the department has made important contributions to MRI technology as a clinical diagnostic technique as well as new applications and ophthalmic computer software for early detection of illnesses.
http://www.biomed.abdn.ac.uk

2000
Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine
Research and training in surgery
The Academic Surgical Unit at Imperial College is a national centre pioneering new technologies to address training requirements for trainee surgeons, surgeons in post and other professionals. Its innovative work in the use of simulations and virtual reality is internationally recognised as offering a way forward for surgical education. The unit has developed a number of instruments, devices and procedures that impact on surgery, particularly minimal access surgery, and undertakes biological research related to new surgical procedures.
http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/default.html

2000
University of Oxford
Centre for Tropical Medicine: Treatment, research and education
Through its tropical units in developing countries, supported by the university’s own laboratories in Oxford, the Centre for Tropical Medicine has made an outstanding and internationally recognised contribution to advances in medical knowledge and to the prevention and treatment of tropical diseases. It has played an important role in revitalising training in tropical medicine and in raising awareness of this medical field both nationally and internationally; and many of the important and practical results of its research have been implemented by the World Health Organization and other bodies.
http://www.ccvtm.ox.ac.uk

2000
University College London
Child health: research and education
The Institute of Child Health has created a world-class centre for the study and treatment of childhood disease. The institute, in association with Great Ormond Street Hospital, constitutes the largest concentration of expertise in paediatric health care, research and teaching in Europe. The institute takes a multidisciplinary approach to problems in child health including molecular/cell biology studies, biochemical and physiological studies, investigations of individual patient groups, and epidemiological/public-health investigations in the UK and throughout the world.
http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/ich

1998
University of Dundee
Minimal access surgery: new techniques and treatments
Multidisciplinary clinical, instrument and skills teams are at the forefront of initiatives to introduce and develop ‘state of the art’ Minimal Access Techniques (MAT) - such as keyhole surgery, and the use of flexible telescopes and magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and x-ray to visualise inside the body and to control surgical procedures - in order to minimise the damage to tissues, reduce pain and shorten convalescence. The surgical skills training unit, the first of its kind in the UK, provides intensive, practical courses for trainees, established surgeons and other healthcare professionals involving live operative demonstrations and simulation.
http://www.dundee.ac.uk

1998
University of Exeter
Children’s health and exercise: research and dissemination
Funded in part by its own charity, the Healthy Heart Research Trust, the research, teaching, publications and extensive media coverage of the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre have raised awareness both among professionals and the general public of children’s inactivity and its implications. The child-centred innovative research programme has pioneered techniques now adopted internationally, challenging conventional understanding. Close association with local schools has initiated and sustained a fitness movement throughout the UK and projects have been run with a number of top companies.
http://www.ex.ac.uk/cherc

1998
University of Wales College of Medicine
Chemiluminescence: research and development in clinical diagnosis
The present worldwide use of labelled antibody assays based on chemiluminescence is testimony to the significance of the college’s work. The initial discovery, subsequent research and continuing development have transformed the field of immunodiagnostics and led to improvements in healthcare around the world. Heavy commercial investment and continued collaborative research with the college have led to the production of automated analytical systems that are both wealth creating for the college and an important tool in further medical research, as well as in other scientific fields.
http://www.uwcm.ac.uk

1996
University of Hull
Social work practice consultancy, teaching and research
This unique Unit is the only social work agency in the world formed by and directly attached to a higher education institution. While offering practical help to those facing serious social problems it provides high-quality practice learning opportunities for students as well as effective entrepreneurial skills. The programme serves as an innovative practical basis for significant international research.
http://www.hull.ac.uk/fhsc/intro.htm

1996
University of Oxford
Molecular medicine: collaborative research and transfer of results
With the rise of the new sciences of molecular and cell biology, the rapid growth in biotechnology industry created difficulties for under-funded clinical departments. The Institute of Molecular Medicine looked at ways of integrating molecular and cell biology into clinical research. It has created an environment in which scientists interact with clinicians to apply the new methods of biology directly to medical research. It has rapidly established recognition as a world-class centre of excellence and has a profound influence in the development of molecular medicine internationally.
http://www.imm.ox.ac.uk

1996
King’s College, London
Medical law and ethics: teaching, research and public debate
King's College's Centre of Medical Law and Ethics has established a worldwide reputation for its co-operative interdisciplinary studies which transcend medicine and healthcare, law and philosophical ethics. It provides guidance on many moral questions arising from advances in medical science and medical practice - from the use of aborted foetuses in treatment to genetically modified animal organ transplants. The centre contributes informed advice to a wide range of governmental and professional bodies.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/cmle

1996
University of Exeter
Diabetes and vascular health education and research: microvascular process and associated work
The university has formed a multidisciplinary team with a teaching hospital to study the fundamental nature of the complications of diabetes, focussing on the interrelationships between insulin resistance and vascular behaviour. It has assembled extremely advanced technology for the study of human microvessels and pioneered techniques relating to an important aspect of one of the world’s most persistent and unyielding diseases.
http://www.ex.ac.uk

1994
Luton Sixth Form College
Voluntary student involvement in health education
This college has instituted a most highly regarded HIV/AIDS prevention initiative. The course is run entirely by fully trained students of the college. Volunteers receive 6 days of rigorous training to ensure they can deliver a high level of sexual health education. The work is self-funded, making this one of the most effective health education initiatives in the country. The successful peer-led approach has brought about many requests for similar workshops throughout the UK.
http://www.lutonsfc.ac.uk/lsfcweb

1994
University College London
Towards the control of cancer
Research scientists and doctors at University College Medical School have pioneered cancer treatments involving new drugs, lasers, replacement blood cells and even antibiotics. Aiming to improve clinical services to patients, the university has introduced the Counselling Research Centre which has evolved specialist training programmes for those who work predominantly with cancer patients. The Department of Imaging and the National Centre for Laser Medicine and Surgery have worked closely together to pioneer techniques to destroy tumours within the body.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/medicalschool