Read more about HealthUEA, a new initiative from UEA at Norwich Research Park.
Health is a hugely important area of research at the University of East Anglia (UEA). So much so that, following its two predecessors ClimateUEA and CreativeUEA, a new research initiative called HealthUEA has been launched to take advantage of this expertise.
The launch of HealthUEA demonstrates UEA’s commitment to developing its presence in health research. HealthUEA’s mission is to bring together research partners in the healthcare industry, where such collaboration will often result in an outcome that is greater than the sum of its parts. It aims to strengthen the strength of its academic strength by building partnerships between research disciplines to achieve results that benefit society.
HealthUEA’s mission is to bring together research partners in the health sector (Image: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
Core objectives
For the near future, HealthUEA is focused on putting UEA health research on the map and will focus on three core goals.
Firstly, to highlight the fantastic health research already being carried out at UEA and in the Norwich Research Park.
Secondly, it will act as a channel for communication and collaboration between the four faculties – Arts & Humanities, Science, Social Sciences and Medicine & Health Science – as well as the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the world-leading research institutes at Norwich Research Park. : the Earlham Institute, Quadram Institute, John Innes Center and The Sainsbury Laboratory. This will bring people together to participate in more interdisciplinary research that will have a much greater positive impact on society – regionally, nationally and internationally.
Third, it will provide greater and easier access to potential external partners, inviting academic and business partners, volunteers and members of the public to collaborate on future research activities.
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Collaboration between faculties and institutions at the Park is important because it helps to provide a more holistic view of specific research areas. For example, to use the results obtained in a laboratory and figure out how that research can be applied to people, it is necessary to collaborate with researchers from other disciplines to translate the potential of that research into meaningful societal impact.
Ian Clark, Professor of Musculoskeletal Biology at UEA, leads HealthUEA (Image: UEA/Ian Clark)
Ian Clark, Professor of Musculoskeletal Biology at UEA, leads HealthUEA. He has worked at UEA since 1996 and focuses mainly on osteoarthritis. He understands how things work within the university and the projects he has worked on have helped him forge valuable connections with the diverse spectrum of researchers working in the other university faculties and institutes in the Park.
Ian said: “We are in the very fortunate position of having such valued research partners at Norwich Research Park, who naturally tend to work collaboratively. The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the Quadram Institute, the Earlham Institute, the John Innes Center and the Sainsbury Laboratory are all close to the university, which is an extremely unusual and hugely beneficial situation to be in.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that researchers across the park are aware of everything each other is doing. HealthUEA will do its best to bring together research partners where this can provide additional benefits beyond individual results.”
Powerful partnerships
It is hoped that HealthUEA will enable greater engagement with government on issues such as health policy. It will also help research teams become more competitive in securing funding by facilitating the creation of interdisciplinary projects. The existence of the partner organizations on the same campus in Norwich Research Park puts HealthUEA in a very strong position to achieve this.
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HealthUEA applies the lessons the university has learned from its experiences setting up and running ClimateUEA and CreativeUEA. For example, ClimateUEA secured early funding to conduct an interdisciplinary PhD research program, and CreativeUEA excels at building relationships locally. HealthUEA aims to achieve similar success in both areas.
A key aspect is creating external visibility so that people hear about HealthUEA, understand what it is trying to do and want to get involved.
HealthUEA could help lead to important breakthroughs in the treatment of conditions such as osteoarthritis (Image: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
Understanding osteoarthritis
A good example of the kind of collaborative approach to research that HealthUEA wants to enable can be found in Prof. Clark’s field of osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of the joints. There are around 8.5 million people in the UK who suffer from moderate to severe osteoarthritis, and 6 million of these suffer from constant pain. The main risk factors for the disease are increasing age and increasing obesity.
An aging population means both things are increasing. However, there is no drug that can be given to patients that prevents osteoarthritis at all or slows its progression. Research into this disease is therefore crucial and potentially life-changing.
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There has been a significant increase in interest in the role nutrition can play in tackling osteoarthritis – and UEA is at the forefront of research in this area. However, only through collaboration can we hope to tackle such a complex disease.
Research into plant biology and health at the John Innes Center and into the gut microbiome at the Quadram Institute could unlock discoveries that will ultimately help people suffering from the condition. It is extremely useful to have research institutes with complementary skills as neighbors and can lead to important breakthroughs.
Local impact – and beyond
HealthUEA is committed to working with the wider Norfolk community. The UEA already has institutions such as the Citizens Academy, where part of their role is to involve local people in research. Community engagement is critical to providing a clear understanding of what people want to know and what will benefit them most. It offers the public the opportunity to help set the research agenda.
But HealthUEA has ambitions that extend beyond the provincial borders. It is important to recognize that the research conducted here often influences policy on a global scale – something that local people can rightly be proud of – and it is something that HealthUEA is keen to continue.
Sometimes the impression is given that universities operate in isolation, disconnected from real life. HealthUEA aims to break down these barriers and misconceptions and ensure that things happen for the benefit of society.
Roz Bird, CEO of Anglia Innovation Partnership (Image: Submitted)
Roz Bird, CEO of Anglia Innovation Partnership, Norwich Research Park’s science park management company, said: “The launch of HealthUEA is very welcome as it highlights the world-class expertise on campus and encourages the research community to collaborate on projects that will impact the human health and will attract new companies that can benefit from these activities.”
For more information, visit norwichresearchpark.com