9 December 2014

UK Clinical Research Collaboration Establishes New National Tissue Directory and Research Collaboration

UK Clinical Research Collaboration establishes new National Tissue Directory and Research Collaboration

The Medical Research Council is pleased to announce on behalf of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC)* the establishment of a National Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre, led by University College London in collaboration with Nottingham University.

The new Centre, will receive approximately £900k for a period of three years, from a consortium of UKCRC funders, including British Heart Foundation; Cancer Research UK; Chief Scientist Office (Scotland); MRC; National Institute for Health Research/Department of Health; Health and Social Care Research & Development Division, Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland; National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (NISCHR)/ Welsh Government; and the Wellcome Trust.

Professor Brian Davidson, UCL lead for the New Centre for National Tissue Directory and Research Collaboration said:

“The new National Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre will develop a resource finder which will enable researchers to discover, search across and contact multiple human tissue and biosample collections through one system. We hope that this coordinated approach and the guidance provided will improve the harmonisation of standards and best practice associated with the collection and governance of tissue samples in the UK.”

Professor Stephen Holgate, Chair of the Evaluation Panel said:

“The new Centre will help to ensure the medical research community maximises value of human tissue samples and resources while minimising duplication of effort. The Centre will support the UKCRC Experimental Medicine Funders Group’s vision by supporting better characterisation of samples and increased linkage to accurate clinical data. Thus, making sample collection more easily discoverable and accessible for use in high quality research.”                      

Christopher Birkett, Head of Regulation at the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) said:

“Researchers have told us that the HTA has raised standards for the storage of tissue, leading to better research outcomes. The successful partnership of HTA and the HRA on the Research Tissue Bank scheme means that high quality tissue for research has never been more accessible to researchers. Building on the regulators’ successes in improving research quality, accessibility and transparency, we welcome this new initiative, and look forward to working with Professor Davidson to support it.”

For further information or if you have any questions or queries about this new Centre please contact: tissuedirectorycall@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

Notes:

The UK Clinical Research Collaboration brings together the NHS, research funders, industry, regulatory bodies, Royal Colleges, patient groups and academia in a UK-wide environment that facilitates and promotes high quality clinical research for the benefit of patients.

  • The Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI)
  • Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
  • The Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS)
  • Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
  • Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AOMRC)
  • BioIndustry Association (BIA)
  • Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS)
  • Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
  • Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland
  • Department of Health (DH)
  • Health Research Authority
  • Higher Education Funding Council for England
  • Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
  • Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)
  • INVOLVE
  • Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
  • Medical Research Council (MRC)
  • NHS Confederation
  • NHS England
  • National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)
  • National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
  • HSC Research and Development Division, Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland
  • Scottish Government Health Directorates
  • Scottish Funding Council
  • The Wellcome Trust
  • Welsh Assembly Government

For more information about UKCRC please visit: www.ukcrc.org