We will soon know the results of the REF research excellence framework. They will be published on Thursday 18 December more than a year after we delivered our submissions – league tables will then be assembled. You may recall we submitted the research of 139 people along with 13 of the new Impact Case Studies (ICS) that will represent 20% of the ‘marks’. Since then, specialist panels have been assessing our work and grading it. Although I am quietly confident, we will have to wait a few more weeks for the verdict. In the meantime, one of our ICS covering our research into respiratory illness has been singled out for inclusion in a publication (in December) organised by the Medical Schools Council that collates the best REF impact statements from medical schools. The intention behind the publication is to demonstrate to policy-makers, patients and the public the excellent and life-enhancing research output of the UK’s medical schools.
We will shortly welcome assessors to carry out external scientific reviews of both the Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the Southampton Centre for Biomedical Research (SCBR). This will help us position ourselves to apply for continued National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding for a Centre next year.
The Faculty is also involved in Genomics England Ltd, an initiative to sequence the genome of 100,000 NHS patients to aid biomedical research. Along with our partners at University Hospital Southampton, we have won through to the next round in the bidding process and the core team have been working night and day to bring together a competitive full application for the early November deadline.
Two large Medical Research Council stratified medicine grants have been awarded to consortia led by Southampton: one in asthma and the other in colorectal cancer. This research will help clinicians treat patients with the right drugs by identifying sub groups of individuals which would benefit from particular therapies in this further development of ‘personalised medicine’
Finally, some great news that Southampton has once again been selected as a member of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research. This is a partnership between eight leading academic centres for primary care research in England. The School's main aim is to increase the evidence base for primary care practice through high quality research and strategic leadership.