The View from the Faculty
4 June 2012
In January 2010, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, Professor Keith Burnett, officially launched Sheffield’s Joint Clinical Research Office (CRO). Since then, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and the university have been working closely in partnership to grow and develop world-class clinical research in Sheffield.
In this interview, Susan Bridgeford, Director of Faculty Operations in the 
university’s Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health, and Professor Paul Hellewell, the Faculty’s Director of Research and Innovation, offer their perspectives on this important ongoing partnership.
Partnership working is essential to the effective delivery of the university’s clinical research ambitions, says Susan Bridgeford. “Our links with the trust are fundamental for all our areas of business but especially in clinical research. Working together on research allows us to realise benefits that would not be available if we worked independently.
“The Trust, for example, offers us a large patient population, true expertise in many disease areas and some fantastic facilities. It is essential in helping us to translate our basic science into advancements that benefit patients. In return, we offer a wide range of expertise, our own outstanding facilities, world-leading science and research strengths that are internationally recognised. Essentially, the partnership brings together brilliant scientists, great clinicians and NIHR funding in combination.”
“The establishment of the CRO represented a major step forward in partnership working in clinical research”, continues Susan. “I’m delighted the CRO has come to life. It is a fundamental vehicle that has allowed us to streamline processes for our translational researchers, especially in finance, contracting and governance. The establishment of a number of academic directorates – those that will focus closely on research as well as their clinical work - is a further exciting development.
“We can also see a number of other outstanding products of research collaboration. The Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) has come about in partnership with the Trust, and is producing some fantastic research that is already benefiting patients. Recently, the Sheffield Cancer Research UK Centre was launched, in which both the university and the trust, together with Cancer Research UK and Yorkshire Cancer Research, are key partners. There is also the Virtual Physiological Human Project, which is developing computer models to assess the impact of treatments on the body, amongst other innovations. These are just three of a very good number of joint activities.”
Partnership working is also central to the Faculty’s vision for the next ten years, says Professor Hellewell. “Our vision for 2022 places us firmly in a new and strong alliance with the NHS, in both teaching and research. We are working together to drive forward clinical research and improved patient outcomes through innovation. With the Trust as a key partner, we will have firm underpinning from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and strong links with the academic directorates.
“Together with the Trust we will be strongly recognised in our region as healthcare partners of choice for industry and as generators of positive impact for the City and regional population.
“Our joint clinical research strategy with the Trust is clear that we need to work ever more closely in partnership to win increased NIHR funding and to position ourselves as leaders in healthcare research. We have a huge amount to gain from working in partnership and I encourage all our staff to recognise this.”
