The Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) is pleased to announce the four projects selected through HDR UK North Regional Funding Calls (2024-2026). These awards, with a total funding value of £160,000, support high quality, data driven research that tackles the North’s most pressing health challenges, affecting diverse communities across our region.

NHSA congratulates the following four project teams:

1. University of Sheffield

Lead Applicant: Dr. Suzanna Ablard
Project: An evaluation of the clinical and cost effectiveness of adult respiratory and frailty virtual wards implemented across South Yorkshire

This project will evaluate how virtual ward models for respiratory conditions and frailty are being implemented across South Yorkshire, assessing clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness to guide future service planning.

2. Lancaster University

Lead Applicant: Prof. Hedley Emsley
Project: Small vessel cerebrovascular disease: datadriven approaches towards improved care and research

This study focuses on small vessel cerebrovascular disease, an important cause of stroke and dementia, and will use regional data assets to advance understanding, improve diagnosis and support more effective care pathways.

3. Newcastle University

Lead Applicant: Prof. Linda Sharp
Project: Epidemiology of early onset colorectal cancer in England: incidence, survival and inequalities

The project will analyse national trends in earlyonset colorectal cancer, exploring incidence, patterns of inequality, and survival outcomes to support earlier detection and reduce disparities in cancer care.

4. University of Manchester

Lead Applicant: Dr. Thomas Knight
Project: Building a secondary care frailty dataset to support applied research and clinical practice

This project will develop a comprehensive secondary care frailty dataset to enhance applied research, analytical capability and clinical decisionmaking across the North.

About HDR UK North

HDR UK North is one of Health Data Research UK’s regional networks and forms part of the UK’s national institute for health data science. Established in 2020 through the HDR UK Better Care Programme, the network connects leading academic institutions, NHS organisations, industry partners, and patient groups across the North of England.

With a population of over 16 million and some of the country’s highest levels of deprivation and multimorbidity, the region faces significant challenges in health and wellbeing. HDR UK North harnesses regional expertise and health data assets to address these challenges – bringing together strengths in statistics, AI, computer science, clinical research, health services research, engineering, economics and the social sciences, with patient and public involvement and engagement advisors.

HDR UK North is codirected by Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed (University of Liverpool) and Professor Andrew Clegg (University of Leeds) and includes a further fouruniversity members of the NHSA: Lancaster, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

As formal partners, the NHSA, together with an Associate Director representing the four Health Innovation Networks (HINs) across the region, support HDR UK North activity – to strengthen collaborative research and translate new insights into improved care for people across the region.

Strengthening the North’s Health Data Research Ecosystem

Helen Cole, NHSA Executive Lead for Health Technologies and Evaluation, and an Associate Director of HDR UK North, states:

“On behalf of the Northern Health Science Alliance, I want to extend my warmest congratulations to all four successful project teams. These HDR UK funding awards recognise not only the excellence of their proposals, but also the strength of health data research across the North of England. Each of these projects addresses critical challenges facing our communities – frailty, multimorbidity, health inequalities, and the need for data‑driven improvements in care.

As a partner in HDR UK North, the NHSA is proud to support this collaborative regional effort, bringing together leading universities, NHS partners and data experts to deliver high‑impact research. I look forward to seeing these projects progress and to the real‑world improvements they will help deliver for patients and populations across the region.”