NIHR School for Public Health Research

Launched in April 2012, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research (SPHR) is a collaboration between eight leading academic centres with excellence in applied public health research in England.

The NIHR School for Public Health Research will aim to increase the evidence base for effective public health practice by:

• Conducting research to increase the volume and quality of applied public health research and evidence, including evaluations and;
• Creating an environment where first class applied public health research, focussed on the needs of the public, can thrive

The School will draw on their expertise and will place emphasis on what works practically and can be applied across the whole country. At the core of the School’s vision is the intention to be the mechanism by which a step change in the volume and quality of public health research evidence is produced. The School will complement existing NIHR funding streams.

The 8 members selected by NIHR to initiate the School are:

• University College London
• The University of Bristol
• The University of Cambridge
• The LiLaC collaboration between the University of Liverpool and the University of Lancaster
• Fuse, The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health: a collaboration between Newcastle, Durham, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside universities
• The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
• The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• The University of Sheffield

Representatives from each of the member institutions form the School Executive. Professor Jon Nicholl, from the University of Sheffield, is the inaugural Director of the School.