Research is an important element of the Trust’s strategic theme of World-Class Impact, through which OUH can continue its global impact in improving health and care.
Clinical excellence, combined with world-leading academics, means that Oxford is at the forefront of many new cutting-edge treatments, techniques and care delivery, including:
- artificial intelligence (AI)
- medical imaging
- precision surgery
- gene and cell therapies
- new vaccines.
Our research aims to effect incremental evidence-based improvements to everyday clinical care.
Our research is supported by state-of-the-art facilities that include a biomanufacturing facility, an Experimental Medicine Clinical Research Facility for early phase trials:
Oxford Experimental Medicine Clinical Research Facility
and a Pharmacy Clinical Trials Unit to help develop revolutionary new gene and cell therapies:
New Pharmacy Clinical Trials Unit paves way for trialling new therapies - August 2023
We are proud to be the largest research-active university hospital trust in the UK. In 2023/24, we hosted around 1,500 clinical research studies. We had approximately 500 recruiting studies and 25,097 trial participants.
Specialist centres
There are specialist centres to further our understanding of a wide spectrum of specialties, including:
- stroke and vascular dementia
- brain and cardiovascular imaging
- genomics
- orthopaedic medicine
- early phase cancer
- paediatrics.
Our staff
We know that NHS trusts that are active in research have a happier workforce and better patient outcomes. As an organisation, OUH encourages staff across a range of disciplines to take part in and lead research studies.
The Trust supports nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to develop their career in research and ultimately deliver better care for patients through fellowships and internships.
Our partners
We host a number of research organisations, including some that are part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) infrastructure.
National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Oxford (BRC)
The NIHR BRC: Oxford is run in partnership with the University of Oxford. Created in 2007 as one of the first five BRCs, it began its fourth round of five-year funding in December 2022. The current award, which totals £95.9m, runs until to 31 March 2028.
Supporting research across 15 themes, it brings together academics and clinicians to translate scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies that benefit patients, improve the delivery of care by the NHS and support the wider economy.
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Oxford
NIHR Clinical Research Facility: Oxford (CRF)
The NIHR Clinical Research Facility: Oxford supports early-phase experimental research and plays an important role in the clinical translational strategy of the Oxford BRC.
NIHR Clinical Research Facility: Oxford
NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network: South Central (RRDN)
Since 1 October 2024, we have been part of the NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network: South Central, which is hosted by Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, and covers:
- Buckinghamshire
- Oxfordshire
- West Berkshire
- Frimley
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight.
The RRDN supports the delivery of high-quality research that enables the best care for the population.
It supports clinical trials and other health, social care and public health research studies that require the recruitment of individuals in an NHS setting - including acute, ambulance, mental health, community or primary care - as well as in the social care sector.
