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November 1, 2024

Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) third round of funding awarded to UCL

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We are pleased to announce that UCL has been funded to host the next National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections (BBSTI). The HPRUs are partnerships between universities and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). HPRUs act as centres of excellence in multi-disciplinary health protection research in key priority areas. Each round of HPRU funding is awarded for five years, with the next round being the third round of funding for HPRUs.

The upcoming HPRU, which will begin formally on 1 April 2025, is being delivered by UCL in partnership with UKHSA. Building on research undertaken through two previous rounds of HPRUs, the upcoming HPRU seeks to continue delivery of a world-leading research programme that is designed to help UKHSA in its mission of protecting the country against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and blood-borne viruses (BBVs). To do this, we will continue to use the latest new methods and will bring together researchers with different skillsets to work on studies that cover a range of STIs and BBVs.

Research projects will be designed as part of a themed programme of work, aligned with the following themes:

A. Understanding factors that affect uptake and outcomes of interventions to prevent/diagnose/treat STIs/BBVs

B. Investigating the potential impact of novel strategies for STI and BBV control

C. Using evidence to develop and deliver efficient, sustainable and equitable services

D. Preparing for future pandemics and outbreaks

Our research as part of the new HPRU will help us to understand the reasons why people are not diagnosed, treated or vaccinated for STIs/BBVs, and why some people continue to acquire new infections. We will study the potential benefits of new ways to control these infections. We will then use the information that we generate to develop and deliver services that are sustainable, that people are willing to use, and that can be implemented. We will build networks and prepare research protocols that will help the UK be better prepared for future pandemics and outbreaks of STIs/BBVs. Importantly, we will collect information to understand if there are inequalities in either the causes or outcomes of STIs/BBVs across the country, or in the way that people use services or new interventions to prevent infections. If we find inequalities, we will work with affected communities to find innovative and acceptable solutions.

If you would like to find out more about the research undertaken by UCL and UKHSA as part of the current HPRU in BBSTI, please see our projects and publications pages. For further information on the new round of HPRUs – including the other HPRUs awarded funding for the next five years – please see this news article from the NIHR.

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