Nicola Blackwood MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Innovation, marked the occasion by unveiling a plaque on 31st March, ahead of first official day of operation for the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre on 1 April.
The new Oxford-based centre will be one of only two across England dedicated to mental health and dementia.
Nicola Canning, a mental health service user and research advocate who spoke at the launch event, said: “I think that research is very rewarding for the patients: participating in research has been life changing for me, and it is a privilege to be part of the effort to find new treatments to improve mental well-being.”
Over five years, the centre will receive 12.8 million pounds to fund its work.
Professor John Geddes, who is the Director of the new NIHR Oxford Health BRC, as well as the Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Director of Oxford Health’s Research and Development department, said: “Oxford University is already a world leader in basic research, but this new biomedical research centre will enable us to drive insights from our discovery science into innovative treatments.”
Find out more about the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre.