Funding boosts ARU’s health and care work in East
Anglia Ruskin University will receive a share of £15.3million over the next five years
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) will receive a share of £15.3million to fund research projects to help transform healthcare in the East of England over the next five years.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East of England, of which ARU is one of five member universities, has been awarded the funding until April 2031.
In April, the NIHR ARC East of England will launch refreshed objectives and new priority areas across its research themes and workstreams, ensuring that research continues to meet the needs of the region.
It will focus on utilising its partnerships to deliver research that tackles major health and care challenges, reduces inequalities among populations with the greatest need, and supports the translation of research evidence into real‑world practice.
ARU’s Dr Emma Kaminskiy will co-lead the Mental Health and Wellbeing research theme, which will map and reduce mental health inequalities and inequities, support the health and social care workforce including unpaid carers, support the mental health of neurodiverse people and support women’s mental health in underserved communities.
ARU’s Vision and Eye Research Institute (VERI), which carries out groundbreaking research into eye diseases, will also be working on Social Care, Dementia and Ageing projects.
ARU academics are supervising a number of projects delivered through the ARC East of England Fellowship Programme. These fellowships have been awarded to aspiring fellows from several NHS Trusts as well as charities across the region.
The projects focus on areas such as reducing waiting times, addressing mental health needs among children and improving access to mental health support for young people, addressing health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities and autism – including delays in autism diagnosis – and reducing A&E admissions through community‑based insights.
ARU is also committed to match funding two PhD students with the NIHR ARC East of England over the next four years.
“ARU is proud to be part of the NIHR Arc East of England, working with partners at other universities, councils, NHS Trusts, voluntary groups and the public to co-design research to improve health outcomes.
“ARU is transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial research, and this funding will enable colleagues to carry out projects that get to the heart of the healthcare issues facing our region, making a real difference to the health and wellbeing of people in our local communities.”
Professor Yvonne Barnett, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at ARUProfessor Gillian Janes will represent ARU as a member of the NHS ARC East of England’s Management and Operations Group, ensuring effective and productive relationships between the ARC and partner universities, while Professor Laurie Butler will provide strategic leadership as a member of the Board.
The NIHR ARC East of England is hosted by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, working in partnership with five regional universities (ARU and the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia, Essex and Hertfordshire), Health Innovation East, NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Systems, local authorities, patient‑led organisations, charities and industry partners to deliver research that improves outcomes, experiences and access to care. It is one of 10 collaborative partnerships across the UK.
The £15.3million investment from NIHR builds on the initial £9million awarded in 2019, which enabled the NIHR ARC East of England to generate around £62million in additional research funding and deliver more than 260 research projects between 2019 and 2025.
These projects included ARU research into the health of travelling showpeople, and how music can reduce stress among dementia patients.