Teams awarded major funding to drive innovative research at Sheffield Children’s

Three teams at Sheffield Children’s have been awarded major new funding to develop ambitious programmes of research aimed at improving health outcomes for children and young people.

The awards form part of a £5 million investment in research from Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity – the largest research funding opportunity of its kind at the Trust – designed to strengthen research capacity and help Sheffield Children’s build on its ambition to become a world-leading centre for paediatric research.

The successful projects are:

• SYNERGI: South Yorkshire Nucleus for Exploratory Research in Genomics and Innovation, aims to transform how rare diseases are diagnosed and treated, addressing limitations of current NHS genomic testing.
• Paediatric Surgeries Aspirational Research Strategies (PSARS), aims to improve the quantity and quality of surgical research at Sheffield Children’s.
• Developing strategies to address the Determinants, Prevention and management of Complications of severe childhood obesity. This project aims to improve the long-term physical and mental health outcomes for children and young people.

The funding will allow the teams to develop substantial programmes of work, generate new evidence and build the foundations for larger externally funded research programmes.

Professor Meena Balasubramanian, Clinical Director for Research at Sheffield Children’s, said the grants represent a significant step forward for the Trust’s research ambitions.

“Research is integral to everything we do at Sheffield Children’s. It helps us understand the challenges faced by children and families, find better ways of preventing and treating illness, and ultimately improve the care we provide.

“These grants offer a fantastic opportunity for these teams to think ambitiously and develop programmes that can make a real difference. It also means we can strengthen the pipeline of researchers coming through Sheffield Children’s and build the expertise we need for the future.

“Importantly, this is about more than individual projects. By investing in people, ideas and research infrastructure, we are creating the foundations for Sheffield Children’s to attract further funding and develop research that can influence paediatric care and  create healthier futures for children and young people.”

The successful programmes reflect the breadth of research taking place at Sheffield Children’s, from genomics and innovation to paediatric surgery and tackling the complex causes and consequences of severe childhood obesity.

John Armstrong, CEO of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, said the charity’s investment was about creating the conditions for research to flourish.

“At Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, we believe research changes lives. By investing in research, we are helping give talented teams the time, resources and infrastructure they need to develop new ideas and turn them into improvements for children and families.

“This £5 million commitment over five years is an investment in the future of children’s healthcare. The three successful teams are doing exciting and important work, and we are delighted to support them as they develop their research and build opportunities to attract further investment.

“Research has the power to change lives, and we want Sheffield Children’s to be at the forefront of that change.”

These three awards are part of Sheffield Children’s longer-term strategy to increase the scale and impact of research, ensuring better outcomes for children and young people.

As the Trust marks 150 years of caring for children and young people across the region and beyond, this investment reflects its ambition to shape the future of children’s healthcare.