Queen Mary, University of London and Barts and The London NHS Trust have joined UCL Partners (UCLP) to create the largest Academic Health Sciences System in the world. The two new founding partners bring to UCL Partners - one of five accredited Academic Health Science Systems in the UK - significant additional scale and expertise in key areas such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, trauma, stroke and human genomics. Based in east London, the two organisations also bring a focus on health inequalities arising from the area's high levels of social and economic deprivation.
Academic Health Science Systems (AHSS) are clusters of healthcare organisations and academic institutions that align education, research and clinical practice to maximise the health of the populations they serve, and to speed the development of new diagnostics and treatments into clinical practice in both communities and hospitals.
Queen Mary and Barts and The London join other world-renowned healthcare providers and academic institutions within UCLP, including UCL, UCLH, Great Ormond Street, Moorfields and The Royal Free Hospitals.
Professor Simon Gaskell, Principal of Queen Mary, University of London said: "At QM we look forward to making a major contribution to the expanded Academic Health Sciences System, to the benefit of the communities of north east and north central London, and more broadly to the enhancement of healthcare through the translation of discoveries in clinical research."
Peter Morris, Chief Executive of Barts and the London NHS Trust said: "We are creating one of the most important centres of clinical discovery and innovation in the world to transform the life prospects of the communities we serve.”
David Fish, Managing Director of UCL Partners added: "This is a tremendously exciting opportunity to deliver step change advances in health and healthcare through this new partnership with major providers of clinical care and academic excellence. Beyond our primary service to the local and national communities it will enable a real powerhouse for global competitiveness supporting the crucial role of London in healthcare innovation and the associated economic benefits."
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