The SLaM/KCL NIHR BRC for Mental Health wins £3M to open dedicated BRC Nucleus
14 January 2009
The SLaM/KCL NIHR BRC has been awarded a £3M infrastructure grant to create a new BRC Nucleus data collection and analysis facility based at the heart of SLaM and KCL. The award comprises £1.2M from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity and £1.8M from South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM) and will provide a newly refurbished space to house major SLaM/KCL NIHR BRC research initiatives as well as posts to support them.
The BRC Nucleus will bring together epidemiological and biological researchers to create a shared resource for the acquisition, storage and analysis of large and complex datasets. The Nucleus will form the largest single case-register and biobank for mental health in Europe offering an unparalleled resource for researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry.
Professor Matthew Hotopf, Director of the BRC Nucleus and Chair of the BRC Analytical Methods Theme said: 'We are delighted that Guy's and St Thomas' Charity and SLaM have provided this opportunity and share our vision for excellence in translational research. The BRC Nucleus will be the glue which holds the other components of the SLaM/KCL NIHR BRC together and will ultimately benefit patients and clinicians through the pursuit of individualised mental health care.'
The BRC Nucleus will be at Mapother House on the Denmark Hill campus, ideally positioned between IoP and SLaM buildings. The funding will support a number of important BRC initiatives including the BRC Case Register and BRC Case Register Interactive Search (CRIS) tool, the BRC Community Survey of households in South East London and the BRC Care Home Study. The refurbishment will be complete in Spring 2009.
As well as Professor Hotopf, the BRC team overseeing the Nucleus includes Professor Simon Lovestone, (SLaM/KCL BRC Director and Theme Lead Dementia), Professor Gunter Schumann (SLaM/KCL BRC Theme Lead Substance Abuse Disorders), Dr Robert Stewart (SLaM/KCL BRC Theme Lead Analytic Methods), Professor Graham Thornicroft (SLaM/KCL BRC Theme Lead Stakeholder Participation); Dr Sabine Landau and Professor Anthony David (SLaM/KCL BRC Theme Lead Psychosis).