Breaking: Leading Yorkshire researchers granted £10million by Government

The funds come as part of an £816m investment in NHS research – the largest ever into groundbreaking UK studies – announced by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt today.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTH) has been granted £7m to fund work focusing on preventing inflammatory diseases like arthritis and perfecting therapy for osteoarthritis at the Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit (LMBRU).

A further £4m will support Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (STH) in its research into progressive illnesses such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, stroke and multiple sclerosis.

The trust’s partnership with the University of Sheffield will be designated as one of 20 National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centres.

Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, consultant neurologist at STH, said: “This will take our research effort to a new level for the benefit of patients with neurological conditions.”

Julian Hartley, chief executive of the LTH, added: “This funding will ensure we continue to be at the forefront of musculoskeletal research in the UK and internationally.”

The LMBRU, which is a partnership between LTH and the University of Leeds, is the only dedicated musculoskeletal biomedical research centre in the UK.

Previous grants have helped the unit conduct research that established ultrasound imaging to be more sensitive than standard assessment tools for both join inflammation and damage in arthritis patients.

The findings, which deemed ultrasound a more accessible and economic tool, have led to its use more widely among patients.

The Health Secretary added: “Today, we are making sure the UK stays ahead of the game by laying the foundations for a new age of personalised medicine.”

The new funding will come into force in April 2017.