The Health eResearch Centre is a digital-health network directed by Prof. Iain Buchan that provides research and education across Northern England and beyond.
Based at The University of Manchester and incorporating data-intensive health research from the universities of Bradford, Lancaster, Liverpool and York, the Health eResearch Centre (HeRC) has one principle aim: to improve public health and healthcare services for the benefit of patients and the public through cutting edge informatics research and digital health innovation.
Research and Development
The Centre delivers over 40 eHealth projects that aim to advance science's understanding of specific diseases alongside providing the methodological blueprints on how to conduct health data research. Projects are grouped broadly into the following six themes:
Endotype Discovery. By combining clinical and genetic data researchers are able to understand more about the root cause of individual diseases leading to more specific and effective treatments. This work enables a shift towards more patient-centred and personalised models of care.
Efficient Trials. Efficient trials is a multi-disciplinary theme that is developing solutions to help streamline the way that research is designed and conducted, evidence generated and findings translated. This work is helping to speed up the pace of progress in the NHS.
Actionable Healthcare Analytics. Through the development of virtual health 'bots' with the ability to scan patients' medical records and identify potential opportunities to improve their care investigators at the Health eResearch Centre are making important inroads in improving early disease detection and improving care standards.
Health eRecord Discovery Science. By linking data from different services with information from other sources allows HeRC researchers to build a more comprehensive picture of specific disease and how different disease areas - like cancer and type 2 diabetes develop and interact with each other.
Co-produced Health. The digital revolution is allowing patients to take more control of their health by generating quantifiable data through mobile devices. By using disruptive technology and theory to create real-time feedback loops between patient and professional to improve self-managed care.
eInfrastructure. Health data science requires considerable computing power and a huge upgrade in the North of England's digital infrastructure. Software developers are ensuring researchers have the tools needed to fulfil the potential of eResearch.
The Health eResearch Centre is one of four publicly funded eResearch centres of excellence that together make up The Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research.
Through cross-collaboration The Farr Institute is uniting the UK health data science community through high quality data linkage research. The network is also building capacity in health informatics research.
The Farr Institute provides the physical and electronic infrastructure to facilitate collaboration across the four bodies, led from the universities of Dundee, Manchester, Swansea and UCL, and supports the safe use of research and patients' data for medical research.
