The document discusses strategic approaches to addressing capacity and skills gaps in scientific research. It summarizes the Medical Research Council's (MRC) mission to improve human health through funding excellent biomedical research. The MRC supports developing skills in strategic areas like molecular pathology and antimicrobial resistance. It has invested in various initiatives to build the UK research base and workforce, such as the Dementias Platform UK, UK Regenerative Medicine Platform, and cross-council programs on antimicrobial resistance. The MRC aims to maintain the UK's world-leading position in research through long-term investment and collaboration.

1. Strategic Approach to Capacity & Skills Gaps in Scientific Research
Anne-Marie Coriat PhD
Director Capacity, Skills and Infrastructure, Medical Research Council
Healthcare Scientists – Making it Happen
16th March 2015

2. • Established 1913
• Funded by UK taxpayers
• One of seven Research Councils
Dedicated to improving human health through the best
scientific research.
Leading & partnering research

3. Excellence with impact
Research Councils invest £3bn p.a
to meet tomorrow’s challenges
Creating new knowledge
• Funding basic research excellence
• Responding to society’s challenges
• Developing skills, leadership and infrastructure
• Leading UK research direction
Driving innovation
• Creating environments
• Partnership
• Intelligence for policy making

4. Research Council investment
helps the UK deliver world-leading
productivity, quality and efficiency:
1% global
population
3% global
funding for
research
8% of papers
published
(productivity)
16% of world’s most
highly cited paper
(quality)
Research excellence

5. Research Councils ambition
This requires:
• Long-term investment in
world-class research and
innovation
• Realisation of the full potential
of the UK research and
innovation ecosystem
• Development of the right
skills, leadership and
infrastructure
Research Councils do this by:
• Shaping a world-leading research
base with strength across
disciplines
• Accelerating innovation and impact
• Collaborating and co-investing with
partners
• Driving new multidisciplinary
research programmes

6. • Encourage and support high-quality
research with the aim of improving
human health.
• Produce skilled researchers.
• Advance and disseminate knowledge
and technology to improve the quality
of life and economic competitiveness
in the UK and worldwide.
• Promote dialogue with the public
about medical research.
MRC mission

7. MRC remit and partners
• MRC: basic research to early
clinical trials
– Underpinning and aetiological
– Prevention
– Detection and diagnosis
– Treatment development & evaluation
– Phase 1 & 2 trials
• Other funders/partners
– Government departments,
especially Health
– Other Research Councils
– Medical Charities
– Industry
– Technology Strategy Board
Basic
research
Discovery Preclinical
Early
Clinical
Late
Clinical
HTA
MRC
BBSRC
Medical Charities
Innovate UK (ex TSB)
NIHR

8. MRC Strategic Plan
8
Research Changes Lives 2014-2019
• Strategic Aim One: Picking research that delivers
• Strategic Aim Two: Research to people
• Strategic Aim Three: Going global
• Strategic Aim Four: Supporting scientists

9. Delivering MRC strategy
• New frontiers
– Stratified medicine
– Regenerative medicine
– Systems medicine
– Molecular pathology
– Technology meets life
• Living a long and healthy
life
– Mental health & wellbeing
– Lifestyle behaviours and health
• Global and population
health
– E-health
– Infections
• Safeguarding the UK skills
base
– Training the next generation of
biomedical researchers
– Providing a world-class
research environment
MRC Fellowship Priorities
• Supporting skills in strategic
interdisciplinary areas such as
systems and experimental
medicine and bioinformatics, ,
across interfaces (academic /
clinical / industry / disciplinary
/ regulatory)
• Promoting diversity of our
research base, ensuring
enhanced career support and
mentorship
• Streamlining support
mechanisms to ensure funding
is flexibility in supporting key
career stages and transitions

10. MRC Career Framework

11. Examples ………..

12. Molecular pathology
~ £200m investment in stratified medicine in the last four years to better understand
the different sub-groups of patients within a single disease and to develop more
targeted treatment strategies.
UK needs to develop and adopt new diagnostic tests and strategies.
• A clear map of the diagnostic development pathway should be produced, including
regulatory, evaluation and commissioning
• The research base, pathology services and industry have become separated and
should be brought back into closer proximity
• The skills base of the UK should be enhanced by developing future research
leaders in pathology and increasing capacity in data analysis and health
economics.
£17.5m call – MRC & EPSRC – NODES (up to 8)
SKILLS: eg
• masters level courses, modules and/or taster fellowships
• Opportunities for local specialists to develop their skill sets
• Intermediate to senior research focused posts (clinical and non-clinical)–

13. Liverpool
Cambridge
Cardiff
Oxford
Clinical Research Infrastructure
Nottingham
London
Manchester
York
Sheffield
Leeds
Edinburgh
Newcastle
Birmingham
Exeter
2
0
2
1
2
3
2
2
1
7
1
8
1
3
9
2
5
3 4
8
7
1
1
1
0
1
2
6
1
Theme 1: innovative technologies for
stratified and experimental medicine
Theme 2: dementias research
Theme 3: single cell genomics
1
4
1
6
1
5
1
9
Belfast
1
4
1
4
1
4
1
4
1
4
9
• 23 awards worth £172M (capital)
made to 18 HEIs and consortia
across whole of the UK.
• ~2M from partners for resource
costs (BHF & ARUK)
• £60M leveraged from HEIs (capital
and resource).
Training and Capacity Development

14. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
• AMR Funders Forum - research councils, DH, government bodies and charities.
• June 2014: launch of ‘Tackling the Research Challenges in AMR – a Cross
Council Initiative’.
• £20-25m available for research under four themes:
• Understanding resistance
• Accelerating therapeutic and diagnostics development – Call now open
• Understanding real world interactions
• Behaviour within and beyond the healthcare setting
Training and Capacity Development
• Europe: Joint Programming Initiative – AMR To develop integrated approaches
for translation into new prevention and intervention strategies to improve public
health and wellbeing.
• “InnovaResistance” January 2014: 1st joint transnational call promoted by 14 funding
agencies from 12 countries with a total budget of €13.8m.
14

15. Networks:
• Imaging
• Informatics
• Stem cell
Dementias Platform UK
Training and Capacity Development

16. UK Regenerative Medicine Platform
Interdisciplinary research: Hubs and programmes:
• Tools, technologies and engineering solutions for therapeutic development
• Disease focussed programmes – proof of concept
• Visibility and leadership in the UK
• World leading & fully connected national programme
Capacity and skills

17. More information
www.mrc.ac.uk a.m.coriat@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

19. Regenerative medicine
• By 2020, it is estimated that in the UK,
regenerative medicine could:
o impact one million patients,
o generate £5bn in income
o create 15,000 jobs
• Research Councils are at the forefront of
regenerative medicine research supporting
many world firsts:
• restoring vision and limb movement with
stem cells
• transplants of stem cell-based larynxes in
patients.
• Grown the world’s first complex organ from
scratch in a living animal.
Human embryonic stem cell – scanning
electron micrograph.
Annie Cavanagh/Wellcome Images

20. Bowel cancer screening saves
3000 lives a year
• One in 20 people in UK with bowel cancer, causes
10% of all cancer deaths.
• MRC and CRUK-funded researchers developed
flexible sigmoidoscopy — 5-minute test to detect
early bowel cancer and remove pre-cancerous
polyps.
• 16-year study following 170,000 people for 11 years
found test reduced rate of bowel cancer by a
third.
• Led to £60m Govt investment to incorporate test in
UK National Screening Programme — rolled out
across whole UK population by 2016.
• Expected to save 3,000 lives each year in UK and
save £28 for every person screened.

21. Heptares Therapeutics
• Formed in 2007 to develop and commercialise
pioneering MRC fresearch involving proteins called
G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs)
– >30% of all drugs marketed act on GPCRs,
– most important drug targets known
• Heptares technology has revolutionised
structure based design of GPCRs
– Increased ability to target difficult GPCRs such
as those involved in stress and anxiety
– 7 major deals with global pharmaceutical
companies
– In 2014 core patents granted in USA
– 6 projects in clinical development
• Raised more than $60 million in private financing
and employs 70 people
• Dr Richard Henderson: “Heptares would not exist
without the long-term support for fundamental
research at the MRC LMB nor without the parallel
support for translation that came through MRC
Technology and the Development Gap Fund.”
Image: Beta-adrenergic
receptor (red) with G protein
bound to it .