National Institute for Health and Care Research

15/01/2026

“It's impossible to overestimate how important [being heard] was emotionally.”

👋 Meet Ingrid, 44, from Somerset. She has lived with a painful, long-term skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), for her whole adult life.

After years of struggling with the physical and emotional impact of the condition, she signed up to take part in a clinical trial, testing the effects of a new treatment.

💬“Meeting the team that were working on the trial gave me validation of my experiences. They understood my experiences and heard me” - Ingrid.

Taking part in the trial transformed Ingrid’s physical health, restored her confidence, and helped her return to work.

Read about Ingrid’s journey in the comments below and find out how you can too!

09/01/2026

"I'm a happier person to be around because I feel better."

Meet Tom, a Norfolk teacher whose life was changed by a clinical trial for chronic rhinosinusitis.

For years, Tom struggled with breathing, loss of smell, and tiredness. Even talking to his students was a struggle.

Tom joined a trial comparing surgery to antibiotics. "I thought, why not be part of something that can benefit people who are in a similar situation?"

By taking part in a clinical trial, Tom received surgery to clean out his sinuses and remove nasal polyps. The results?

✅ Better sleep for his whole family
✅ Ability to breathe through his nose while swimming
✅ A "new lease of life"

"Taking part in research changed my life, and I’m sure it could do the same for others."

Read about Tom’s journey in the comments below and find out how you can too!

07/01/2026

💬 "Medication can actually work in different ways on different people. So that's why it's really important that we have such a wide variety of people taking part in research."

As we start the new year, Dr Elango Sathiyamoorthy, a GP at Bute House Medical Centre in Luton, is encouraging people from all backgrounds to take part in research.

Through Be Part of Research, you can find and take part in research into nearly every major health condition - as well as social care research.

🖥️ Simply sign up online and choose the areas of health and care research you’re interested in.

📧 You’ll then be emailed about suitable studies, based on your interests, taking place online or at locations near you.

Get started today at bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/join

05/01/2026

As we begin 2026, we're taking a look back at some of the amazing research breakthroughs from the past 12 months.

From drones delivering defibrillators to ‘at-home spit tests’ for prostate cancer, research has helped evolve the way health conditions are diagnosed and treated. This research is only possible because of the people who volunteer to take part.

⬇️ Click the link in the comment below to read about 5 of the biggest breakthroughs in 2025 - and find out how you can get involved in research to help future breakthroughs.

As 2025 draws to a close, we look back at some of the amazing research breakthroughs from the past 12 months.

02/01/2026

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medical settings and health services is growing. 🤖

AI features already sit behind many NHS digital services, including the NHS App and 111 online, helping healthcare professionals guide patients to the right care.

Research shows it has the potential to significantly improve our experience of healthcare. It can enable faster diagnosis, track the progress of a treatment, or help in monitoring recovery - all while supporting the work of doctors and nurses.

For example, AI-scribing technology can free up more time for clinicians to spend with patients. This technology saw particularly strong results when used in A&E, with a 13.4% increase in patients seen per shift.

Other examples of ways AI is improving healthcare include:

🩺 An AI 'smart stethoscope' to detect heart failure
👩‍⚕️ Helping GPs spot urgent cases more quickly
🩹 Helping to monitor patients after surgery for complex wounds

Read more about research we've supported, which uses AI to help improve healthcare, in the comment below 👇

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health services is growing. Here are some examples of how AI could – or already is – improving healthcare for all of us.

01/01/2026

Today marks not only the start of 2026, but also our 20th anniversary year - marking 2 transformative decades of life-changing NIHR research 🎉

Throughout this year, we'll be celebrating our enormous impact across health and care, showcasing how our work:
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 changes lives
💎 improves quality of care
⚡ powers pioneering new treatments
🏥 helps make the NHS more efficient and effective for everyone

And we're not stopping here. Building on 20 years of progress, we're determined to have the greatest impact we can by continuing to tackle the biggest health and care challenges of our time.

Watch this space throughout 2026 to hear more about our highlights from the last 20 years and how we'll continue to drive life-changing research for the health and wealth of the nation.

31/12/2025

When most people think of health and care research they think about testing new drugs or vaccines.

But not all research involves taking new medications or receiving a jab. It can involve all sorts of things - from completing a simple survey from the comfort of your home to testing the latest technologies.

Studies you may not think are research include:

🏊‍♂️ exploring whether outdoor swimming can help with depression
🏃🏾‍♀️‍➡️ an app to encourage regular, short bursts of exercise
🛒 looking at shopping patterns to spot signs of cancer symptoms
🦻using virtual reality to help with hearing loss in children

Find out more about the fascinating research we've supported in 2025 in the comments below 👇

30/12/2025

This year our NIHR Research Delivery Network has helped Stockport County Football Club and Blackburn Rovers launch a projects to give local people the chance to take part in health and care research at the club’s stadium ⚽

These collaborations with EFL clubs are helping bring research opportunities even closer to local communities.

Find out more about this and other fascinating research projects we've supported in 2025 in the comments below 👇

29/12/2025

Gulliver was diagnosed with clinical depression at 19. For years, he struggled with extremely low mood, anxiety, frequent panic attacks and occasional paranoia.

💊 He tried a range of treatments, but nothing helped with his symptoms.

That was until he took part in a clinical trial into whether a drug commonly used for Parkinson’s disease could help with treatment-resistant depression.

Now aged 31, Gulliver says he has more energy, his personal life has improved and he has even started a new job with a mental health research company.

💬 He said: “It’s important that people consider taking part in research. The only reason I could get the help I did on this trial is because of the people that volunteered for research before me."

Read Gulliver's story and find out about other fascinating studies we've supported in 2025 in the comments below 👇

28/12/2025

A simple at-home spit test may be more accurate at detecting prostate cancer than current tests, research suggests.

The BARCODE 1 study calculated the risk of prostate cancer from DNA extracted from saliva. 🧬

For men with the highest risk score, the study found this to be a better tool than the current prostate cancer risk test.

Find out more about this and other fascinating studies we've supported in 2025 in the comments below 👇

27/12/2025

Heavy drinkers are more likely to buy alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks, research from University of Sheffield has shown.

The research found that one-third of UK adults have drunk a no or low-alcohol drink in the last year. However, those who drink at risky levels are more likely to be regular consumers of these alternatives than lighter drinkers or non-drinkers.

Find out more about this and other fascinating studies we've supported in 2025 in the comments below 👇

26/12/2025

🗣️ “Lupus was seen as life-limiting - that’s changed”

Michelle, a law lecturer from Luton, was the first person in the UK to join a large international trial into a new treatment for lupus.

She was diagnosed with lupus in her 20s. Over the years, she has experienced symptoms of overwhelming fatigue, debilitating pain, and recurrent mouth ulcers.

Around 1 in 1,000 people in the UK have lupus, and approximately 90% of them are women. It's also much more common in people with a Black African, Caribbean or Asian background.

💊 It was the prospect of helping to find new and better treatments that led Michelle to take part in research into lupus earlier this year.

Read Michelle's story and find out about other fascinating studies we've supported in 2025 in the comments below 👇