Barts Life Sciences: shaping the future of healthcare

A member of staff looking into a microscope

We will transform the future of healthcare, not only for the people of London and the UK, but globally.

Our ultimate ambition is to build a new life sciences campus that will provide a space for our researchers, scientists and clinicians to work directly alongside businesses and entrepreneurs, creating the healthcare solutions of tomorrow. This will allow us to share ground-breaking ideas, develop new ways of working, improve health outcomes and reduce the costs faced by health systems.

Based in east London, we provide access to expertise and resources at the one of the largest NHS Trusts in the UK, with the global gene pool on our doorstep.

Our vision, made possible through this transformative partnership, is to create an ecosystem that will:

  • Accelerate, with confidence and safety, research and development through the innovation chain from the bench to the patient.
  • Reduce health inequalities and transform patient care in East London and the wider UK.
  • Create a sustainable NHS which will be recognised as world-leading in prevention, prediction and precision health care.

What is life sciences?

Life sciences combines research, innovation and technologies to transform health and care services. It is the space where research, health and industry come together to spark new ideas and innovations in a powerful creative cycle.

By bringing together healthcare professionals, patients and their families, innovators, industrialists, researchers and others, improvements can be made to patient care and the performance of health and care services.

Find out more about our vision visit the Barts Life Sciences website. 

COVID-19

Barts Life Sciences is leading on COVID-19 research projects working closely with teams from Barts Health and Queen Mary University of London. 

For members of the public interested in learning more about COVID-19 research taking place at Barts Health, please go to the information page.

Research staff should visit the Joint Research Management Office website, for advice and updates on conducting research on the COVID-19 outbreak.

By unleashing the power of these partnerships, life sciences:

  • translates outputs from research into ground-breaking  clinical practice which improves outcomes for patients
  • develops new compounds, medical technologies and advances in digital health
  • uses the commercial potential of medical techniques and treatments, creating local jobs and generating wealth that is invested back into further scientific research.

About Barts Life Sciences

Barts Health NHS Trust and Queen Mary University of London, supported by Barts Charity, have come together to help accelerate the latest healthcare innovations from bench to bedside in a powerful partnership that we call Barts Life Sciences.

​For centuries, our two organisations have discovered and delivered cutting-edge and transformative health solutions for people around the world. Now, as Barts Life Sciences we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to revolutionise healthcare and deliver better outcomes for everyone.

The need for pioneering, effective and affordable innovations in healthcare has never been greater. People in the UK, and the world, are living longer but not necessarily healthier lives. We exist to shape the future of healthcare for the benefit of people in London, the wider UK and the world. For more information about the programme please contact life.sciences@nhs.net. 

Barts Health NHS Trust: Our Expertise 

Barts Health is home to three national biobanks and our Bioresource at St Bartholomew’s Hospital is one of the fastest growing medical research programmes.

We host 21 separate research repositories containing over 500,000 human tissue samples, each linked to a pseudonymised patient record. They include three national cancer biobanks for male, breast and pancreatic tissue. We want to integrate, expand and open up these resources to researchers looking to develop new ways of monitoring, diagnosing and treating health conditions.

We are a leader in global firsts and ground-breaking trials and have over 32,000 patients actively involved in research programmes. We have an army of clinicians eager to find new drugs, treatments and therapies to spearhead the coming revolution in personalised medicine.

We have ongoing collaborations with global Med Tech, pharmaceutical and early-stage companies to improve clinical pathways and reduce costs. In 2017/18, Barts Health topped the table for supporting the most life sciences studies.

Our aim is to commercialise access to all these life sciences resources and provide an infrastructure to support the invention, adoption and diffusion of medical innovation. 

Our team:

  • Rakesh Uppal, Director of Barts Life Sciences
  • Sven Bunn, Life Sciences Programme Director
  • ​Vicky Adrienne, Director of Administration, Life Sciences
  • Gretchen Ladish, Life Sciences Project Manager
  • Alice Morrisey, Digital Innovation Manager
  • Naheedah Chowdhury, Life Sciences Research and Governance Officer

A life sciences centre in Whitechapel

In order to build on the significant life sciences work already undertaken at Barts Health, we plan to create a thriving life sciences centre at the heart of a vibrant cluster which will sit next door to The Royal London Hospital.

In July 2018, the Department of Health and Social Care bought underused land from Barts Health to kick-start the development of this cutting-edge research campus.

The plan is to develop several plots of land left over following the development of the new Royal London Hospital into one of the most modern research facilities in Europe. This land covers a ground area equivalent to two-and-a-half football pitches.

The new development will create up to 11,500 full-time jobs and will be a powerful incentive for attracting new start-ups and other innovative and dynamic enterprises. Revenue will be reinvested back into local healthcare, securing clinical and financial sustainability.

Rakesh Uppal, a leading cardiac surgeon and director of life sciences for Barts Health, said: “Our ambition is for a world-leading research and innovation facility to benefit our patients, the local community and the NHS, while also advancing medical science internationally. We are hugely grateful to the Department for providing the resources to make this possible.”

 

Health Minister James O'Shaughnessy said: "This innovative project has unlocked surplus NHS land and allows us to unleash a major life sciences investment into East London. The project won't just allow researchers and entrepreneurs to benefit. It will help NHS patients access new diagnostics and treatments more quickly and 168 homes for NHS staff will also be provided.“

Find out more about how our life sciences campus has been backed by government investment.

Partnerships and collaborations

Work with Us

Barts Life Sciences is keen to work with potential partners. Please contact the team to discuss any potential opportunities. 

You can also find out further information through the Joint Management Research Office, and to the QMUL Business Development team for other commercial sponsorship.

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