The NIHR supports patients and the public to participate in high quality research taking place in health and care settings across England, advancing knowledge and improving care.
NIHR Clinical Research Network
The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) includes 30 specialty groups, who coordinate and support the delivery of high quality research by therapy area. Some of this research is funded by the NIHR, but most of it is funded by non-commercial organisations, such as charities or universities, and the life sciences industry.
The CRN provides researchers with the practical support they need to make research happen. It supports the set up and delivery of clinical research in the NHS and in other health and care settings through our Study Support Service, with tailored offers of support for:
Supporting haematology research
We oversee clinical research into blood disorders. By this we mean conditions and diseases that affect how the blood and its components work. One example is haemophilia, an inherited condition that affects the blood’s ability to clot and stop bleeding. Another is sickle-cell disease, a genetic defect which affects the structure and shape of the blood cells so that it can’t carry oxygen as well as normal cells. Other examples include thrombotic disorders (where the blood clots too much), and anaemia.
Our research areas of focus include:
- acquired bleeding disorders
- anticoagulation
- autoimmune haemolytic anaemia
- haemolysis
- haemophilia
- immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
- immuno haematology
- inherited bleeding disorders
- obstetric and paediatric haematology
- paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria
- platelet and red cell disorders
- sickle-cell disease
- thalassemia
- thrombosis
- thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) and thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura (TTP)
- transfusion
We support studies led by other closely related specialties, for example genomics and rare diseases, infection and respiratory disorders, to deliver high quality haematology research.
Who we are
As well as providing research delivery staff, we also bring together highly engaged NHS consultants and clinical academics from top UK universities, bringing both clinical and academic expertise to your research. Our experts in the CRN Specialty Group can advise on delivering your haematology study in the NHS and in particular geographic regions.
Dr Dan Hart is the CRN National Specialty Lead for haematology. Read Dr Hart’s full biography.
Dr Hart is supported by local specialty leads in each of the 15 NIHR Local Clinical Research Networks.
Our collaborators and stakeholders
National Haemophilia Database
The UK is the only country in the world that has a comprehensive National Haemophilia Database which maintains a record of patients with bleeding disorders. Our focus on haematology has enabled us to collaborate with the UK Haemophillia Centre Doctors’ Organisation who manage the database. This means that we can advise on the incidence of bleeding disorders, as well as the location of patients around the country. Such information is anonymised, but provides the intelligence we need to aid in the feasibility assessment of new commercial studies investigating novel therapies in this patient group.
UK Adult Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) Registry
The UK Adult ITP Registry has recruited over 4,000 individuals with ITP from 85 participating acute hospital trusts. It is the most comprehensive ITP registry in the world, with increasing granularity of data to consider impact of new interventions for ITP and identify centres for future interventional studies.
UK Forum on Haemoglobin Disorders
The UK Forum on Haemoglobin Disorders is a multidisciplinary group of health care professionals with an interest in all aspects of sickle cell disease, thalassaemia and related conditions.
UK Haemophilia Centre Doctors’ Organisation (UKHCDO)
The UK has an outstanding unified system for the clinical care of haemophilia patients. All patients attend a small number of treatment centres coordinated by the UKHCDO - another organisation that we collaborate with. This means that all potentially eligible patients are already known to investigators. This is a major advantage to the commercial companies that choose to use our research support services.
HaemSTAR
HaemSTAR is a UK-wide network of passionate clinical haematology registrars supported by the NIHR. The primary aim of HaemSTAR is to promote clinical research into non-malignant haematology. We aim to do this by:
- Increasing participation in non-malignant haematology clinical trials across the UK
- Enabling efficient transition of worthy local audits to the national scale in order to give their results more significance
- Creating Chief Investigators of the future by developing our own national studies in alignment with NIHR research priorities
- Increasing exposure for registrars to NHS Research and Development departments and the NIHR to develop investigator skills which are currently not part of the haematology registrar training curriculum
If you are interested in becoming a HaemSTAR lead or participating as a co-investigator, please contact the national HaemSTAR lead Pip Nicolson on p.nicolson@bham.ac.uk.
NIHR Clinical Research Facilities
NIHR Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs) are purpose built facilities in NHS hospitals where researchers can deliver early-phase and complex studies. Find out more in the support tab.
Our funding programmes fund high quality research in haematology that benefits the NHS, public health and social care. We also provide career development funding awards for haematology researchers - see the careers tab for more information.
Our funding programmes
Our commissioned research programmes often seek research proposals on haematology.
Most of our funding programmes also run funding calls open to research proposals on any topic (researcher-led calls), including research proposals in haematology.
Got an idea for research in haematology? The NIHR Research Design Service can help you turn it into a funding application, offering advice on research design, research methods, identifying funding sources, and involving patients and the public.
Our portfolio of haematology research
You can search and view all the haematology research we've funded on NIHR Funding and Awards.
In addition, a number of our research programmes publish comprehensive accounts of our haematology research in the NIHR Journals Library.
Our research units
NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Units (BTRUs) are research partnerships between universities and NHS Blood & Transplant (NHSBT). The following BTRUs undertake haematology research:
The NIHR attracts, trains and supports the best researchers in haematology to tackle the complex health and care challenges of the future.
Our investment in people sustains excellent research capacity and expertise throughout clinical and non-clinical academic career pathways and provides high quality learning and development opportunities for the delivery workforce in our infrastructure.
Funding haematology research careers
The NIHR Academy is responsible for the development and coordination of NIHR academic training, career development and research capacity development.
There is a wide range of NIHR training and career development awards available at different career stages, from pre-doctoral through to Research Professorships. These awards comprise both personal awards, which can be applied for directly with the NIHR, and institutional awards which should be applied for through the host institution.
The NIHR invests significantly in people, centres of excellence, collaborations, services and facilities to support health and care research in England. Collectively these form the world-class NIHR infrastructure.
This national research infrastructure is available to use by UKRI, research charities and the life sciences industry as well as NIHR researchers.
NIHR Biomedical Research Centres
NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are collaborations between world-leading universities and NHS organisations that bring together academics and clinicians to translate lab-based scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies.
The following BRC undertakes research in haematology and stem cells:
NIHR Medtech and In vitro diagnostics Co-operatives
NIHR Medtech and In vitro diagnostics Co-operatives (MICs) build expertise and capacity in the NHS to develop new medical technologies and provide evidence on commercially-supplied in vitro diagnostic tests.
The following MIC undertakes research in haematology:
NIHR Clinical Research Network
The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) supports set up and delivery of clinical research in the NHS and in other health and care settings. Find out more on the delivery tab.
The NIHR funds and supports world-class experts in haematology.
In addition, our experts in the NIHR Clinical Research Network (National Specialty Leads) can advise on delivering your haematology study in the NHS or in other health and social care settings.
National Specialty Lead
Dr Dan Hart is the NIHR Clinical Research Network National Specialty Lead for Haematology. He specialises in haemostasis and inherited bleeding disorders with a research interest in the immunobiology and genomic determinants of allo- and autoantibody formation. He is part of a clinical department at Barts Health NHS Trust with colleagues active in a breadth of non-malignant haematology clinical trials, both investigator-initiated and commercially sponsored, from registry hosting (ITP and marrow failure syndromes) to complex, commercial interventional trials (e.g. gene therapy in haemophilia).
Read Dr Hart’s full biography.
We engage with and involve patients, carers, service users and members of the public in order to improve the reach, quality and impact of research in haematology.
Have your say in research
We involve patients, carers, service users and members of the public in our national research funding and support activities, including in haematology research.
Involvement opportunities across the NIHR
Our Local Clinical Research Networks involve people in haematology research taking place in your local area.
The Oxford Blood Group encourages patients and members of the public to be involved with the Haematology and Stem Cells theme at the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.
The NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Units (BTRUs) also offer opportunities to have your say in haematology research:
Take part research
Be Part of Research is an online service that lists opportunities to take part in haematology research across the UK.
