Achievements from our 2013–2018 research strategy

We said we’d fund research in a number of different ways:

Strategic Research Centres

You asked us to think big and harness global research expertise, rather than focusing on just the UK. In response, we developed the SRC programme to bring together researchers working around the world to collaborate to solve the issues that matter to people with cystic fibrosis.

Venture and Innovation Awards

We committed to bringing external funds into CF research by funding studies that turn research results in the lab into effective treatments in the clinic by bringing in additional external funds to achieve this.

Research sandpits

We agreed to address research areas that are of importance to people with CF but are not well understood.

In all three programmes we also said we would:

• Increase the capacity and quality of clinical research in the UK
• Attract the brightest and the best early career researchers to work in cystic fibrosis
• Work with the CF community to shape our research plans

Read our 2013-2018 research strategy to learn more about what we said we'd do.

Strategic Research Centres

We funded 14 Strategic Research Centres, comprising of 96 investigators, based in over 35 institutions in 14 countries.

Find out more about the topics we funded. 

“From the second year on, we began proactively to focus on synergy between projects, which has led to substantial cross-fertilisation and a genuine feeling of collaboration, rather than a number of individual, siloed projects” – Professor Jane Davies, principal investigator of SRC, Imperial College London

“The SRC provides access to additional sites, resources and expertise that I wouldn’t have been able to access on my own” – Dr Catriona Kelly, co-investigator of SRC, Ulster

The Strategic Research Centres have additionally demonstrated a number of unexpected valuable outcomes, shown below.

Venture and Innovation Awards

We funded 56 Venture and Innovation Awards with universities, government funding bodies, other research charities and pharmaceutical and biotech companies. For every £1 we’ve spent, we’ve brought in almost £4 of external money into CF research.

Find out how we work with partners on our VIA page.

GI tract research

We launched two innovative research programmes on GI tract problems in CF, as a result of our research sandpit bringing together experts from a wide range of disciplines.

Find out more about GI tract research.

Clinical Trials Accelerator Platform 

We initiated our flagship Clinical Trials Accelerator Platform (CTAP) to increase the capacity and quality of clinical research.

Find out more about the Trials Accelerator.

Early career researchers 

Attracted over 40 early career researchers to work in the field of CF research, as part of our Strategic Research Centres.

“The funding provided for PhD students is an excellent way to introduce new investigators into CF research. The collaborative network has been critical to providing additional support to students, which has resulted in better projects that are more thoroughly conducted and results are better interpreted” Dr Sanja Stanojevic, co-investigator of SRC, Hospital for Sick Children, Canada

Strategy Implementation Board 

We formed our Strategy Implementation Board including people from the community living with or affected by cystic fibrosis. 

"The transparent environment of discussion and ideas in SIB meetings opens up vital lines of communication to enable the Trust to focus on the issues that matter deeply to us. I do think it's vital to include patient and parent input in the decisions that will shape our future, and it's extremely exciting to be a part of" Laura Taylor, member of SIB who has cystic fibrosis.

Read more about the achievements of our 2013–2018 research strategy in detail. 

Our 2018–2023 research strategy is called ‘putting the person into personalised medicine’. It sets out how our research investments will focus on research to deliver treatment and care that is tailored to each individual with cystic fibrosis.