The studies will be funded by the NIHR, with contributions from the CSO in Scotland, WORD in Wales and the Research and Development Office in Northern Ireland.
The studies to be funded are:
1. An analysis of swine flu virus present in the nose, on surfaces and in the air led by Professor Jonathan Nguyen Van-Tam, University of Nottingham and the Health Protection Agency.
2. An evaluation of methods used to select patients with suspected swine flu for hospital admission led by Professor Steve Goodacre, University of Sheffield.
3. A multi-centre head-to-head comparison of two vaccines in adults led by Professor Karl Nicholson University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
4. An assessment of changing antibody prevalence in different age groups led by Professor Elizabeth Miller, Health Protection Agency.
5. An examination of the effectiveness of facemasks in preventing infection of healthcare staff in patients undergoing non-invasive ventilation, led by Dr Anita Simonds, Royal Brompton Hospital.
6. An analysis of a triage method to help predict those who ‘need’ or would ‘benefit’ from intensive care services during the swine flu pandemic led by Professor Kathy Rowan, Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre.
7. An analysis of public responses to swine flu communications led by Professor Susan Michie, University College London.
8. An evaluation of the impact of school closure and social interaction on illness led by Dr Kenneth Eames, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
9. An investigation into the effect of influenza and its treatments on pregnancy led by Professor Simon Thomas, Newcastle University.
10. Autopsies of patients who died of pandemic flu led by Professor Sebastian Lucas, KCL School of Medicine.
11. An observational study of immunity in pregnant women vaccinated against swine flu and their babies led by Professor Jonathan Nguyen Van-Tam, University of Nottingham and the Health Protection Agency.
12. A head-to-head comparison of swine influenza vaccines in children aged six months to 12 years led by Professor Elizabeth Miller, Health Protection Agency.
13. An assessment of the information support needed by people with respiratory disease during a pandemic led by Dr Ann-Louise Caress, University of Manchester.
14. An evaluation of vaccine effectiveness and safety in pandemic flu led by Dr Colin Simpson, University of Edinburgh.
For more details visit: http://www.netscc.ac.uk/
The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk
NETSCC manages five research programmes on behalf of the National Institute for Health Research: The Efficacy Mechanism and evaluation (EME) programmes, the Health Services Research (HSR) programme, the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme, the Public Health Research (PHR) programme, and the Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) programme.
For further information, contact Department of Health press office: 020 7210 5221, Out-of-hours: 07050073581