- The Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Thames Valley will work with healthcare professionals and the public to find solutions to local health needs
- It will be co-led by Aston University’s Professor Shivani Sharma and the University of Oxford’s Professor Kam Bhui CBE
- The £16.3m in funding has come from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), to support the NHS 10 Year Plan.
Aston University and the University of Oxford have won £16.3m in funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to fund infrastructure to improve the health of people living in the Thames Valley region and beyond.
The Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Thames Valley will be hosted by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and will be co-led by Aston University’s Professor Shivani Sharma, a professor at Aston Business School and deputy pro-vice-chancellor (research and enterprise), and the University of Oxford’s Professor Kam Bhui CBE, professor of psychiatry and honorary consultant psychiatrist. This pan-region leadership model harnesses the strengths of both institutions and reflects the ambition to share learning for wider public benefit, including in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the West Midlands.
The ARC Thames Valley will bring together researchers, health and social care staff, patients, the public, and wider groups in its research. The team will listen to health and social care providers and patients to learn about the most pressing needs, and collaboratively set priorities and find practical solutions for fairer health for all.
Professor Sharma explains that the ARC will drive sustainable implementation of solutions including for the most disadvantaged people in society when it comes to health.
Aston University will play a role in delivering the ARC’s dedicated theme on research inclusion and health inequalities. This cements the university’s civic mission and wider emphasis on inclusive innovation.
There will be a number of further research themes for the ARC to deliver its vision aligned with the ambition of life course health. This is captured in the Start Well, Live Well, and Age Well ethos. Start Well will focus on helping new mothers, children, and young people with physical and mental health issues. Live Well will involve helping adults to avoid or reduce the effects of living with two or more health issues and return to employment. Age Well will promote brain and heart health and prevent falls and frailty.
ARC Thames Valley will collaborate with more than 40 other partners, including NHS trusts, local authorities, voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations, businesses and universities.
The funding for ARC Thames Valley is part of NIHR’s £157m investment to support ten ARCS over five years. They aim to tackle some of the UK’s most pressing health and social care challenges through high-quality applied research, while also accelerating the implementation of effective interventions and models of care.
The NIHR ARCs are collaborative partnerships involving universities, NHS trusts, local authorities, health innovation networks, integrated care boards, and the voluntary sector. Through these partnerships, the ARCs will deliver impactful research in applied health, public health, and social care, particularly in under-represented areas. The aims of the ARCs include supporting the rollout of effective care models, collaborating with commercial companies to evaluate new treatments and technologies, and addressing health inequalities by embedding inclusive approaches.
Professor Sharma said:
“Research should reflect the reality on the ground. We have the opportunity in our ARC to rethink inclusion, strengthening the link between research and its impact in everyday lives.
“It is a real privilege to be working with such a diverse network to deliver on the ambition of the ARC. I believe that we will achieve lasting impact on health, which is fundamental to helping regions to thrive.”
Professor Bhui said:
“I’m delighted to be leading an ambitious and talented team to ensure we improve health and social care and reduce health inequalities. We will do this through the implementation of research knowledge to improve commissioning, policy, and practice across university, community, charity and health and social care partners.”
Dr Karl Marlowe, Chief Medical Officer at OHFT, said:
“Our commitment at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust is to ensure that research translates into real-world benefits for patients, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to continue as the NHS host for the new ARC. Through ARC Thames Valley, we will accelerate the adoption of knowledge transfer for NHS innovative care models and address health inequalities across our network of partners.”
Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and CEO of Aston University, said:
“We are proud to be co-leading the ARC Thames Valley, a transformative initiative that reflects Aston University’s deep commitment to inclusive innovation and civic engagement. This partnership will enable us to tackle health inequalities head-on, ensuring that research translates into real-world impact for the communities who need it most. I congratulate Professor Sharma and the wider team on securing this significant funding and look forward to the positive change it will bring.”
Professor Marian Knight, scientific director for NIHR Infrastructure, said:
“The NIHR is committed to providing the funding needed, at all stages of the research journey, to ensure that the best treatments and care get to the patients who need them, as efficiently and effectively as possible. The ARCs play a vital role in this process, generating evidence around new technologies and treatments, as well as innovative ways of delivering care – all of which seek to boost the public’s health and wellbeing, and increase NHS productivity.”
- Notes to editors
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About Aston University
For over 130 years, Aston University has been making our world a better place through education, research and innovation. Our history is intertwined with the remarkable city of Birmingham, once the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and now the thriving base for an innovation ecosystem of global significance, which Aston is co-creating.
Our vision is to be a leading university for science, technology and enterprise, measured by the positive transformational impact we achieve for our people, students, businesses and the communities we serve.
Aston focuses on high-quality, exploitable research that has an impact on society through medical breakthroughs, advancements in engineering, policy and practice in government, and the strategies and performance of business.
The University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, as well as continuing professional development solutions.
Thanks to its focus on delivering excellent outcomes for students, Aston University's reputation continues to grow. It was recognised as the Daily Mail University of the Year for Student Success 2025, is second in England for social mobility (2023 HEPI Social Mobility Index), and is top 20 for graduate salaries (2024 Longitudinal Education Outcomes).
Aston University is now defining its place in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Helen Tunnicliffe, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7827 090240 or email: h.tunnicliffe@aston.ac.uk.
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About the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
The University Department of Psychiatry’s mission is to conduct world-class research, teach psychiatry to medical students, develop future researchers in a graduate programme, teach doctors in training, promote excellence in clinical practice, and develop and provide innovative clinical services. It supports research in four key areas: neurobiology, psychological treatments, developmental psychiatry and social psychiatry. The Department is committed to the translation of scientific discovery into benefits for patients. www.psych.ox.ac.uk
Oxford University has been placed number 1 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the tenth year running, and number 4 in the QS World Rankings 2026. At the heart of this success are the twin-pillars of our ground-breaking research and innovation and our distinctive educational offer.
Oxford is world-famous for research and teaching excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collaborations. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research alongside our personalised approach to teaching sparks imaginative and inventive insights and solutions.
Through its research commercialisation arm, Oxford University Innovation, Oxford is the highest university patent filer in the UK and is ranked first in the UK for university spinouts, having created more than 300 new companies since 1988. Over a third of these companies have been created in the past five years. The university is a catalyst for prosperity in Oxfordshire and the United Kingdom, contributing around £16.9 billion to the UK economy in 2021/22, and supports more than 90,400 full time jobs.
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT) provides physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and Northeast Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people’s homes. We focus on delivering care as close to home as possible.
As a leading teaching, training and research trust, we have close links to Oxford and Oxford Brookes, Buckinghamshire, Reading and Bath universities. We are part of the Oxford Academic Health Science Centre, working closely with our university colleagues to translate their findings into clinical care as quickly as possible, enabling people using our services to benefit from the latest advances in healthcare. We host the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre with Oxford University and aim to bring the best science to the complex problems of mental disorders and dementia. We also host the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley; a partnership between universities, healthcare, charities and industry, that aims, through applied health research, to co-produce better, more equitable, appropriate, and sustainable health and care across the region.