NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit

Description

The NIHR Leicester – Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit (BRU) will focus on improving health for patients with long term conditions such as diabetes by using and improving upon therapeutic lifestyle interventions. For example, these interventions could increase the amount of movement and physical activity people take part in, reduce time in sedentary behaviours, and use other approaches such as the interplay of exercise and appetite control, and minimising weight re-gain after bariatric (such as gastric band) surgery.

This new BRU is a collaboration between Loughborough University, one of the leading national institutions in exercise research, University Hospitals of Leicester and the University of Leicester. It provides an opportunity for researchers in the East Midlands to become some of the leading experts internationally in research into lifestyle, and in particular physical activity interventions to both prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes. The funding will create nearly thirty new research posts.

Public involvement in research

Our Biomedical Research Unit has a strong emphasis upon both patient and public engagement and involvement; we have patient representation at board level, and also at individual project and study level.  We have a very active PPI group who work closely with us on developing protocols, proposals and information sheets, our PPI members are a very proactive group whose insight and contribution to the development of our study portfolio is invaluable.

We work closely with other local NIHR funded infrastructure, community groups and charities to maximise impact of our local engagement activities.

We have a strong track record of working with and involving BME groups, and have a particular focus on South Asian communities; we also host the Leicester Centre for Ethnic Health.

http://www.ll.dlpa.bru.nihr.ac.uk/getinvolved-4094.html