Chair of Int. Academic Health Science Centre Designation Panel announced [UK]

Dated: Wednesday 15 October 2008 10:20

Department of Health (National)

Health Minister, Ben Bradshaw, today announced the appointment of Sir Alan Langlands as Chair of the international panel that is being established to designate Academic Health Science Centres (AHSCs) in England. The international panel will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Health about the partnerships that should be awarded AHSC status. The panel will offer a form of "peer review" and will identify the organisations best placed to compete internationally alongside leading AHSCs elsewhere in the world, such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins and the Karolinska Institute.

The NHS Next Stage Review announced the government's commitment to fostering AHSCs in England. The intention is to identify and work with a small number of health and academic partners, who have come together to focus on world-class research, teaching and patient care. These Centres will take new discoveries and promote their application in the NHS and across the world.

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said:

"I am pleased to announce that Sir Alan Langlands will chair the international panel that we are establishing to designate Academic Health Science Centres in England. Sir Alan brings a wealth of expertise to this role. His experience in health policy and in education means that he is ideally placed to assess the strength of applicants' proposals for bringing together research, education and patient care functions to improve health outcomes."

Sir Alan Langlands said:

"I am delighted to be appointed chair of the international panel. Academic Health Science Centres in England have the potential to improve healthcare services in the NHS and internationally. Improved collaboration between healthcare organisations and Universities has the potential to enable the rapid adoption of new research into clinical practice."

Additional links:
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre