University of Leeds' £50 million research initiative to improve quality of life in second half century

University of LeedsOct 20 2009

A £50 million research initiative, aimed at giving people '50 active years after 50' is being launched by the University of Leeds. 

Recent research, published in The Lancet, found that more than half of babies now born in the UK and other wealthy nations will live to 100 years. But while improvements in healthcare, diet and lifestyle are helping us to live longer, our bodies are still degenerating with age, reducing our quality of life and our ability to contribute to society. 

50 active years after 50 is responding to this trend by developing new medical devices and regenerative therapies, ensuring that people can continue to be as active during their second half century as they were in their first. 

The research will focus on those areas most affected as we age - our joints, spine, teeth, heart and circulation - developing new technologies for tissue engineering and regeneration, longer lasting joint replacements and spinal interventions. 

The programme will also accelerate the translation of new discoveries into clinical practice. Over its first five years, it plans to develop ten new products and halve the time it takes to get new products to market. 

The initiative will be coordinated by the University of Leeds Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (iMBE), the country's largest bioengineering unit and a world-leading research centre for artificial joint replacements. The Institute's research has already benefited tens of thousands of individuals over the past 15 years. 

Funded through research councils, charities and industry, 50 active years after 50 will bring together researchers in engineering, computing, chemistry, physics, biology, dentistry and medicine with practicing clinicians and medics and industrial partners from all over the UK and beyond. The initiative includes two major projects - the £10m Innovation & Knowledge Centre in Regenerative Therapies and Devices and the £11m Wellcome EPSRC Leeds Medical Engineering Centre.