Together, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and partners across the city are bringing pioneering research from laboratory to bedside faster, reducing the time it takes for medical breakthroughs to reach patients while supporting economic growth and regional prosperity.
Speaking at ‘Tomorrow’s Healthcare Today: Leeds Research and Innovation Conference’, Trust Chair Antony Kildare said the challenge facing healthcare was not a lack of innovation, but the pace at which it could be adopted across services. Delegates heard how a future where healthcare, research, education and enterprise “are fully integrated to serve society better” was already taking shape in Leeds.
Trust Chief Executive, Brendan Brown added: “For us, research is not separate from healthcare. It is healthcare. It is how we improve outcomes, tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the NHS and ensure that our patients benefit from the very latest advances in medicine, science and technology.”
Hosted by Leeds Teaching Hospitals in collaboration with Health Innovation Leeds on July 15, the fifth annual conference, entitled Tomorrow’s Healthcare Today was the biggest yet. It attracted more than 450 delegates, 80 expert speakers, more than 40 exhibitors and 100 research posters from clinical researchers. The event brought together NHS colleagues, academics, partners, community organisations and regional leaders to showcase the ideas, partnership and discoveries which are having a real-world impact and transforming care for people locally and beyond.
Led by Dr Ai Lyn Tan, the Trust’s Medical Director – Research and Innovation and delivered through the collective efforts of colleagues and partners across the Trust and wider partners, the conference, focused on ten key themes. Aligned with the Trust’s research and innovation strategic priorities, these included AI and digital, diagnostics and devises, novel therapies and cancer.
Dr Tan, who has championed the conference since launching it in 2022, said: “Leeds is proud to stand among the UK’s top five research delivery centres and one of the top three global locations for health tech innovation. Everything we do begins with the question: what can we do more of, better, to care for patients?”
Lindsey Burrow, a clinical physiotherapist at the Trust and motor neurone disease campaigner following the death of her husband, the rugby league legend Rob Burrow CBE, was among the keynote speakers opening the conference.
She said: “Research gives people hope but hope is strongest when the voices of patients and carers are heard alongside scientific expertise. The people living with conditions today cannot wait for the perfect answer tomorrow. Their experiences should help shape the questions we ask, the studies we design and the care we deliver. If we truly listen to those with lived experience, research will not only be better science, it will be better for the people it is intended to serve.”
Industry sponsors included medical technology companies B Braun and Brady Corporation, clinical AI partner Tortus and clinical research organization, Fortrea, alongside Quell TX, Roche, Johnson and Johnson Medtech and Acorn Compliance. Together with more than 40 exhibitors, the conference provided the opportunity to unite innovators and clinicians to demonstrate latest tools and technologies which enhance care.
Exhibitors also included Leeds Hospitals Charity, a key funder of clinical research and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Leeds, an international centre of excellence in early translational medical research.
Keynote speakers featured Professor Sir John Burn, Professor of Clinical Genetics, Newcastle University who touched on the challenges and opportunities for innovation in the NHS. Lindsey Hughes, Director of Research, Innovation, NHS England set the scene for research, innovation and the 10 year plan.
The conference also featured more than 100 research posters showcasing pioneering studies by trust colleagues as well as researchers from regional partner institutions and organisations which covered across a wide variety of subjects, with awards presented by Chief Nurse, Beverley Geary for team of the year, team member of the year and principal investigator of the year.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the UK’s leading research organisations, with more than 117,000 people taking part in research studies over the past five years. Building on a proud history of medical innovation that includes the clinical thermometer, hip replacement surgery and the UK’s first kidney dialysis service the Trust continues to drive advances that improve patient care. Supported by around £40 million of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) infrastructure funding, Leeds is at the forefront of research into areas such as personalised cancer vaccines, digital health technologies and new approaches to managing long-term conditions.
The conference helped to celebrate the city’s research and innovation community and highlighted the real-world impact it has on healthcare and communities.
Dr Amir Khan, star of TV’s GPs: Behind Closed Doors, Good Morning Britain and patron of Leeds Hospitals Charity, closed the conference. He told delegates: “In general practice, research isn’t something that sits in an ivory tower hidden away at universities or journals. It’s something that walks into our consulting rooms every day. Every prescription I write, every investigation I request and every conversation I have with patients is shaped by evidence. Research is what allows us to move from saying ‘this is what we’ve always done’ to ‘this is what we know works better.”
Leeds Research and Innovation Conference is an annual event and is expected to return in 2027.