The NTA welcomes the announcement by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), of a new initiative to help accelerate the translation of research into public health benefit in the area of addiction and substance misuse.

Bids are invited to establish a limited number of national addiction research clusters as part of the addiction research strategy established by the MRC on behalf of its partners in the strategic coordination of health research between OSCHR (Office for strategic coordination of health research) members. Once formed, clusters will be entitled to submit research applications to a future ring-fenced £4.5m call for proposals that will fund interdisciplinary research leading to new approaches to tackling the harms caused by illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco and gambling.

The identified themes are in the following categories: 

C – Cause
H – Harm
A – Alcohol
T – Treatments and interventions

The NTA is working closely with the MRC and hopes that this additional funding will lead to more research being conducted in England and a decreasing reliance on international evidence.

For further information please visit the MRC website.