Director of the NIHR HTA programme publishes in The Lancet

News release from the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment

21 August 2008

Professor Tom Walley, Director of the NIHR HTA programme has been published in this week’s issue of The Lancet, one of the most influential journals in its field. The article showcases new developments in the funding and management of clinical research in the UK, focusing on the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme which will be working closely together with the HTA programme.

The article written with Professor Rajesh Thakker’s (Chair, EME Board) is accompanied by a comment from Gert Jan van der Wilt and Gerhard Zielhuis, which underlines the importance of research into mechanisms in the development of new interventions. They note that the “potential applications of the EME programme are vast”.

Professor Walley has been involved in taking forward the recommendations of the Cooksey review, including establishing the new EME programme. This has seen his role expand to become the Director of NIHR Trials, Evaluations and Studies which also involves heading up the EME programme.

Both articles can be downloaded from The Lancet website from the link below (subscription required):

Comment: Lancet 372 (9638)

The EME programme considers applications from researchers at any time. The submission deadline for consideration in the next round is 1st September, with a further deadline in 2008 of 1st December. The outline proposal form, guidance notes and further details about the programme are available from the EME website www.eme.ac.uk.

Notes:

  1. The EME programme is managed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). The EME programme is coordinated by the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, based at the University of Southampton.  Further details about the programme are available from the website, www.eme.ac.uk.

  2. Walley and Thakker (2008) Developments for funding clinical research in the UK. Lancet 372 (9638); 518-519

  3. Van der Wilt and Zielhuis (2008) Merging evidence-based and mechanism-based medicine. Lancet 372 (9638); 519-520

Notes for editors


  1. The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2007 Impact Factor (3.87) ranked it in the top 10 per cent of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton.
  2. The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility.  The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training.  Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk

Contact details

Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@soton.ac.uk

Helen Nikandrou, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 584, Email: h.nikandrou@soton.ac.uk

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