The new MRC Centre of Research Excellence aims to move beyond lifelong management of conditions such as arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

University of Birmingham researchers are part of a new £50 million centre seeking curative treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases.

The UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) for Restorative Immunology brings together leading scientists, doctors and patient research partners. It will be funded over the next 14 years and is led by a team of investigators from across the UK and Japan. The team draws on experts from eight universities, charities, public engagement organisations, industry and biotechnology.

From lifelong management to cure

Chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune liver disease and Sjögren’s disease currently require lifelong management. They arise when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues, including the joints, gut, skin, eyes, liver and salivary glands, among others.

The resulting inflammation can cause irreversible tissue and organ damage, chronic pain and lifelong disability. Despite major advances in treatment, many people, including those whose disease begins in childhood, need lifelong therapy to control inflammation and prevent further damage. Chronic inflammation also has a considerable impact on health services and the wider economy.

The new programme aims to kickstart a transformation in understanding the causes of inflammatory disease and potential curative treatments.

Professor Adam Croft, from the University of Birmingham’s School of Infection, Inflammation and Immunology, is the Arthritis UK Chair of Rheumatology and Director of the MRC CoRE in Restorative Immunology. He said: “While remarkable advances have been made in the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases over the past two decades, the focus has largely been on controlling inflammation to relieve symptoms and prevent damage to tissues.

“New technologies now allow us to study diseased tissues at unprecedented resolution, revealing how healthy tissue becomes diseased and identifying the cells and molecular pathways that drive this process. Combined with the development of therapies capable of precisely targeting these cells and pathways, this creates a realistic opportunity to move beyond lifelong disease control towards treatments delivered with curative intent, with the ultimate goal of restoring long-term health and wellbeing.”

Birmingham’s role

Professor Croft is an active researcher at both the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford. Birmingham researchers will contribute expertise in human tissue modelling, experimental medicine and early clinical studies.

The University has also attracted major global partners to the programme. Professor Ye Htun Oo, Chair of autoimmune liver diseases and translational hepatology, will lead the centre’s liver theme. Professor Oo’s recent Wellcome Discovery Award with Nobel Laureate Professor Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka University will underpin early phase translational trials.

According to Professor Oo, the centre will also align with the NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre’s vision to deliver personalised care for West Midlands patients, and with the NHS 10-year health plan.

Research that leaves no one behind

Birmingham will also lead cross-cutting work on inclusive research design, data equity and generalisability. This builds on approaches developed at the University, including the AI-focused STANDING Together project and REP-EQUITY, which helps reduce health inequity in research.

Dr Ameeta Retzer, Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Evidence and Implementation Science, said: “The MRC CoRE for Restorative Immunology represents a transformative opportunity for people with immune mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID). The inclusion of key programmes such as REP-EQUITY will ensure it doesn’t leave anyone behind.”

Dr Ceri Williams, Executive Director of Challenge Led Portfolio at MRC, said: “MRC Centres of Research Excellence are designed to tackle some of the most important challenges in biomedical research through sustained, ambitious and collaborative science. By doing so, they contribute to UKRI’s mission to advance knowledge, improve lives and drive growth across the UK.

“By bringing together expertise from across disciplines, sectors and countries to tackle these fundamental questions, this centre has the potential to transform our understanding of inflammatory disease and accelerate the development of treatments that deliver lasting benefits for patients.”