Newcastle Medical School hosts several
Newcastle University Centres of Research Excellence (NUCoREs), including those dedicated to cancer, rare diseases, regenerative medicine, transplantation and advanced therapies, ageing and inequalities, and transformative neuroscience. In research leadership, the school leads multiple national and international research centres, including NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, CRUK Newcastle Cancer Research Centre and Drug Discovery Programme, the National Renal Complement Therapeutics Centre, Cystic Fibrosis Trust Strategic Research Centre, and Versus Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Centre of Excellence. In the 2021
Research Excellence Framework (REF), 89% of the school’s Clinical Medicine research was rated as either world-leading (4 star) or internationally excellent (3 star), with significant gains in overall research power since the previous assessment. The school has a longstanding record of biomedical research, underpinning its clinical research infrastructure through collaboration with the
Royal Victoria Infirmary since the early 20th century. In 2004, Newcastle scientists at the
Centre for Life were the first group in the UK and Europe (second worldwide) to obtain a licence for
human embryonic stem cell research. A year later, Newcastle researchers, led by professors
Miodrag Stojkovic and Alison Murdoch based at the
Centre for Life, were the first in the UK and among the first in Europe to clone a human embryo using somatic cell nuclear transfer. In the field of
oncology, researchers at Newcastle have played a key role in the development and clinical testing of novel anti-cancer therapies. Work at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research and the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre pioneered PARP1 inhibition, contributing directly to the drug discovery of
Rucaparib, one of the first clinically approved
PARP1 inhibitors now used in the treatment of
ovarian cancer. The University also conducted the world’s first clinical trial of
Berzosertib, a first-in-class
ATR inhibitor targeting DNA damage response pathways in cancer. In addition, work led by Professor
Christine Harrison has made important contributions to the understanding of childhood
leukaemia through
cytogenetic analysis, particularly in characterising
chromosomal translocations associated with disease prognosis, which has resulted in improved survival for children with
acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In neuromuscular research, Newcastle University hosts the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre, one of only two Centres of Excellence for
neuromuscular diseases in the UK. The centre combines specialist clinical care with laboratory research and is recognised as a world-leading research hub for neuromuscular diseases. Researchers at the centre delivered the UK’s first
gene therapy for
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) as part of the international EMBARK study, a major clinical trial evaluating treatments for DMD. In reproductive medicine and mitochondrial genetics, researchers at Newcastle University, led by Professor
Douglass Turnbull, pioneered internationally recognised work on
mitochondrial replacement therapy. Using the pronuclear transfer technique, the team successfully transferred healthy mitochondrial DNA from donor eggs into eggs of women carrying mitochondrial disease, thereby preventing transmission of mitochondrial DNA diseases. In collaboration with the
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle researchers were the first in the world to develop, refine, and receive official clinical licensing in 2017 to perform mitochondrial replacement therapy, also known as 'three parent IVF', as a strategy to prevent inherited mitochondrial disorders. Carried out through the Newcastle Fertility Centre, which remains the only centre licensed for mitochondrial replacement therapy in the UK, this technique has since led to the birth of eight children to date under clinical regulation. == Malaysian campus ==