BREATH (Border and REgions Airways Training Hub) is an ambitious, collaborative research Partnership that will harness complementary resources & expertise of 10 Principal Investigators from DkIT, QUB & UWS with a mission to tackle Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), an incurable lung disease, highly prevalent in the border regions of Ireland & Western Scotland. COPD will be responsible for 1/3 of deaths by 2020 and imposes a huge economic burden on the Region. BREATH will provide an innovative, industry-relevant training programme to stimulate R&I, attract inward investment and enhance economic development in the Region. Results & outputs: BREATH will initially engage with 5 enterprises (ProAxsis Ltd, Raptor Photonics, Norbrook Laboratories, Axis Bioservices & Prior PLM Medical) and train 22 new dynamic researchers: 16 PhDs, 5 Post-Doctoral Research Fellows and 1 Clinical Fellow (providing a total of 89.5 full time researcher yrs). BREATH will lead to 48 peer-reviewed publications with cross-border or interregional authorship. Proposed Design: BREATH objectives (O1-4): O1: Identify novel diagnostics and therapeutic targets to treat COPD. We will establish a sustainable Regional hub that combines clinical, academic & industrial expertise to transform research in COPD. O2: Increase R&I across the Region by providing world class training to the next generation of researchers.We will train 22 world-class scientists in an array of scientific, interpersonal & innovation skills in demand by pharma & technology companies, healthcare, education and wider business community. O3: Develop an innovative cross-border, inter-regional research hub focused on the unmet need of COPD. BREATH will significantly increase the capacity for R&I in the Region by forming: 16 new collaborations, sharing expertise in training & research and maximising use of existing facilities. BREATH PhD projects will be supervised jointly on a cross-border or interregional basis. O4: Achieve critical mass that will impact upon the Region by combining our complementary clinical, scientific, innovative & industrial skills. Individually, we have significant research capacity, demonstrated by excellent track records in training, publication, funding, commercialisation (>80 industry contracts, 6 patent applications, spin-out of the biotech company ProAxsis Ltd). Combining our complementary skills & facilities will create a unique interregional R&I hub not otherwise achievable by the single institutions or separate countries. Strategic Policy & Context: BREATH aligns with the strategic objectives of Northern Ireland Economic Strategy that sets out the NI Executive’s plan to grow a prosperous local economy by stimulating innovation and R&D; Innovation2020 which describes how R&D will position Ireland as a Global Innovation Leader to build a sustainable economy and Scotland’s Economic Strategy 2015 to foster a culture of innovation by supporting high-impact, world-class research in Scotland’s Universities and improve levels of commercialisation of academic research. Need & Demand: BREATH has identified 4 needs (N1-4) via consultation with medical experts, patient groups, government depts/policy makers, politicians & industry (section 5): N1. Within the region there is high COPD incidence and great attendant social and economic cost. N2. The economies of the Region have a low proportion of high value sectors and have low levels of R&I. N3. There is no effective cross-border partnership that significantly impacts on the overall regional capacity for R&I in Health & Life Sciences. N4. Although research capacity exists within the region, a lack of collaboration across the 3 jurisdictions has prevented the creation of critical mass necessary to achieve stronger market performance and a stronger innovation pipeline.
