Clinical Facilities

Newcastle Advanced Therapies is an integral part of the Pharmacy Directorate of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We work in partnership with Newcastle University to provide a comprehensive service in processing, storage, development and manufacture of advanced therapy products. We support translational research and clinical service of cell, gene and tissue therapies to treat a range of patients.

Newcastle Biobanks store a wide range of samples for use in medical research, which are derived from a range of disease areas, including: cancer; mitochondrial disease; orthopaedics; neurodegenerative disease. 

Biobank staff also offer a wide range of services and facilities to support researchers with their work.

Research projects are currently running with the help of volunteers diagnosed with diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy Body dementia and Stroke helps us to discover what brain changes take place during the course of the disease and increases our overall understanding.

Studies using human brain tissue are essential in increasing our understanding of brain ageing and related diseases and are the best way for us to search for more effective diagnoses and treatments.

Find out about the Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource.

The Clinical Research Facility (CRF) is a collaboration between Newcastle University and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The CRF's highly-trained staff are capable of setting up, negotiating and delivering all phases of clinical trials in accordance with Good Clinical Practice Standards.

The Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit has a vision to facilitate world class clinical trials that impact understanding of human disease and lead to improved diagnostics and therapeutics for patient benefit. The NCTU works in partnership with investigators across all disease types, phases of research and methodologies in order to deliver high quality research. 

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a simple, painless, non-invasive technique that measures brain activity from small recording electrodes placed on the scalp either individually or by means of specially designed electrode caps. 

As a research tool, EEG is very helpful in identifying interactions between different cortical brain areas and as a diagnostic tool it can be used to detect abnormal brain activity.

The Centre for In Vivo Imaging houses a range of facilities and expertise including:

• Clinical MRI
• Clinical PET MRI
• Radiochemistry and Tracer Production
• Preclinical MRI
• Fluoresence and optical techniques