From basic research discovering the causes of disease, through to evaluating novel ways of delivering care to the most vulnerable people in society, the Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research (PIHR) is a thriving community that conducts adventurous world-leading research with the explicit purpose of improving the health and care of the populations we serve. At the heart of PIHR’s mission is a desire to solve the problems that really matter to people.

<p>Brain connectivity, binary, computing, virtual reality, digital. Getty images 1205196144.</p>

Brain and mind
<p>Online tele medicine isometric concept. Medical consultation and treatment via application of smartphone connected internet clinic.<br></p>

Digital health
<p>Life-course</p>

Health across the life-course
<p> multi pipette research of cancer stem cells <br></p>

Frontiers in discovery science
Our Institute provides a vibrant academic community. Our researchers come from a range of disciplines, specialisms and clinical backgrounds. We provide a supportive environment for our researchers and encourage collaboration across disciplinary and sectoral boundaries. 

The Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research (PIHR) brings together academics from a wide range of disciplines (Biomedical Sciences, Dentistry, Health Professions, Health Services Research, Medicine, Nursing, Primary Care, Psychology, Public health and Social Care) in the Faculty of Health, researchers in the University’s Faculties of Science and Technology and Arts, Humanities and Business, and our partners in the public, private and third sectors, nationally and internationally. Our mission is to promote an interdisciplinary, inclusive enterprise with a real commitment to working across boundaries in order to meet the needs of the people of the South West and other rural, coastal, and deprived communities worldwide.

PIHR’s role is to enable and accelerate research, support new and productive collaborations, and multiply the quality and the impact of our work and impact. It does so by means of a responsive and dynamic system that avoids the limitations of siloed and divisive organisational structures and by providing a range of resources for researchers. PIHR’s research is developed and conducted through four interconnecting research themes, representing our key areas of interest and expertise: Brain and Mind; Digital Health; Health across the Lifecourse; and New Frontiers in Discovery Research. These themes traverse our 36 research groups and centres. In addition, we develop cross-cutting inter-disciplinary research strands, such as Arts-Health collaborative research and Health Services research.

Our research covers the spectrum from discovery research (e.g. around the causes of disease), to translation into novel interventions, and to evaluating ways of delivering care. Other key features include the extent to which we excel in methodological innovation, our commitments to working in partnership and knowledge mobilisation and the fact that our research is inextricably linked to our educative mission and each informs and enhances the other.