CORU at UCL: a 25-year celebration

Link:

ucl.ac.uk/operational-research/" target="_self">Find out more about CORU

The 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Clinical Operational Research Unit (CORU) was celebrated at UCL this week.

Provost of UCL, Professor Malcolm Grant, and the Medical Director of the NHS, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh joined an array of leading clinicians, health researchers and civil servants to commend the work of CORU.

At a champagne reception, the guests heard Sir Bruce talk passionately about the drive for improving quality in the NHS and how this will be underpinned by innovative methods for the interpretation of clinical outcome data such as those developed by CORU.

CORU is a group of researchers within UCL Mathematics who work exclusively on problems related to healthcare. Entirely grant-funded over its 25 year history, predominantly by the Department of Health, the unit has an international reputation for excellence, versatility, innovation and successful dissemination of its work among clinical audiences.

The Provost commented that a key to the success of CORU is the fact that its work is conducted in close collaboration with leading clinicians. This ensures that CORU tackles problems of relevance to the NHS and that its research is informed by the insight and experience of those directly involved in delivering health services. Dr Bill Maton-Howarth, CORU's liaison officer with the Department of Health for the past 18 years, spoke warmly of his association with the unit and wished CORU all the best for the future.

When founded in 1983, CORU focused on developing mathematical models of the progress of patients with cancer to assist in the evaluation of new treatments.

Current projects being undertaken by CORU include work related to surgical wound infections, providing tools for monitoring outcomes in paediatric heart surgery, the restructuring of treatment services for anxiety and depression, challenging the evidence for some forms of cancer surgery and reducing maternal mortality in the developing world.

To find out more about CORU, follow the link at the top of the article.

Image: From left, former Directors of CORU Professor Ray Jackson and Professor Steve Gallivan, current Director Dr Martin Utley, Dr Bill Maton-Howarth from the Department of Health Policy Research Programme, UCL Provost Professor Malcolm Grant and Professor Sir Bruce Keogh.