Better health

Better health is one of the five priorities in our Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement plan.

We’re committed to promoting good health and wellbeing for our staff, students and communities, both locally and globally.

We have the UK’s largest medical school and are the largest provider of graduate healthcare professionals to the NHS in the north-west of England. We collaborate with the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS trusts and Health Innovation Manchester. Through these collaborations, we’re tackling key health challenges in our local region through our research, teaching and social responsibility activities.

We listen to and engage with our communities to support and inspire advances in health, wellbeing and social care through our full range of activities. We’re also advancing patient and public involvement to address key areas of Sustainable Development Goal 3: good health and wellbeing, particularly in relation to fighting communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Responding to local health challenges

Our students, staff, and alumni work to address priority public health challenges in Greater Manchester through their research, engagement activities, teaching and alignment to the city’s strategy. We are ding this through service learning.

Service learning is a combination of community involvement, academic study and practical experience. It combines two of our core goals – teaching excellence and social responsibility. Service learning connects the University to our local area, strengthening the bond between members of the university and local people. Students go out into the community to groups, organisations and schools to learn as part of their degree while providing necessary services to local people.

Creating a healthier population – find out how our research supports the health and wellbeing of the world

Tackling global health challenges

We’re prioritising parts of the world affected by the most severe health inequalities, as well as conflict and humanitarian challenges. We conduct world-leading research in the biological, medical and health sciences across eight research themes.

Some examples of the global health initiatives that are making a difference to the world are: Enhancing global cancer outcomes; better treatments for breast cancer; addressing post-conflict disability and improving outcomes for children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Patient and public involvment and engagement (PPIE)

The involvement and engagement of patients and members of the public in research, teaching and learning is an integral part of our work.

Involving patients and the public in our work is important to us because so much of what we do has the potential to affect the lives of millions of people, both in our local communities and further afield. By involving a range of partners and sharing experience and knowledge, we gather unique and valuable insights to achieve more effective, meaningful and inclusive research and teaching.

Our public engagement work covers the ways in which our research and teaching is shared with the public. Our involvement work focuses on developing our active partnerships between patients and members of the public and our research and teaching staff and students.

Cancer

Cancer is one of the University’s five research beacons. The research beacons are examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet.

Our medical research ranges from understanding the molecular and cellular basis of cancer to the development and testing of novel drugs and other therapeutic approaches. Through nursing, psychology and policy work, solutions to the physical, emotional and economic impacts of cancer are being researched and put into practice across the University.

See our Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health website for more information.