The NIHR Imperial BRC PCRU is an integral part of the BRC and comprises GP organisations across five boroughs, led by Professor David Wingfield, the Primary Care Research Lead. It exists to deliver the NIHR and UK Life Sciences strategic plans to increase Primary Care Research capacity and delivery of Academic and Commercial research. It delivers this through integration with BRC themes, engagement with the pharmaceutical industry, and through the delivery of increasing numbers and scale of Academic and Commercial studies. The key driver which underpins the success of this venture is the development of Primary Care professionals doing research alongside their clinical work.
NIHR Imperial BRC, with support from the North London NIHR Regional Research Delivery Networks (RRDN), is dedicated to supporting research in primary care that is accessible to the local communities. This aligns with the national health agenda of shifting care from hospitals to the community. To advance this vision, we established a Primary Care Clinical Research Unit comprising three GP sites from North West London. The BRC provides direct support to (i) Hammersmith and Fulham Partnership, (ii) Hounslow Medical Centre (HMC) and (iii) Healthcare Central London Ltd to form the BRC Primary Care Research Unit (PCRU).
This initiative will help grow and develop research in primary care, as well as enhance research opportunities to improve patient and community outcomes in North West London by offering the clinical context for collaborations for researchers across Imperial, aligned with the Health and Technology School of Convergence Science. It will also become a centre of excellence for developing and implementing new approaches to care.
Professor David Wingfield is a Professor of Practice (Primary Care) in the School of Public Health at Imperial and Head of R&D at Hammersmith and Fulham Partnership, which cares for 75,000 registered patients. He is Co-Director of the NW London PC-CRDC. His research focuses on improving care to patients living with dementia and he is Principal Investigator of the Blood Biomarkers for Early and Accurate Diagnosis in Primary Care study. David collaborates with GPs across North West London, aiming to expand the potential of research in primary care. His vision is to create opportunities for patients to participate in clinical trials closer to home, while also supporting GPs, nurses, and pharmacists in developing their research capabilities.
Dr Ivor Singh is the Co-Director of the NW London PC-CRDC and the GP Research Lead at Hounslow Medical Centre, the highest recruiting commercial research site in London.
Participating GP Organisations
- Hounslow Medical Centre
- Hammersmith and Fulham Partnership
- Healthcare Central London
- West London
- Kingsbury and Willesden
- Harness
News
The Imperial BRC PCRU has supported two bids for NIHR funding during 2025. The £1m grant to establish a Primary Care Commercial Delivery Centre (PC-CRDC) in North West London was announced on 21st October and will commence on 1st November 2025. The goal is to expand the delivery of commercial trials across the six Primary Care Research Facilities and help position the UK as a global leader in commercial research.
An additional grant of £300,000 in capital funding is currently in progress. The funding will support a 29-month programme beginning on 1 November 2025. The requested capital funding will enable five research sites to expand their capacity for commercial clinical trials and enter new, underserved research areas by providing essential equipment to strengthen trial delivery and ensure alignment with sponsor requirements.
Primary Care Research Capability
In addition to conducting studies and supporting collaborative translational research programmes, the PCRU is developing an academic development programme for researchers across all primary care disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy and allied health professions. The unit is also working in partnership with the Clinical Academic Training Office (CATO) to offer structured academic training pathways. These include Modular Academic Training, as well as opportunities for Predoctoral and Doctoral awards, aimed at supporting career development in primary care research.
Collaborations
UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre: MINDER
An example of current work is the development of the MINDER programme of smart-home device development for the care of patients living with dementia. In this programme, engineers develop new technology (for example, radar detection of a person’s movements) to evaluate disease progression and to give early warning of imminent deterioration in health. Another example is the implementation of cutting-edge biomarker blood tests for patients presenting with cognitive problems suggestive of early Alzheimer’s disease.
Imperial School of Public Health: BEAD-PC
This £1.3m implementation study introduces blood biomarker tests for early cognitive impairment into primary care within a research framework. It is part of an eight-site international implementation programme sponsored by the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative in the United States. It aims to identify people with cognitive symptoms which are a prelude to Alzheimer’s disease early, so that they can receive advice and treatment, which is increasingly becoming available.
Imperial Global Health Institute: Behavioural determinants of adherence to statin therapy
This research programme is a collaboration between Primary Care in Hammersmith and Fulham and IGHI and has been funded by LISS and NIHR. The first doctoral student is completing their PhD submission in early 2026 and further implementation of the technology in primary care is planned.
Paddington Life Sciences: HCL / Octopus
The George Institute at Imperial
The PCRU also collaborates with the George Institute on the development and implementation of distributed trial methodology in NW London.
Key Individuals
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Dr David Wingfield
Honorary Principal Research Fellow
