Providing excellence in clinical research delivery
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Sheffield Clinical Research Facility (CRF) is part of the NIHR and hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with the University of Sheffield.
The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth.
NIHR Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs) are purpose-built facilities in NHS hospitals where researchers can conduct studies. The NIHR has awarded £161 million over 5 years to 28 CRF facilities across England, to support early-phase and complex studies.
In 2022, the NIHR Sheffield CRF was awarded £7.9m in funding which will support the development and testing of new treatments for diseases, many of which currently have no cure. This funding award covers 2022 to 2027.
News & events
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals recruits world’s first patients into revolutionary gene study for rare muscle disorder
A 24-year-old woman from York has become one of the first patients in the world to take part in a pioneering research study at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that could switch off the progression of a rare, incurable muscle-weakening disorder called facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).
FSHD is a devastating muscle-wasting disease caused by the activation of an abnormal gene which increases the toxic build-up of the DUX4 protein in muscle cells, resulting in loss of strength in the face, shoulders, arms, legs and hands. There are currently no approved drug treatments for the condition.
Lauren Clarke, who can no longer stand for prolonged periods of time and struggles with simple daily activities such as washing her hair, is one of only a relatively small number of patients across the world to take part in the trial, known as FORTITUDE.
The landmark first-in-human trial is investigating if a targeted gene modifying therapy can be safely delivered to the muscle and alter the underlying cause of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Patients either receive the drug or a placebo.
For more information please visit the news page on the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals' website.
(February 2025)
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