The Blue Zone Consortium

到2040年，英国预计将有近七分之一的人年龄超过75岁，其中许多人患有多种疾病。相比之下，蓝区是世界上慢性病发病率较低的地区，那里的人们寿命更长，生活更健康。该联盟将支持研究人员超越传统的学科界限，跨部门合作，制定和实施可行的解决方案，将前沿生物科学带到蓝区成果。我们的新蓝区联盟FTMA的目标是促进跨部门合作，通过人员转移增加研究的共同创造和思想和技术的清晰度。我们的目标是通过接触新的思维方式和环境，从早期的职业生涯阶段提升研究人员和技术专业人员的技能，我们将：通过竞赛来筹集资金，以支持交流和动员；提供多层次的创业和跨学科技能培训计划；创建促进合作和知识交流的网络活动；质量、多样性和包容性是这个联盟的核心；从早期职业学者推动这项由合作机构教授支持的提案开始，到我们关注ECR和技术专业培训、机会和各级代表。我们的EDI政策确保了弱势群体的机会平等，并使我们的联盟更聪明、更创新、更有社会意识。我们的管治委员会由Richard Emes教授担任主席，负责监督政策和程序的制定、批准资源分配和监测进展。执行团队将确保FTMA的运营交付，与成员沟通，处理资金申请，并确保遵守我们的EDI政策。为确保决策过程的稳健，拨款申请将由2位来自适当界别的独立专家进行评审，并在批出拨款前进行小组评审。我们的建议与UKRI的优先领域一致：确保更好的健康、老龄化和福祉。我们将支持与该联盟的三个横向主题相关的生物科学研究：代谢健康；贯穿整个生命历程的健康和老龄化；以及解决健康不平等问题的变革性技术。合作大学：诺丁汉特伦特大学、莱斯特大学和诺森比亚大学各自拥有丰富的跨部门合作网络，将协同合作创建跨学科项目。莱斯特大学带来了多学科和国际转化科学方面的专业知识，支持财团的全球雄心，包括与区域NHS信托基金和BHF心血管研究中心、糖尿病研究中心、民族健康研究中心和NIHR东米德兰兹应用研究合作等研究中心的重要联系。这些网络将支持代谢健康的联合研究，并补充诺丁汉特伦特大学系统健康和综合代谢研究中心和医疗技术创新设施的优势，这是一个开创性的双基地研究和开发设施，为学术界和工业界之间提供了一座桥梁，使创新医疗技术能够加速发展。诺森比亚大学（Northumbria University）专注于从细胞、激素、肌肉、实践和干预等各个方面研究健康老龄化，在支持毕业生进入企业方面有着良好的记录，他们与ART Health Solutions的合作就是一个例证，该公司目前已吸引了KTP和风险基金近100万英镑的投资。在我们的联盟中，有超过500家公司、6家NHS信托基金和更广泛的护理机构参与了大量的免费研究，这使我们处于理想的位置，可以支持研究人员从基础生物科学研究跨越峡谷，进入最终用户的利益。

By 2040, nearly one in seven people in the UK is projected to be aged over 75, many living with multiple morbidities. By contrast, Blue Zones are areas across the world with lower rates of chronic disease, where people live longer healthier lives. This consortium will support researchers to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries and collaborate across sectors to formulate and implement viable solutions that take frontier bioscience to blue zone outcomes.The aim of our new Blue Zone Consortium FTMA is to promote cross-sectoral collaboration, increase co-creation of research and clarity of ideas and technologies through the transfer of people.Our objectives will upskill researchers and technical professionals right from early career stages by exposure to new ways of thinking and environments, we will:disseminate funding via competitions to support exchange and mobilisationdeliver multi-level entrepreneurial and transdisciplinary skills training programmescreate networking events that promote collaboration and knowledge exchangeEquality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of this consortium: from early career academics driving inception of this proposal supported by a partner institution professoriate to our focus on ECR and technical professional training, opportunities, and representation at all levels. Our EDI policy ensures equity of opportunity for underrepresented groups, and makes our consortium smarter, more innovative and more socially aware.Our governance board, chaired by Professor Richard Emes, will oversee the development of policies and processes, approve resource allocation and monitor progress. The executive team will ensure operational delivery of the FTMA, communicating with members, handling funding applications, and ensuring compliance with our EDI policy. To safeguard the robustness of our decision making process, funding applications will be assessed by =2 independent experts from appropriate sectors, followed by panel review prior to award.Our proposal aligns with the UKRI priority area: securing better health, ageing, and wellbeing. We will support bioscience research related to the three transversal themes of this consortium: metabolic health; health and ageing across the life course; and transformative technologies to tackle health inequalities.Partner universities: Nottingham Trent University, University of Leicester, and Northumbria University each bring a rich network of cross-sector collaborators that will work synergistically to create transdisciplinary projects.The University of Leicester brings expertise in multidisciplinary and international translational science that support consortium global ambitions, including significant links with regional NHS Trusts, and research centres including the BHF Cardiovascular Research Centre, Diabetes Research Centre, Centre for Ethnic Health Research, and NIHR East Midlands Applied Research Collaboration. These networks will support consortium research in metabolic health and compliment strengths at Nottingham Trent University's Centre for Systems Health and Integrated Metabolic Research and Medical Technologies Innovation Facility, a pioneering dual-site research and development facility, that provides a bridge between academia and industry, to enable the acceleration of innovative medical technologies. Northumbria University, who focus on healthy ageing from a variety of cellular, hormonal, muscular, practical and interventional aspects have a track record of supporting graduates in enterprise, exemplified by their work with ART Health Solutions, which has now attracted almost £1M investment from KTP and venture funds.The critical mass of complimentary research across our consortium and reach to over 500 companies, six NHS Trusts and wider care settings makes us ideally placed to support researchers on their journey to jump the canyon from fundamental bioscience research into end user benefit.