From research to real-world impact: The launch of the Academic Centre for Healthy Ageing

We are delighted to celebrate the official launch of the Academic Centre for Healthy Ageing (ACHA) – a new joint initiative between Barts Health NHS Trust and Queen Mary University of London, supported by Barts Charity.  

Based at Whipps Cross Hospital, ACHA will act as a hub for interdisciplinary research, community engagement, and clinical excellence focused on ageing well.  

It brings together healthcare professionals, researchers, system leaders along with patient and carer communities, to tackle some of the most pressing health challenges facing our ageing population – from frailty and multimorbidity to dementia and isolation. 

At Barts Life Sciences, we’re excited by the potential for impactful collaboration with ACHA. We share a strong commitment to identifying, evaluating, and deploying innovative solutions that make a tangible difference to people’s lives.  

But most importantly, we are aligned in how we believe these solutions must be developed: through deep, multidisciplinary collaboration that draws on the insights and lived experiences of clinicians, researchers, patients, and communities. 

Together, ACHA and Barts Life Sciences bring complementary expertise – and with it, a shared ambition to: 

• Attract and co-develop with industry partners to create solutions that reflect the diversity, complexity, and needs of our local population and beyond. 

• Identify and evaluate innovative technologies for managing frailty, dementia, and long-term conditions. 

• Empower and learn from communities through more inclusive, participatory approaches to health and care research. 

• Support NHS services to adopt tools and interventions that work – grounded in evidence from both rigorous research and real-world evaluation. 

• Attract, retain and develop staff through our Barts Health Futures Programme and Life Sciences Skills and Training Hubs, building the workforce needed to drive and sustain health innovation in the NHS. 

This partnership is also a vehicle for addressing health inequalities. North East London is home to one of the UK’s most diverse populations, with high levels of deprivation and complex health needs. We want to ensure that older adults in our communities benefit from the latest advances in care – not years down the line, but now. 

Whether you are developing a promising innovation, running a relevant programme, or want to explore collaborative opportunities with us, if you would like to explore collaboration, you can submit a proposal here: Submit your proposal 

We congratulate the ACHA team on this important milestone and look forward to working together to turn bold ideas into better outcomes for our communities.