Special event celebrates 10 years of Clinical Research Network Greater Manchester
The region’s research community came together to celebrate the decade of impact made by CRN Greater Manchester.
The special event, in the Hyatt Regency Manchester on 26 July 2024, was held to look back on the network’s legacy across the 10 years between 2014 and 2024.
CRN Greater Manchester was launched by NIHR in April 2014 as one of the 15 Local CRNs (LCRNs) in England. For 10 years, the network helped change lives by ensuring residents could access high-quality studies and be part of research.
From October 2024, the organisation will transition into the Regional Research Delivery Network (RDN) North West. The transition is an opportunity to evolve the network and meet the demands of the future.
The celebration event began with a presentation which reflected on notable achievements made across the decade. This was led by outgoing CRN Greater Manchster Chief Operating Officer Sarah Fallon and Co-Clinical Director, Professor Martin Gibson.
This was followed by a lively panel discussion featuring regional and national research leaders and was facilitated by Prof Gibson and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Susan Neeson.
Next, there was an inspiring presentation from bowel cancer patient Lyndsey Ainscough from Leigh. Lyndsey spoke movingly about her research journey, explaining how she is now cancer-free after taking part in a trial at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Lyndsey presented Sarah Fallon (pictured) with a commemorative plaque which will be displayed at the organisation’s headquarters to mark the legacy of CRN Greater Manchester.
A video montage summarising the network’s contribution to health and care research was played to conclude the afternoon.
During the course of the event, delegates also had the opportunity to view an exhibition of posters showing outcomes from CRN Greater Manchester-funded projects and sample an extended reality (XR) project designed to showcase some of the region’s research site capability.
