University of Bristol biomedical review completed

The University of Bristol has completed a review of its biomedical education and research, which will lead to the School of Veterinary Sciences and the Centre for Comparative and Clinical Anatomy joining the existing Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry to create a new faculty. This new faculty will provisionally be called the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The existing Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences should be renamed the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. These structural changes should take effect from 1 August 2015. There will also be a curriculum review of the medical programme. It is proposed that a single Medical School be created and this would encompass the current School of Social and Community Medicine and the School of Clinical Sciences.

A number of factors influenced the timing of the review, including the growing national concentration of biomedical research and funding and how Bristol might build towards the next round of NIHR funding for Biomedical Research Units and Centres.

Jonathan Sandy, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry added: “We are confident this is a real opportunity to position ourselves as a leading Health Sciences Faculty with a unique combination of three professional programmes. It is also a time to recognise our strengths in education and research and develop a clear focus and direction for the future. The biomedical review has not been driven by costs and it is a good opportunity to consider the funding arrangements we have in place to ensure that there is a shared understanding about how the funding that we receive from the University and from our external partners can be used to put us in the best position to meet future challenges. We will build on the collaborations that are already in place, and share good practice in management and organisation as well as the core business of research and teaching.”