Taking part in research helps to develop new treatments and services, and improve existing ones, for everyone. 

We’re one of the most research-active NHS Trusts in England. We're leaders in research about autism, affective disorders, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and dementia. Each year we run around 50 to 60 large research projects. We also run many other smaller studies and evaluations. 

We keep secure databases of people with certain conditions who want to join research studies. We call these 'research registers'.

We get in touch with people on the research register about suitable studies and see if they would like to take part.

We currently have two research registers:

  • Dementia and neurodegeneration research register. This is open to people with all types of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, or multiple system atrophy.
  • Mental health research register. This is open to people with mental health challenges such as depression, psychosis, ADHD, bipolar, and trauma.

You can also sign up to be contacted about research which needs ‘healthy controls’. These are people who do not have the condition or disease being studied. Their results are compared to results from the group being studied.

If you have one of the conditions listed above, or want to sign up as a ‘healthy control’, get in touch:

  • email dendron@cntw.nhs.uk
  • call 0191 246 7388 and leave a message
  • write to CNTW Research Delivery Team, St Nicholas Hospital, Jubilee Road, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 3XT  

Our Research Involvement Hub helps people with autism, a learning disability, mental distress, or neurodegeneration – and their carers – to:

  • Influence and design research and innovation projects.
  • Receive training to support their personal development and skills.
  • Get paid for their role in research.
  • Become researchers in their own right.

When you join the Research Involvement Hub, you can select areas you’re interested in. You'll also provide some information about yourself.

We’ll use this information to contact you about research projects you might be interested in. You’ll also receive a regular newsletter from us.

Sign up to the Research Involvement Hub.

We work with Northumbria University to offer free training to help people with lived experience of mental distress develop their research skills. The course is called ‘Public Involvement and Co-production in Research’.

There are no entry requirements for this training. You don’t need any other qualifications or experience.

The course is free to the learner. Places are currently paid for through funded research or other organisations.

Teaching takes place in person at Northumbria University in Newcastle. (We are hoping to launch online training soon.)

The training is in two modules. It offers up to 60 credits towards a Level 4 qualification. (A Level 4 qualification is equivalent to the first year of a university degree in the UK. A typical first year of full-time university has 120 credits.)

We also work with Northumbria University and Durham University, ReCoCo, and the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Gateshead to offer the Lived Experience Academy. This is a new initiative to support people with lived experience of mental distress in becoming research leaders.

For more information, please email research@cntw.nhs.uk.

On our Research Registers and Research Involvement Hub

We will store your information on our secure servers. Only authorised Clinical Research Network (CRN) staff can access this information.

We will only share your information with your consent.

You can ask us to remove your data at any time by emailing ResearchInvolvement@cntw.nhs.uk.

When you agree to take part in a specific research study

If you join a research study, we will use your data as needed for the research. The people running the study will tell you more about this before you sign up.

Once you agree to take part in a study, your rights to access, change, or move your information are limited. We need to manage your information carefully to ensure the research is reliable and accurate. If you leave the study, we will keep the information about you that we have already gathered.

We will use the least amount of personally identifiable information possible, to protect your rights.

All your data is stored in line with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018. Find out more about the personal data we process and collect.

Using de-identified data for research

Our organisation is helping to improve access to anonymised medical records for healthcare researchers and planners.

Giving researchers and planners access to this information can help find new treatments and improve care for everyone.

Your name and any personal details are removed or replaced with a code before anyone can access the record.

Researchers are only allowed access if they meet strict security and ethical standards. Their research must be in the public interest.

Your health records will stay within the NHS, and researchers will only be allowed to view the parts of your record that they have permission to access.

We are part of two databases of de-identified records:

Opting out

You can opt out of your records being included in these databases.

All our research studies go through rigorous approval processes with regulators. This includes the Health Research Authority and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Ethics Committee, and Confidentiality Advisory Group. Researchers must also follow local, national, and international guidance and laws. We check this by regularly auditing the research studies we are hosting or sponsoring.

If you have any questions about research at CNTW, please contact research@cntw.nhs.uk.