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This year, we are celebrating 25 years of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB).

The milestone was marked with a special anniversary event, bringing together current and former colleagues who have played a role in the CRF's success over the years.

The programme featured contributions from both internal and external speakers, reflecting on the CRF's history and achievements, the people behind its success, the experiences of research participants, and the facility's role in shaping the future of patient care across Birmingham and the wider region.

Based on the ground and first floors of the Heritage Building at QEHB, the CRF has been at the heart of experimental medicine research in Birmingham for the past 25 years.

The facility provides a high-quality clinical environment where volunteers and patients of all ages can take part in experimental and early-phase clinical research. It includes outpatient clinic rooms, day-case facilities, inpatient beds and meeting rooms, alongside specialist areas such as a metabolic studies suite, an endoscopy suite and high-specification isolation rooms.

In addition, embedded within the CRF are dedicated pre-analytical laboratories that support sample processing, storage, analysis and investigative research, helping to deliver a wide range of complex clinical studies.

Professor Dhruv Parekh, Programme Director for the CRF and Medical Director for Research and Innovation, said: "I am incredibly proud to be the current Director of the CRF and to celebrate this important milestone. What stands out most about the CRF is its people. The dedication, expertise and enthusiasm of our colleagues, alongside the commitment of the patients who take part in our studies, are what make this such a special place.

"I would like to thank everyone who has been part of the CRF's journey, from those involved in its earliest days to the fantastic teams working across the facility today. Their commitment to delivering high-quality research and improving outcomes for patients is what has made the CRF what it is today, and I am incredibly proud to be part of that story."

Joanne Plumb, Director of Research and Innovation at University Hospitals Birmingham, said: "Having been involved with the CRF since the start in 2001, it has been a privilege to see how it has evolved over the past 25 years.

"What began as a facility delivering a small number of early-phase studies has grown into a leading centre for experimental medicine research, delivering increasingly complex and innovative trials and providing patients with access to new treatments and opportunities they may not otherwise have had.

"Together, the CRF staff past and present have achieved so much, and I am so proud to have led the CRF in the early years. I am excited to see how the facility continues to evolve, bringing new research opportunities and innovative treatments to patients in the years ahead."

Take a look at our anniversary brochure, which looks back on 25 years of the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Birmingham Clinical Research Facility, celebrating key achievements, milestones and the people who have shaped its success:

• Celebrating 25 years of the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Birmingham Clinical Research Facility