Research in Scotland
Strong infrastructure and world-class clinical and academic expertise create a vibrant research environment in Scotland with clinical research embedded within our NHS.
As a location for research and clinical trials, Scotland has a number of advantages over many other countries, including:
- A single unified health system – NHS Scotland
- A stable population of c.5million with a high incidence of complex disease
- Nationwide clinical research infrastructure
- Some of the best health data in the world with an informatics capability that exploits electronic patient records, linkable through a unique NHS patient identifier, enabling clinical trials, stratified medicine and genetic studies.
Further to these strengths, a strong ethos of partnership working between NHS, Academia and Industry continually enhances research, clinical and commercial opportunities in Scotland and together we work to ensure that Scotland remains an excellent single research site, while also improving our global competitiveness and helping us face the challenges of chronic disease.