Research in Health Sciences
Our research aims to transform lives and improve health and wellbeing of people and communities through empirical research, evidence synthesis and knowledge translation
Our research influences environments as well as the services people access to improve their health and wellbeing. Our strategy focuses on three research themes, providing direction and enabling us to understand and tackle complex problems in health and wellbeing through innovative solutions.
Our research structure is supported by our excellent research-led teaching and encourages positive, focused interactions and collaborations across disciplines.
Our three research themes are:
- understanding health and wellbeing
- innovation in health and wellbeing
- mobilising knowledge and improving service delivery
These themes support our goal to transform health and wellbeing throughout the life-course and connect our research to the university's strategic priority, of embedding interdisciplinarity.
Within these themes are three strategic groups around which our research combines:
- Mother and Infant Research Unit
- People, Health and Communities
- Scottish Improvement Science Collaborating Centre (SISCC)
We also align with the Dental Health Services Research Unit (DHSR) and have a number of structural links with the School of Dentistry. These include a joint School Research Ethics Committee, a shared approach to the Open Research agenda through the appointment of champions, and a research seminar series.
Research groups
Scottish Improvement Sciences Collaborating Centre (SISCC)

SISCC is a research collaboration that aims to bridge the gap between academia, public, practitioners and policy-makers to enhance quality, safety and person-centred care.
Our research focusses on knowledge co-creation and mobilisation, understanding mechanisms to support change, evaluating approaches to deliver large-scale sustainable change and using data and technology to enhance health care delivery.