PULSE-CF Research Innovation Hub is a research network led by the University of Manchester but representing a national collaboration across four universities (Manchester, Liverpool, Belfast and Southampton) and five adult CF centres (Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Cardiff, Liverpool).

The Hub is funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in collaboration with the medical research charity LifeArc and supported by the NIHR Manchester BRC. We will deliver two linked clinical studies, running simultaneously, that will define the causes of exacerbations and determinants of severity (“CF-Tracker” study), and the response to antibiotics (“UNIFIED-CF” study). These are supported by five scientific programmes to look at what happens before, during, and after exacerbations, led by leaders in their fields. The whole programme is under-pinned by excellence in bioinformatics, led by the Computational Biology Facility at Liverpool University.

These programmes will provide the science and clinical leadership that will support the design and delivery of a clinical trial platform of CF exacerbation therapies. Data from CF-Tracker and UNIFIED-CF will allow us to identify treatable pathways that cause exacerbations or impact on severity, to select out who is at greatest risk, and identify suitable trial outcome measures. This will allow to trial treatments to prevent exacerbations, and by doing so relieve the burden and disruption they cause for those with CF.