The partnership between Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London has been formally awarded academic health science centre (AHSC) status. Research at the faculty of medicine at Imperial College London, a key component of the AHSC, achieved top ratings in the 2008 research assessment exercise (RAE).
The RAE is a major national review of the quality of research carried out by universities across the UK. It awards research the following ratings, in terms of significance, originality and rigour:
4* - world-leading
3* - internationally excellent
2* - internationally recognised
1* - nationally recognised
The faculty of medicine scored highly in all areas of medicine that were submitted for review:
• Epidemiology and public health - joint first in the UK for 4* research
• Cardiovascular medicine and infection and immunology - joint third in the UK for 4* research
• Cancer and other hospital-based clinical subjects - 75 percent of our research activity judged 4* or 3*
• Psychiatry, neuroscience and clinical psychology - in the top five for 4* or 3* research
