TWO Southampton health experts are set to lead the future of clinical research in the south.

Professor John Primrose and Professor Robert Peveler have been chosen to head up a new clinical research network for Wessex, which officially launched in April.

The network, hosted by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, covers research activity in Dorset, South Wiltshire, and Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

It is one of 15 regional groups that form the national NIHR Clinical Research Network, which provides funding to hospitals and surgeries to pay for nurses, scans, X-rays and other costs associated with carrying out clinical research in the NHS.

As clinical directors, Professor Primrose, a consultant surgeon at Southampton General Hospital, and Professor Peveler, chairman in liaison psychiatry at Southampton University, will be responsible for boosting the numbers of doctors and nurses delivering research across the region.

They will ensure that studies are carried out efficiently and maximise opportunities for patients to participate in studies that could benefit them.