Announced in January 2008, a new £20 million investment has established five Centres of Excellence across the UK to strengthen research into complex public health issues such as obesity, smoking and health inequalities. (See linked Editorial page xx.) The UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) brought together funders to support this initiative to develop a coordinated approach to strengthen public health research in the UK, which was administered by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The funding Partners are the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Health and Social Care Research & Development Office for Northern Ireland, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Wales Office of Research and Development—Welsh Assembly Government and the Wellcome Trust. The Centres have a clear brief to bring together leading experts from a range of disciplines to work in partnership with practitioners, policy makers and wider stakeholders to tackle public health issues that are likely to have a significant impact on the health of the nation, and to strengthen the research capacity in public health. Five successful Centres were awarded funding through a competitive process, and are based in Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast, Cambridge and Nottingham. Between them, the Centres will conduct research across a broad range of public health issues, and on topics including diet and nutrition; physical activity; and alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Each Centre will receive up to £5 million over 5 years to create new academic posts and develop strong training and career development programmes. The funding will also provide the technical staff, IT systems, equipment, administrative support, research facilities and other infrastructure needed to support high-quality researches. Further details of each of the five centres are shown in Box 1. Box 1. Centres of Public Health Excellence Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, led by Newcastle University (in collaboration with Durham, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside Universities)—directed by Professor Martin White. Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement, Cardiff University (in collaboration with Swansea University and Bristol University)—directed by Professor L. Moore UKCRC Northern Ireland Centre of Excellence for Public Health Research, Queens University Belfast (in partnership with the Institute of Public Health in Ireland)—directed by Professor F. Kee Diet and Physical Activity Public Health Research Centre, Cambridge, University of Cambridge (in partnership with the University of East Anglia)—directed by Professor N. Wareham The UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, University of Nottingham (a strategic partnership between seven of the leading tobacco control and policy research groups in the UK: Nottingham; Bath; Edinburgh; Birmingham; Stirling; Queen Mary, University of London; and University College London)— directed by Professor J. Britton.