NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative is delighted to be part of an exciting collaboration of nine organisations that has commissioned a new online experience that will help shape the future of health research.

Over the coming months, 2,000 residents from the North of Tyne region are invited to enter and contribute to the interactive online world of the “Multiverse Lab”.

This free innovative experience has been created by the Newcastle based Unfolding Theatre to find out what matters to local people when it comes to their health.

Visitors will be guided through the specially designed website by a variety of musicians and performers from North East England representing the diverse groups living in the region. British Sign Language, Urdu and audio description versions are available to give as many people as possible the opportunity to access the Multiverse Lab.

Visitors will be encouraged to have their say and record a 40 second message to answer:

“What is the health research breakthrough you hope to see in your lifetime?”

Before helping to create a “Lab of Many Voices”, visitors can explore a series of fun and interactive features. They will learn more about the current state of health in the region and the research being conducted on their doorstep by us and our collaborators. They will also be able to listen to what matters to other local people regarding their health.

The Multiverse Lab has been an excellent opportunity for us to work with our partners in the region. The Multiverse Lab is one of the ways we are delivering our shared vision for putting the public at the heart of our work. This novel platform will allow us to collect the views of the wide cross section of people living across the North East. This will inform our future plans ensuring that we deliver research that addresses the health issues that matter the most to our communities.

Whilst Multiverse Lab is a playful and fun online experience, it also aims to highlight the importance health research has on our everyday lives.

The Multiverse Lab is open from the 7th October.

There is also an opportunity to join the Unfolding Theatre Artistic Director, Annie Rigby, for a special guided tour of the online platform on the 10th November.

Multiverse Lab is an innovative project commissioned by a series of partners:

• VOICE
• The National Innovation Centre for Ageing
• NIHR
• NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre
• NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative
• NIHR Newcastle Clinical Research Facility
• NIHR Clinical Research Network Coordinating Centre Cluster (Newcastle)
• NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria
• Newcastle University
• The Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust