Three Oxford research centres are among 14 nationwide to share in a pot of £118m in new funding.

Wellcome announced today that the Wellcome Centres for human genetics, integrative neuroimaging and ethics, innovation, globalisation and medicine will each benefit from the funding over the next five years.

All of the Oxford University-affiliated centres aim to advance understanding of health and disease across social sciences, humanities, clinical research and engineering.

Professor Matthew Wood, Associate Head of Research at the Medical Sciences Division at Oxford University said the university benefited greatly from being close to the research centres.

He said: “One of the great strengths of research at the University of Oxford is the number of world-class researchers working in close proximity, creating unrivalled opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing.

“This significant investment in Oxford demonstrates the importance of the research being carried out here, which is constantly expanding our knowledge of science and health, and raising the quality of medical care globally.”

Wellcome’s Director Dr Jeremy Farrar said: “Wellcome Centres play a special role in the global research ecosystem.

“By creating places where researchers can flourish we can catalyse world-leading research and translation, and amplify its influence and impact.

“At Wellcome we believe in long term support for discovery-driven science, and Wellcome Centres are an outstanding environment for researchers to further our understanding of fundamental biology, accelerate translation to clinical practice, and explore the social and cultural context of medicine."