Dr Hadwen Trust pledges £0.5m for research

Published: 26-Oct-2012

Call for applications for next wave of grant funding also announced


The Dr Hadwen Trust (DHT) charity has pledged more than £570,000 to fund research into Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, oesophageal cancer, brain tumours and toxicology.

The projects, which will take place at five universities in England and Scotland, aim to further the understanding and treatment of a range of diseases while developing methods to replace the use of animals in biomedical research.

The new projects aim to:

  • Improve understanding of the role of proteins in development and cell function that will lead to a better understanding and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (Royal Holloway University)
  • Develop the use of plant cells to emulate the development of Parkinson’s disease in human cells (Westminster University)
  • Develop a 3-D cell model to allow the study of Barrett’s oesophagus and its progression to cancer (Dundee University)
  • Generate human liver cells from pluripotent human stem cells to replace animals in toxicology (Edinburgh University)
  • Use an effective 3-D blood-brain barrier model to identify nanoparticle systems that may be effective drug carriers used to combat brain tumours and other neurological diseases (Portsmouth University)

Kailah Eglington, CEO of the Dr Hadwen Trust, said: ‘We are delighted to announce funding for a further five ground-breaking, new research projects which promise to deliver benefits to both humans and animals. Each of these projects promises to significantly increase our understanding of devastating diseases whilst replacing animals used in scientific research.’

The DHT is also making its annual call for applications for the next wave of grants, which will be awarded next summer. The deadline for preliminary applications is 17 December 2012.

‘In making research grants available annually, we are urging all scientists to think about how they can help shape a more effective and humane future for medical research by using non-animal methods in their work,’ said Eglington.

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