Research Grants
The Charity is the largest funder of brain tumour research in the UK.
For more information on our past and current research projects, along with layman's descriptions, use the navigation tabs (left).
2009 Research Project Grant Round Now Open
For full information for the grant round, including the application form, click here.
Joint Initiative for funding feasibility studies in brain tumours
Cancer Research UK (CR-UK) & Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust (SDBTT)
Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust and Cancer Research UK (CR-UK) are launching a joint clinical trials initiative for primary brain tumours. Recognising the further need for research into novel agents and therapies in this area, a call for feasibility study applications has been issued. Projects are available in the order of £25,000 per annum (up to a maximum of £40,000 in exceptional cases) for a period of up to 24 months.
Applications will be reviewed by CR-UK’s Clinical Trials Awards and Advisory Committee (CTAAC) via a one-step application process and are subjected to international, competitive peer review. Any application approved through this route will be eligible for support in the NHS via inclusion on the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) portfolio.
Assessment criteria for applications are as follows:
The strengths of each application in all of the above areas will be assessed by CTAAC and used to arrive at an overall score. Only studies scoring above an agreed threshold will be considered for funding by SDBTT and CR-UK. Studies funded by this initiative will be jointly branded by SDBTT and CR-UK. SDBTT have committed to supporting up to two feasibility study applications in this way. Any additional brain tumour applications scoring above the threshold will be supported by CR-UK, subject to available funding.
The deadline for the submission of applications to this initiative is at 5pm on 14th August 2009. Applications will be reviewed at the November 2009 meeting of CTAAC and applicants will be notified of the decision at the end of the month.
Prospective applicants should contact Dr Rowena Sharpe (Clinical and Translational Operations and Funding, CR-UK) at rowena.sharpe@cancer.org.uk for copies of the application form and for further details on the application process.
Details on feasibility studies and other CR-UK and SDBTT funding streams can be found on the following websites:
Feasibility studies: http://science.cancerresearchuk.org/gapp/clinicaltrialsfund/fsc/?version=2;
For more information on the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, please contact Julia Trusler (Research Grants, SDBTT).
Research news
Pioneering Study May Open Door to First Targeted Treatment for Common Childhood Brain Tumour
The team of British and American researchers, largely funded by Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, has discovered that a specific set of genetic abnormalities may initiate and drive pilocytic astrocytomas, the most common childhood brain tumour. For more information about the work, see our media page.
First genetic link for pilocytic astrocytoma identified
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have pinpointed a rearrangement of DNA that causes around two-thirds of all cases of pilocytic astrocytoma - the most common brain tumour in five to 19 year-olds - in a study funded by Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust and Cancer Research UK. For more information about this, see our media page.
Jonny Wilkinson kicks off new research study at Newcastle
Rugby International and Newcastle Falcons star, Jonny Wilkinson, has launched a major new study into childhood medulloblastoma brain tumours at Newcastle University. The study will trial a new UK-wide system for testing tumour samples and investigating a range of biological characteristics on a routine basis. For more information about the event, the study and the media attention it has attacted, click here.
 |
 |
| Jonny Wilkinson hands over a cheque for £44,100 to Dr Steve Clifford. | Jonny signs a rugby balls for local children affected by brain tumours at the launch event. |
The Charity has also recently announced the opening of the Samantha Dickson Brain Cancer Unit at University College London, which will be dedicated to research into brain tumours. The Unit was opened by Earl Spencer, Patron of the Charity. For more information about this, see our media page.
|
|
| Angela and Neil Dickson with Earl Spencer opening the Unit | The UCL Cancer Institute Paul O'Gorman building, in which the Unit is housed. |
About our research
All research grants are reviewed by our Scientific and Medical Advisory Board, a group of 28 experts in the field of neuro-oncology who give up their time to help us ensure that the work that we fund is of the highest quality.
 |
Our Scientific and Medical Advisory Board along with Trustees Neil and Angela Dickson and Ian and Sylvia Woods.
Taken at the meeting in March 2006 to discuss projects in our latest grant research round. |
Collaborations
In 2006 SDBTT became a member of the Associaton of Medical Research Charities (AMRC).
In 2005 £400,000 was funded by SDBTT for setting up a new relationship with the UK Children's Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG). This enabled UKCCSG to fund two trial co-ordinators and one statistician to speed up all children's clinical trials throughout the UK, which will eventually lead to faster treatment.
In 2005 SDBTT was awarded a grant of £100,096 by GlaxoSmithKline for a research project at the University of Cambridge under Professor V Peter Collins.
In 2006 SDBTT received a donation of £190,000 from ICAP which has funded Dr Beth Coyle's project at Nottingham University with the balance being used for another project.
SDBTT is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) – a membership organisation of the leading medical and health research charities in the UK – www.amrc.org.uk
