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What we fund

Our research

We fund and support the most promising health research wherever we discover great opportunities in areas that are underfunded.

Funding the research our society needs

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Our total spend
on research
£50 million
Mental health
and neuroscience
£10.5m
Eating
disorders £3.3m

Eating disorders

Eating disorders are devastating – anorexia alone has the highest death rate of any psychiatric disorder – yet our understanding of what causes them is limited.

Read more about Eating DisordersRead more
Self-harm £1.5m

Self-harm

Rates of self-harm have risen in young people, but we still know little about why people harm themselves.

Pain £4.5m

Pain

Chronic pain affects 28m people in the UK and nearly 30% of the entire global population – yet research is severely underfunded. Read more about chronic painRead more

Climate change and health £4.5m

Climate change and health

Climate change is a severe threat to human health globally. Urgent action is needed to understand and tackle the health impacts of climate change. Read more about climate changeRead more

Antimicrobial
resistance £4.3m

Antimicrobial resistance

AMR is a global threat to human health. To stop the spread of drug-resistant illness and disease, a new approach is desperately needed.

Read more about Antimicrobial ResistanceRead more
Hepatitis £4.3m

Hepatitis

Every 30 seconds, someone loses their life to a hepatitis related illness. We need better options for diagnosis and treatment.

Read more about HepatitisRead more
Respiratory diseases £2.4m

Respiratory diseases

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying respiratory diseases is needed, to improve the treatment options available.

Infectious diseases £1.9m

Infectious diseases

Research into a range of infectious diseases remains underfunded. We support research that brings solutions for people dealing with these health challenges.

Adolescent skin disorders

£1.6m

Adolescent skin disorders

For adolescents, skin disorders can be physically and mentally scarring, yet effective treatments are scarce.

Lupus

£1.5m

Lupus

Lupus is difficult to diagnose and currently there is no cure, meaning more research is desperately needed.

Read more about LupusRead more

Hearing loss £1.3m

Hearing loss

Better, tailored solutions are needed for the 9 million people in the UK who have significant hearing loss.

Young stroke £1.2m

Young stroke

A quarter of strokes happen in young people of working age, having a huge impact on their lives - yet we know little about the risk factors for this age group.

£7.7m
Discovery
science
£3.3m
Research capacity
building in Africa
£984k Changing policy
and practice

Changing policy and practice

Our Changing Policy and Practice Awards help ensure that discoveries made by Foundation or MRC-funded researchers reach a wider audience and directly impact on healthcare policy, treatments, and public behaviour.

Read more about Changing policy and practiceRead more

Data based on awards made between 2008 to 2024

Our total spend
on research
£50 million
Mental health
and neuroscience
£10.5m
Eating
disorders £3.3m

Eating disorders

Eating disorders are devastating – anorexia alone has the highest death rate of any psychiatric disorder – yet our understanding of what causes them is limited.

Read more about Eating DisordersRead more
Self-harm £1.5m

Self-harm

Rates of self-harm have risen in young people, but we still know little about why people harm themselves.

Pain £4.5m

Pain

Chronic pain affects 28m people in the UK and nearly 30% of the entire global population – yet research is severely underfunded. Read more about chronic painRead more

Climate change and health £4.5m

Climate change and health

Climate change is a severe threat to human health globally. Urgent action is needed to understand and tackle the health impacts of climate change. Read more about climate changeRead more

Antimicrobial
resistance £4.3m

Antimicrobial resistance

AMR is a global threat to human health. To stop the spread of drug-resistant illness and disease, a new approach is desperately needed.

Read more about Antimicrobial ResistanceRead more
Hepatitis £4.3m

Hepatitis

Every 30 seconds, someone loses their life to a hepatitis related illness. We need better options for diagnosis and treatment.

Read more about HepatitisRead more
Respiratory diseases £2.4m

Respiratory diseases

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying respiratory diseases is needed, to improve the treatment options available.

Infectious diseases £1.9m

Infectious diseases

Research into a range of infectious diseases remains underfunded. We support research that brings solutions for people dealing with these health challenges.

£1.6m

Adolescent skin disorders

Adolescent skin disorders

For adolescents, skin disorders can be physically and mentally scarring, yet effective treatments are scarce.

£1.5m

Lupus

Lupus

Lupus is difficult to diagnose and currently there is no cure, meaning more research is desperately needed.

Read more about LupusRead more
£1.3m

Hearing loss

Hearing loss

Better, tailored solutions are needed for the 9 million people in the UK who have significant hearing loss.

£1.2m

Young stroke

Young stroke

A quarter of strokes happen in young people of working age, having a huge impact on their lives - yet we know little about the risk factors for this age group.

£7.7m
Discovery science
£3.3m
Research capacity
building in Africa
£984k
Changing policy
and practice

Changing policy and practice

Our Changing Policy and Practice Awards help ensure that discoveries made by Foundation or MRC-funded researchers reach a wider audience and directly impact on healthcare policy, treatments, and public behaviour.

Read more about Changing policy and practiceRead more

Thanks to our supporters, we've been able to fund a wide range of life-changing medical research. Have a look at the projects we've funded below or visit our News and Events page to read the latest research findings.

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Search results Showing 5 of 205 results

The emotional impact of restoring sight (EIRS) in children and adolescents

Lead researcher: Dr Michael Crossland
Research area: Eye Health
Disease or condition: Eye health
Research organisation: University College London
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Awarded and preparing to start
Amount: £265,365
Read more

Living patient-derived mini-tissues as a novel tool to understand and treat children and adolescent myopia

Lead researcher: Professor Maryse Bailly
Research area: Eye Health
Disease or condition: Eye health
Research organisation: University College London
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Awarded and preparing to start
Amount: £320,364
Read more

Understanding why severe birth eye defects occur in children

Lead researcher: Professor Mariya Moosajee
Research area: Eye Health
Disease or condition: Eye health
Research organisation: University College London
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Awarded and preparing to start
Read more

The CLEAR-eye study: Predicting the return of disease in ChiLdhood uvEitis through the evaluAtion and validation of imaging-based Remission markers

Lead researcher: Ms Ameenat Lola Solebo
Research area: Eye Health
Disease or condition: Eye health
Research organisation: University College London
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Awarded and preparing to start
Read more

Investigating eye inflammation (uveitis) linked to arthritis in children

Lead researcher: Dr Elizabeth Rosser
Research area: Eye Health
Disease or condition: Eye health
Research organisation: University College London
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Awarded and preparing to start
Read more