£10.6 million to develop models of disease
11 September 2008
The Medical Research Council has awarded a total of £10.6 million to fund research to develop better models of human disease. The successful grant holders are based in universities from across the UK, and look at a wide range of diseases, including diabetes, stroke, heart disease and age-related macular degeneration.
Dr Chris Watkins, who leads the MRC Translational Research Theme, said:
‘‘High quality models of human disease are invaluable in understanding disease processes, how they progress, and how to develop effective therapies. The studies were chosen to provide immediately relevant ways to discover new treatments and understand disease.’’
The awards are one component of a strategic initiative to target bottlenecks in translational research, as part of the MRC’s Translational Research Strategy. Supported projects include those in vitro, in cell cultures or test tubes, in vivo, in a live animal or person, and in silico, computer based models that use experimental data from animal and human studies. A total of £10.6 million has been split between 20 research groups. Several of the supported projects involve collaborations with industry.
The MRC call for proposals on models of disease is part of the coordinated approach to translational research agreed between the MRC and the National Institute for Health Research, developed with the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research.
Enhanced models of disease will help scientists to learn about disease development and identify potential treatment targets, to test whether new therapies are toxic in any way, and to test how effective new treatments might be as they are developed.
The grants have been awarded to:
Professor D Abraham |
UCL |
Genetic models for connective tissue disease, scarring and fibrosis |
£497,356 |
Dr O Albagha |
University of Edinburgh |
Characterisation and therapeutic intervention of two novel mouse models of Paget’s disease of bone |
£371,532 |
Professor R R Ali |
UCL Institute of Ophthalmology |
Pathology and treatment of mouse models of dominant retinal disease |
£435,316 |
Dr S M Allan |
University of Manchester |
Subarachnoid haemorrhage as a valid model for stroke |
£639,784 |
Dr M Bailly |
UCL Institute of Ophthalmology |
Combined in vitro and ex-vivo model to design novel combinatorial strategies for the modulation of scarring |
£497,792 |
Professor G Bates |
King's College London |
Identification and Cross-validation of Early Stage Phenotypes in Mouse Models of Huntington s disease |
£730,518 |
Dr J M Collinson |
University of Aberdeen |
The pma mouse and the developmental basis of congenital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot) |
£436,992 |
Professor P Cowen |
University of Oxford |
Impaired neural responses to the sight and taste of chocolate: A model of anhedonia in depression. |
£382,100 |
Dr W P Duprex |
Queen's University Belfast |
Illuminating childhood respiratory infections: from viral diseases to vaccine delivery |
£897,700 |
Professor A M Gray |
University of Oxford |
An outcomes model for type 2 diabetes |
£489,472 |
Professor C Haslett |
University of Edinburgh |
Multimodal smart imaging of critical inflammatory processes in murine models of pulmonary fibrosis |
£634,940 |
Dr M Little |
University of Birmingham |
Towards robust animal models of ANCA-associated Vasculitis |
£378,712 |
Professor K P Moore |
University College London |
Characterising the D-Galactosamine Rat Model of Hepatorenal Syndrome |
£415,488 |
Dr V Sboros |
University of Edinburgh |
Development of contrast enhanced ultrasonography using the sheep ovarian model of microvascular regulation |
£710,544 |
Professor D T Shima |
UCL Institute of Ophthalmology |
Qualifying mouse models of spontaneous, progressive age-related macular degeneration |
£348,032 |
Professor K Smith |
UCL Institute of Neurology |
To develop therapies and a strategy for their translation to treat early lesions in multiple sclerosis |
£761,372 |
Dr N Smith |
University of Oxford |
Dissecting Heart Failure mechanisms by integrating in vivo and in vitro data within customised in silico models |
£376,724 |
Dr S C Stanford |
University College London |
NK1R knockout mouse model and human genetics of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder |
£622,644 |
Dr N Thapar |
UCL Institute of Child Health |
Using key models for developing stem cell-based therapies for aganglionic gut disorders |
£607,936 |
Professor K Wood |
University of Oxford |
Humanised mouse models |
£395,784 |
Press contact: 020 7637 6011
press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
