Our research

There are hundreds of neurological conditions.

We fund the best research to discover the causes, develop new treatments, and improve the lives of those affected by these conditions.

We are currently funding research into a wide range of conditions including neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, stroke, brain tumours, motor neurone disease and ataxia.

Cutting across research boundaries

Because we can fund research across the full range of neurological conditions, we can facilitate the translation of advances across different areas of brain research.

Brain Research UK helped support the introduction of deep brain stimulation (DBS) to the UK. DBS is a neurosurgical procedure in which a patient has an electrode inserted into a part of their brain to act as a ‘brain pacemaker’, sending electrical impulses to specific targets in the brain. DBS was first used to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and is now also used in the treatment of other conditions including dystonia, cluster headache and some mental health disorders. We continue to fund research to refine the use of DBS: read about the research being carried out by Professor Ludvic Zrinzo at UCL. 

How we fund research

We fund research at centres of excellence across the UK. Grants are awarded through openly advertised, competitive calls following rigorous peer review.

We currently run two annual calls for applications – one for PhD studentships and one for project grants. These calls are both restricted to research in our three priority areas.

In addition, we hold a number of restricted endowment funds through which we fund a number of ongoing projects at UCL Institute of Neurology.

All funded researchers are required to submit annual reports to enable us to track the progress of their research.

Brain Research UK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC).