How does your money help?

Stem cell research

Your donations will help us develop our research into stem cells and their properties.

Research hinges on learning how different biological processes work. By better understanding how stem cells are controlled and how diseases develop in a lab environment, we hope to find new ways to treat patients.

New treatments for diseases

Brain cancer

Our research seeks to understand why brain tumour stem cells make the decision to make more copies of themselves (self-renewal) and what can be done to control this. We hope to identify new drugs that can specifically block self-renewal of brain tumour stem cells.

Head and neck cancer

Despite being a lifesaving treatment for patients with head and neck cancer, a side-effect of radiotherapy is damage to salivary glands, leading to chronic dry mouth – an extremely debilitating condition. Our research aims to find a way to regenerate damaged tissue and restore salivary function.

Heart disease

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in Scotland. We are exporing perivascular stem cells and their possible role in tissue development, renewal and repair. The CRM building also houses the British Heart Foundation Centre for Vascular Regeneration, dedicated to the study of vascular repair and regeneration

Leukaemia

Leukaemia is an aggressive from of blood cancer. We are exploring ways to produce blood cells from stem cells, which has the potential to reduce reliance on blood donations. We are also exploring how mutations can lead to leukaemia in infant patients.

Liver disease and cancer

Transplantation is currently the only effective treatment for chronic liver disease, however this is severely limited by organ availability. Our research is focussed on understanding and improving liver regeneration, developing alternatives to transplantation.

Multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the brain and the spinal cord. It affects the insulating layers that wrap the nerve cells (the myelin sheath) and disrupts nerve signals within the brain. Our research is focussed on understanding how to repair the damaged myelin sheath and protect nerves.

Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder in which a specific type of nerve cell dies off over time. We are undertaking research to find out what causes these nerve cell to die. We are also exploring ways to generate the nerve cells from stem cells, with the aim of developing a new cell-based therapy.

Training future scientists

Your donations will also help us train the next generation of basic and clinical scientists.

We offer three and four year PhD programmes aimed at both science and medical graduates that provide intensive research training in cutting edge Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

We also inspire young people to pursue a career in science and research, offering structured work experience placements and engagement activities with schools.