KHP Centre for Translational Medicine: Pilot funding applicants awarded

Fourteen successful recipients of the KHP Centre for Translational Medicine Pilot Funding Scheme have been announced.

The funding call aims to simulate, accelerate and enhance translational medicine research – specifically the creation of pilot data.

The successful recipients and pilots are:

• Dr Kate Bramham - Understanding Cardiovascular Risk in High-Risk Women: exploring new opportunities to improve outcomes with menopause hormone therapy.
• Dr Amanda Nio - Non-invasive access to central blood pressure from microbubbles: Signal calibration and first in human study (SonoHeart KHP Pilot)
• Dr Dafnis Batalle - Dynamic functional connectivity in autism: the cascading effect of sensory stimulation.
• Dr Verity McClelland - Utilising globus pallidus recordings to identify biomarkers for personalising therapy and improving outcomes in children with dystonia and dystonic/dyskinetic cerebral palsy.
• Dr Mohamed Alhnan - A novel platform for isolation, enrichment, and detection of exosomes for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.
• Dr Matthew Hollocks - Developing a Mechanistically Informed Therapy for Aversive Sensory Experiences with Autistic Youth.
• Prof Peter Goadsby - Is there a nitrergic mechanism involved in vestibular migraine?
• Dr Gaia Nebbia - Utility of respiratory metagenomics to identify lower airway non-culturable, clinically relevant pathogens in children with chronic airways diseases.
• Dr Richard Hewitt - Investigating Epithelial – Immune Cell Interactions Driving Early Pulmonary Fibrosis.
• Dr Samuel Watson - Development of Patient-Specific Gene Editing Therapies in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy - towards a Cure.
• Prof Claire Wells - Improving outcomes for Black male prostate cancer patients.
• Prof Alice Egerton - A pilot study to support brain energetic imaging at 7T in schizophrenia.
• Dr Kathryn Steel - Mapping immunodominant responses to peptide autoantigens in patients with rheumatoid arthritis for antigen specific immunotherapy.
• Prof Alberto Sanchez-Fueyo - Transient immune editing of liver allografts to reduce immunogenicity, increase organ utilisation and improve post-transplant clinical outcomes.

Prof Phil Newsome, Director for the Centre for Translational Medicine, said:

Huge congratulations to the successful applicants. We were delighted to see the diversity and breadth of applications, across a broad mix of diseases, methodologies, and partnerships, and are excited to see how this proposed research can contribute to improving health equity and improve outcomes for patients and our communities.

The Centre for Translational Medicine brings together the organisations of King’s Health Partners and generous funding from the Guy's and St Thomas' Charity to work in partnership to improve the health of people locally, nationally, and globally, accelerating targeted, sustainable and more equitable health outcomes for patients and communities across south east London and beyond.

Patient representatives and clinical academics across all four partners have been involved at every stage of decision-making on funding awards.

Find out more about the KHP Centre for Translational Medicine.

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