The awards support short, exploratory projects that bring together expertise from across the department, helping researchers test new ideas, build evidence for larger funding applications and develop approaches with potential future benefit for patients.
The latest funded projects span diabetes, inherited neurological and blood disorders, cardiometabolic disease and kidney stone disease, reflecting the breadth of RDM's research and the value of collaboration across disciplines.
Targeting inflammation in diabetes
Metabolism in Molecular Medicine: Megan Payne and Thomas Hill, with collaborators David Hodson and Shoumo Bhattacharya, will investigate whether targeting immune cell recruitment can reduce inflammation in the insulin-producing islets of the pancreas. The project will combine a new peptide platform with a preclinical diabetes model to test whether chemokine-selective peptides can reduce the inflammatory and metabolic burden of diabetes. The work builds on existing collaboration between the Bhattacharya and Hodson groups and establishes a new collaboration with Thomas Hill, with the aim of de-risking future translation into animal models and supporting longer-term development of treatments for type one diabetes and additional cardiometabolic diseases.
Megan Payne commented: 'I'm thrilled to get the opportunity to test our chemokine-targeting peptides in a diabetic mouse model. This funding will allow us to de-risk our novel approach to immune modulation in type one diabetes with the invaluable expertise of Thomas Hill. By directly preventing immune cell migration to sites of inflammation through chemokine targeting, we hope to offer a new therapeutic approach in type one diabetes and beyond.'
Restoring gene expression in Friedreich's ataxia
Cell and Gene Therapy: Matthew Baxter, with co-applicants Chris Toepfer, Elisa Barrow-Molina and Marta Moya-Jodar, will test a TRANCER-based approach to restore expression of FXN, the gene affected in Friedreich's ataxia. The team will identify TRANCERs that work specifically in human heart muscle cells, test their ability to express potential therapeutic transcripts and assess whether the approach can restore FXN function in a laboratory model of the condition. The project aims to generate early evidence for a possible new therapeutic strategy for a disease that can affect the nervous system and heart.
Matthew Baxter said: 'This funding will enable us to generate the critical proof-of-concept data needed to establish a first-in-class gene therapy approach for Friedreich's Ataxia using TRANCER technology. It will provide the foundation for larger translational funding applications and accelerate the development of a potentially transformative treatment for patients with this devastating disease.'
Developing gene therapy for severe α-thalassaemia
Cell and Gene Therapy: Doug Higgs, Steve Hyde, Jakob Haldrup Jensen, Mira Kassouf and Siyu Liu, with collaborator James Davies, will develop gene-editing approaches for severe α-thalassaemia, an inherited blood disorder. Using established human cell models and new methods for purifying blood stem cells, the team will refine a base-editing strategy and delivery method. The project will work with the Hyde Lab's EDGE technology to compare delivery methods, test targeted delivery to blood stem and progenitor cells and explore possible in utero applications. The aim is to move gene-editing approaches closer to clinical use while maintaining high editing efficiency and reducing risks linked to genomic integration.
Doug Higgs commented: 'We are very grateful for this funding which has enabled us to form a valuable partnership with other groups in RDM to develop a new approach to treat patients with the most severe forms of alpha-thalassaemia; a common form of inherited anaemia. Our pre-clinical studies have now been accepted for publication and this RDM pump-priming grant will allow us to produce preliminary data for a new, longer-term grant application.'
Using AI to improve cardiometabolic risk prediction
AI and Medical Big Data: Qiang Zhang, Costas Christodoulides and Yeshe Kway will develop artificial intelligence approaches to better understand cardiometabolic disease risk. The project will investigate scalable and cost-effective ways to estimate features of adipose tissue, or body fat, and study their associations with heart function and pathology, using UK Biobank data. By improving how cardiometabolic changes are measured and predicted, the work aims to support more precise risk management and lay the groundwork for future grant and fellowship applications.
Qiang Zhang said: 'This funding will support us in studying cardiometabolic disease and cardiovascular population health using latest AI approaches and medical big data, beyond conventional methods. It will help us retain crucial team members, and generate stronger pilot work to support subsequent applications for major grants and fellowships.'
Defining subgroups of kidney stone disease
AI and Medical Big Data: Sarah Howles and Anuj Goel, with collaborator Shishir Rao, will use large-scale biobank and electronic health record data to identify distinct subgroups of kidney stone disease. Kidney stones can arise for different reasons, but we don't know which pathways are important in which patients. By using data-driven methods to define disease subtypes, the project aims to improve understanding of why stones develop and support future work towards more targeted prevention and treatment strategies.
Sarah Howles said: 'I'm really excited to be able to use this funding to explore electronic health records and provide proof of concept data. I expect to show that we can define different subgroups of kidney stone disease which will enable us to target therapies at the right pathways in the right people.'
Top Tips for applying for pump-priming funding from our lead applicants
- Make sure you're clear about how this funding will lead on to other larger funding opportunities. (Sarah Howles)
- Have clear plans for bidding for external grants, and justification of how CCRT support will strengthen the applications (Qiang Zhang)
- Speak to your theme lead early to ensure your application is a good fit, and show a clear trajectory for how this funding will support your career development, with future applications outlined. (Megan Payne)
- Use the full range of RDM expertise to produce a team which can credibly extend your ability to develop an innovative and competitive proposal for long-term funding. (Doug Higgs)
- Discuss your project with the relevant theme lead early on to ensure a good alignment with the aims of the RDM CCRT (Matthew Baxter).
Find out more about RDM's Cross-Cutting Research Themes.