UWE Bristol academics among emerging scientific leaders to receive share of £7.6m funding for health research

Two UWE Bristol researchers are among the recipients of a £7.6 million investment from the Academy of Medical Sciences aimed at tackling urgent health challenges.

Dr Lucy Crompton and Dr Daniel Turnham, along with 60 other early-career researchers from across the UK, received funding through the Academy’s Springboard programme to work on innovative approaches to improve human health and wellbeing.

Dr Crompton, a Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience in the School of Applied Sciences, has received £125,000 and will work on a Parkinson’s disease study. The research will provide information for the basis of new treatments, directly benefitting people living with Parkinson’s now and in the future.

She said: “I’m so grateful to the Academy of Medical Sciences for funding my research. This Springboard award will allow me to develop my current findings on the mechanisms that link inflammation and Parkinson’s disease. The overarching aim of my work is to further our understanding of this disease, with implications in general brain health and the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. This gives me the opportunity to really establish my lab at the forefront of this field.”

Dr Turnham, a Wallscourt Senior Research Fellow in the School of Applied Sciences, has received £100,000 and will work on a prostate cancer study. His research will investigate the role of a protein called RAGE in prostate cancer progression.

He said: “I’m excited to receive this funding through the Springboard scheme. This support will be instrumental in establishing my research lab at UWE Bristol, marking a crucial step toward my long-term goal of leading transformative research that has the potential to significantly improve the lives of men living with prostate cancer.”

As well as funding, the two academics will receive mentoring and career development support to help establish their independent research careers.

Across the £7.6 million investment from the Academy of Medical Sciences, funded projects will address health challenges from Alzheimer’s disease and obesity to addiction and climate change impacts on health.

With support from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Wellcome and the British Heart Foundation, the funding marks a decade of Springboard awards and brings the total investment in the next generation of research leaders to £43.8 million since the scheme launched in 2015.

Professor James Naismith, Vice-President (Non-Clinical) at the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “This record investment demonstrates our unwavering commitment to supporting the next generation of research leaders. By backing these talented early-career researchers, we’re not only addressing today’s urgent health challenges but also strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in medical research.”

UK Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “Research supported by the Springboard programme can help to address some of the most pressing health challenges, like antimicrobial resistance and cancer, by giving early-career researchers across the UK the opportunity to test their ideas. Through this programme we are supporting the next generation of researchers to lead their own groundbreaking research so that the UK can continue to be a pioneer in medical science.”