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Moving ahead with brain research and education

What do we do?

We help fund research projects and studentships for research groups based in Scotland. Our goal is to help patients who have injured, or developed diseases of their brain and nervous system.

These conditions typically include tumours, stroke, head injury, Parkinson’s Disease, depression, schizophrenia, MS, epilepsy, motor neurone disease.

About us

Two new projects funded

We would like to announce that we will support two vital research projects aimed at tackling Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The total being funded is £20,000. Both studies will be carried out in Scotland, highlighting the strength of medical research north of the border.

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Febe Ferro Daphne Merrills Studentship winner

The Daphne Merrills Studentship

Partnership with Brain Research UK has led to a successful application for a Studentship in Glioblastoma by researcher Febe Ferro. This is a devastating condition, with only 5% of patients surviving beyond 5 years. Many of us will have had a friend or relative who has suffered from this.

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We help fund research projects and studentships. Here are some that have helped.

  • To improve the accuracy of assessing the cause of memory problems in patients with Parkinson’s Disease.
  • To explore the use of memory training to improve daily living in patients with stroke or brain injury.
  • To develop a chemical material to use with imaging techniques measuring inflammation in MS, PD, Alzheimer’s Disease and stroke.
  • To explore materials that might reduce the likelihood of ‘at risk’ patients developing a stroke.
  • To set up a network studying improvements in the monitoring of head injuries in neurological intensive care units.
  • To make a chemical material to use with imaging techniques to study the action of drugs used to treat glioblastoma.
  • To examine whether properties of blood vessels in the neck might indicate the risk of developing a stroke.

Some of our researchers

Katerina, Fraser, Christina and Ellen after their excellent presentations to the trustees on 3rd Nov 2022

Funded projects and studentships

Meet the Trustees and members of the Medical Advisory Board (MAC) - we help fund research projects and studentships by giving up our time voluntarily.

Dr Sarah Deans
Chair of the Board of Trustees

Dr Sarah Deans

Sarah has a PhD in Physical Activity for Health, and a Masters in Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise

Sarah has more than 25 years of experience as a clinician and academic in the fields of prosthetics and orthotics. She worked at the University of Strathclyde for 21 years. She taught rehabilitation of those with limb absence, and professional skills for healthcare. She has published much of her research, and has enjoyed international and national speaking engagements. Sarah currently devotes time to her husband and two children, The Neurosciences Foundation, property development, gardening, and trying to be more physically active through walking Jimmy the dog.
Saif RazviPaul, MAC member who review our research projects and studentship applications
Member, Medical Advisory Committee

Dr Saif Razvi

Saif is a neurologist with a special interest in treatment-resistant epilepsy and epilepsy mimics. He is currently Clinical Lead for Neurology for the West of Scotland. He is also the neurologist at the William Quarrier Scottish Epilepsy Centre in Glasgow. Complex issues with epilepsy are assessed at the Centre.

Saif is passionate about improving access of care to patients. He has helped develop telemedicine (internet) clinics across Scotland over the past decade. Saif is also fascinated by the workings of the mind. This means that he works closely with many neuropsychologists to help improve care of people with neuropsychological illnesses.
In his spare time, Saif enjoys road cycling and following the peloton on the UCI world cycling calendar.
Trustee

Prof Donald Hadley

Retired Consultant Neuroradiologist, Institute of Neurological Sciences and Professor of Radiology (Hon.), University of Glasgow. He has a long standing interest in neuroimaging research.

Publications have involved a range of investigations into the theme of central nervous system abnormality.
Paul Brennan, MAC member who review our research projects and studentship applications
Member, Medical Advisory Committee

Dr Paul Brennan

Paul is Reader and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian.
Paul's research combines molecular, epidemiology and clinical investigation to guide rationale innovation to improve patient care. He applies this strategy to improving diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for people with brain tumours, and traumatic brain or spinal injuries.

As founder eoSurgical Ltd Paul has also led innovation in surgical simulation training around the world. In the laboratory Paul probes mechanistic hypotheses generated by using large scale clinical data to drive discovery science. He collaborates on bringing innovative technologies to the clinic, developing the clinical and scientific evidence for adoption in routine care.
He is part of the CRUK Adult Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence, based on Edinburgh.
Trustee, Chair, Medical Advisory Committee

Prof David Wyper

Dave is a medical physicist with a particular interest in brain imaging. He has now retired. Dave was Director of SINAPSE [a Scottish Universities pooling group - www.sinapse.ac.uk] from 2010 till 2017. He was previously Director of the NHS Department of Clinical Physics and Bioengineering, based in Glasgow.

Dave’s most recent focus is on public understanding of science. We can easily resort to using acronyms and terms that are unfamiliar to non-scientists. It should be possible to explain all science without resorting to jargon. Sadly, few lay summaries are clear to non-scientists. It’s a challenge.

To relax Dave gets on his bicycle. For many years he was a road runner. He has now reduced the pounding by getting on his Paralane Focus and riding sedately round the hills to the south of Glasgow. For many years he was a piper in Williamwood Pipe Band and is still invited to many weddings.

Margaret has put up with him for over 50 years and they have two sons, one daughter and two grandchildren. Margaret’s passion is dance. She set up and ran the Dance Foundation and now has several hundred children and mothers. Dave puts up the barres.

Trustee

Phil Taylor

Phil had a thirty-year career in journalism and broadcast news. When he escaped, he started working with scientific research organisations helping to tell the extraordinary stories of their achievements. Latterly Phil worked in communications in the Higher Education sector establishing his own company collaborating with scientists, researchers and educators.

In his spare time, Paul plays with his vintage Hornby Dublo collection and wishes Everton FC could do better.
Andrew Todd, MAC member who review our research projects and studentship applications
Member, Medical Advisory Committee

Dr Andrew Todd

Professor of Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow

Andrew qualified in medicine at the University of London (1979) and obtained a PhD in Neuroscience from the same University (1983). He moved to University of Glasgow in 1984, and became a Professor in 2000. His work over the last 40 years has investigated the organisation of nerve circuits in the spinal cord. In particular this work involved those that are responsible for pain and itch. Understanding more about these circuits will be important for the development of new treatments for these common conditions.
Trustee

Dr Kristin Flegal

Since 2023, Kristin has held the post of Research Development Manager for Glasgow's Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE). She works to enhance access and usage of their imaging research facilities including Scotland's only 7T clinical MRI scanner.

Kristin has a PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in fMRI at the University of California, Davis, in 2015. She moved to the University of Glasgow to take up the role of Lead Scientist of SINAPSE (Scottish Imaging Network: A Platform for Scientific Excellence). From 2021 until 2023, Kristin worked as a Senior Project Manager in Glasgow's UKRI-funded Living Laboratory for Precision Medicine programme. Here she was responsible for the delivery of three Advanced Imaging collaborative projects with academic, clinical, and industry partners.
Trustee and treasurer

Henry Gildie

Henry is a chartered certified accountant and is a director of HLG Associates (EK) Limited.

Henry is a fellow member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. Henry has operated at Director level, within industry, over the last 20 years.
Amanda Garden
Trustee

Amanda Garden

Amanda has an honours degree in psychology from Edinburgh University. She worked in IT for over 40 years. Latterly she worked for the South East Scotland Cancer Network, which is based in NHS Lothian.

Since her retirement Amanda has continued her interest in IT by developing WordPress websites for family, friends, and charities. She has an interest in brain cancer research as she has suffered the loss of two close family members to brain tumours.

Mandy likes to spend time in the garden, reading, walking, and exploring Edinburgh and the Lothians on her bike.

John Pickard, MAC member who review our research projects and studentship applications
Member, Medical Advisory Committee

Prof John Pickard, CBE

Professor John Pickard CBE FMedSci is Emeritus Professor of Neurosurgery and Chairman/Clinical director of the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge. He trained in Neurosurgery in the 1970’s at the Institute of Neurological Sciences in Glasgow. He has been Chairman of the SINAPSE International Advisory Board and external advisor to the MSN for Neurosurgery.

Following retirement, he established the NIHR Brain Injury Healthcare Technology Cooperative (now MedTech Cooperative) and moved to East Lothian for grandchildren, golf and escape from too many committees.

We help fund research projects and studentships

Our accounts and charity details on OSCR

Our supporters

We help fund research projects and studentships - please help us by making a donation