First Mission 2030 Research Announced
Mission 2030
Help us find a breakthrough in PSC research
Mission 2030: help us find the breakthrough we need
PSC Support is committed to establishing a pathway towards finding a cure or effective treatment for everyone with PSC by 2030.
We're doing this by funding research that:
- overcomes the barriers that are slowing down progress; and
- is paving the way to finding the breakthrough that people with PSC so desperately need.
By 2030, we will fund and support more PSC research than ever before, offering over £1 million in grants.
"I am delighted to announce the first three research projects PSC Support is funding this year. These projects are innovative and exciting ones which will hopefully help us find out more about PSC and related conditions and further our aim of doing everything we can to try and find an effective treatment for PSC. As part of our Mission 2030 campaign we will be funding at least £1 million worth of PSC research by 2030. A huge but, we think achievable aim for a small charity like ours. We can only do it with your help. Consider making a one-off or even monthly donation now and help us with our mission."
Paula Hanford, PSC Support CEO
Today, we are delighted to announce the first Mission 2030 research studies, funded by your donations:
Dr Edward Jarman, University of Edinburgh
PSC Support has awarded £50,000 to Dr Edward Jarman to investigate how the cells in people with PSC can develop into bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma).
He will do this by using cutting-edge technology to look at the key cellular and microenvironmental changes that take place in PSC that contribute to the development of tumours.
The potential impact of understanding these changes could be huge for patients. The hope is that this research will find signs to identify which people with PSC are at risk of developing bile duct cancer, early signs of the cancer, and the first steps to developing a medicine to prevent early bile duct cancer from growing in people with PSC.
Dr Simon Rushbrook, NNUH NHS Foundation Trust
PSC Support has awarded £40,000 to Dr Simon Rushbrook to continue developing a blood test to diagnose PSC. His previous research, funded by PSC Support, found ten promising antibody markers which he will now test on a larger scale to find one that is unique to PSC.
Dr Rushbrook will do this by analysing blood samples from 200 people with PSC and other conditions that affect the bile ducts to find the molecule that drives the immune system to damage the bile ducts in people with PSC.
This unique molecule could be used in a blood test to diagnose PSC. Importantly, this new understanding could also open a whole new avenue of research to turn off the faulty immune response in PSC and stop the disease progressing.
Professor Jesús Bañales and Dr Pedro Rodrigues
PSC Support has awarded £50,000 to Professor Jesús Bañales and Dr Pedro Rodrigues towards developing a blood test to detect early bile duct cancer and to predict who is most at risk in people with PSC.
In a huge international collaboration, this will involve the use of machine learning and the analysis of blood from over 300 blood samples.
Although bile duct cancer is rare, it is diagnosed at a point where effective treatment is difficult. Dr Bañales’ important work could lead to the first accurate and cost-effective blood test to confidently detect bile duct cancer in people with PSC. His research will help doctors to predict those most likely to develop this cancer. This would be ground-breaking and allow for closer monitoring and give those affected the chance to have early and more effective treatment.