Since the start of 2023, the BSRA are delighted to confirm that we have supported members with a total of 5 vacation studentships (up to a total value of £2,000 each), 6 travel grants (up to a total value of £500 each) and 6 small research grants (up to a total value of £2,000 each) within the scope of the biology of ageing. As part of our previous grants programme, we have also supported 1 publication grant.
2023 March Round
In our 2023 March round, publication funding was provided to Ciara Juan, Ulster University, for their paper titled “A systematic review and meta-analysis of the SIRT1 response to exercise”, which was published in Nature Scientific Reports and can be access here: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the SIRT1 response to exercise | Scientific Reports (nature.com). We also supported 2 travel grants. Samir Morsli, University of Cambridge, was successfully awarded funding to attend and present at the Gordon Research Conference on the Biology of Aging in July of 2023, whilst Bowen Xu, University College London, presented work on the role of RNA polymerase III, a negative regulator of Maf1, in extension of lifespan. A total of 3 vacation studentships were awarded. Nathan Hodson, Manchester Metropolitan University, was successfully awarded funding to support a student in investigating the impact of ageing on the autophagy-lysosomal system in human skeletal muscle. Hannah Chapman, University College London, was also successfully awarded funding and her student completed a project on understanding the role of autophagy in C. elegans ageing. Finally, Eurico Neto, Northumbria University, was provided with funding to support a student who contributed to a project on recovering vascular endothelium adaptability to exercise training in older women and determining whether phytoestrogen supplementation is a viable alternative to hormone-replacement therapy. The BSRA awarded 1 small research grant which was provided to Johannes Schroth, Queen Mary University of London, to support a project titled “tracing T cell glutamine metabolism in older surgical patients.
2023 September Round
A total of 2 travel grants were awarded in our 2023 September round. Laura Freeman (University of Kent) and Loredana Frau (Liverpool John Moores University) were provided with funding to support attendance to the American Ageing Association Conference (2024) and to attend and present at the International Neuropsychology Society conference (Feb 2024), respectively. We awarded 4 small research grants. Vladimir Belhac, Loughborough University, was provided with funding to investigate the role of mitochondria and reactive oxygen species in persistent mTORC1 signalling in senescent muscle cells as part of his PhD. Amanda Sardelli, University of Birmingham, successfully achieved funding to answer the question “Does physical activity improve T cell function by change T-cell metabolic pathways in older adults?” Scott Hasten, University College London, was presented with a small research grant to characterise senescent cell diversity in major organ systems during ageing. Finally, Thomas Francis of King’s College London was awarded funding to develop a model of ageing muscle using human primary skeletal muscle cells.
2024 March Round
In our most recent 2024 March round, we supported a total of 2 studentship grants, 2 travel grants and 2 small research grants. Our 2 studentship grants were awarded to principal investigators Bradley Elliott and Craig Willis from the University of Westminster and University of Bradford, respectively. Bradley’s project proposes to understand how successful human outliers of maintain muscle function. Craig’s student focussed on the bioinformatic network analysis of the human muscle adhesome during ageing. Our travel grants were awarded to Marie Korzepa (University of Birmingham) and Noviann McLean (University of Kent) to attend and present their research at the American Ageing Association Conference (Wisconsin, 2024) and the Metabolism, Aging, Conference (2024), respectively. Finally, our 2 small research grants were awarded to researchers at King’s College London and The University of Derby. Amy Roberts’ (King’s College London) project will focus on generating a longitudinal dataset of X chromosome inactivation. Marie Lush’s (University of Derby) project will study a novel role for the branched chain amino transferase in stress induced premature senescence.
Together, we have and continue to support an array of wonderful projects, for the potential for large impact in advancing our understanding of the biology of ageing. We’d like to congratulate all our awardees on these grant successes and thank all of our members for their excellent applications. We are sorry that we were not able to support them all. More will be released on the outcomes of these successful awarded grants very soon.
We have closed our funding streams for the September 2024 intake as we build up to a larger funding scheme in 2025. The next call will open 1st December 2024 with a 1st March 2025 application deadline. We will be increasing the value of our Summer Studentship and Small Research Grants from £2,000 to £3,000 to reflect cost of living increases in the United Kingdom. Watch this space!
As a reminder, grants are only available to our membership. More details on grants here: Grants – BSRA and membership here: Join BSRA – BSRA.