BLOG - UNBOUNCE - EXAMPLE PAGE - ANNUAL REPORT - KCH - Flipbook - Page 8
How did we do?
1
Advancing innovation
and excellence
We continued to work closely with our colleagues within
the key specialities at King’s to invest in innovative clinical
research, cutting-edge equipment and pioneering treatments.
At the forefront of liver research
Improving outcomes for premature babies
We are proud to support the groundbreaking work
of the Institute of Liver Studies and the Alex Mowat
Paediatric Research Laboratories (MowatLabs).
Our new liver report, Pioneering care today, hope for
tomorrow, was launched in 2021. It highlights the
problems facing the world of liver transplantation
and features the potential solutions that are being
tackled by the highly skilled team of surgeons,
scientists and researchers at King’s. Without
the generosity of our donors and grant-giving
organisations, many of their breakthroughs and
innovations would have been unachievable.
Studies have shown that neonatal lung disease may
have a lasting consequence into adulthood, putting
babies born prematurely at a higher risk of adult lung
disease. A generous donation of £17,500, with another
£17,500 to follow, has enabled the recruitment of two
neonatal research consultants who will support the
unit’s efforts to save lives by optimising ventilation for
premature babies.
Earlier this year, we formed a bridge between key
researchers at MowatLabs and forward-thinking
building services company, Innovation. Their generous
£75,000 donation will help clinicians and researchers
further develop a groundbreaking technique to implant
liver cells to function like a temporary liver, enabling
a child’s damaged organ to recover. The pioneering
treatment, which has already successfully restored
liver function in young children with acute liver failure,
is the focus of a clinical trial to establish whether
it can also become standard treatment for adults.
Innovation’s donation will also support the team’s
work to improve the quality, function and activity of
liver cells for transplantation.
We are proud to have awarded grants totalling £173,000
to support Professor Anil Dhawan and his team’s vital
liver research to tackle biliary atresia – a rare condition
in babies and young children. The funding has enabled
the recruitment of one PhD researcher and funded the
tuition fees of another. Their investigations have the
potential to create new cell therapies that may halt the
progression of biliary atresia, reduce post-transplant
organ rejection, and ameliorate the need for lifelong
immune-suppressant medication.
8
S U P P O R T K I N G S .O R G .U K
Protecting time for neurosurgery research
In 2020/21, we funded a post for a new senior research
neurosurgery lecturer for three years. Mr Aminul
Ahmed, a consultant neurosurgeon, took up the role in
September 2021. He has been developing his research
programme in advanced therapies for neurological
disease, aiming to translate this research into advanced
care for neurosurgical patients at King’s. “I’m excited
about the collaborations we’re building to further gene
therapies for spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative
disease,” says Aminul. “I am grateful to King’s College
Hospital Charity – as a result of this funding, I have
protected time to dedicate to this research, which
would otherwise be challenging in one of the busiest
neurosurgical units in the UK.”
“The MowatLabs are driven by
one goal – to transform the lives
of young people with liver disease.
Empowered by our generous
supporters, we will continue to
unlock the secrets of this complex
condition and find new treatments
for the children we serve.”
Professor Anil Dhawan, Director of MowatLabs
