Funding for research

Our foundation exists to find better ways to treat, and ultimately cure, neurodegenerative diseases of ageing. We approach this by investing only in translational research – projects that directly advance solutions for patients. We are also interested in understanding the causes of progression in these diseases, and how it might be halted.

The foundation has a particular interest in biomarkers. These are biological indicators found in human tissues, blood and other bodily fluid that can be used to measure various aspects of health or disease. They are vital to the diagnosis of disease, to monitoring its progression, and to developing new effective treatments.

2024 funding programme: Characterisation of Novel Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Ageing

Our most recent research funding programme focused on the support of novel biomarkers that could improve diagnosis of, and accelerate the development of new therapeutics for, neurodegenerative diseases of ageing. As a foundation, we define novel biomarkers as those that are not approved for clinical use and have been insufficiently studied. We invited proposals aimed at developing biomarkers with the potential to be used in the diagnosis of, prognosis of (including rate of progression), efficient conduct of clinical trials for, and/or determination of treatment response in these diseases.

In Spring 2025, we announced the award of grants to three pioneering researchers working in this area. See box below for further information.

Please note that the foundation does not accept proposals that are unsolicited or submitted outside of the course of a formal funding programme. If you have any questions, you can contact us directly by emailing contact@galenhilarywestonfoundation.org.