Apply for a research grant

BRACE is one of the very few of charities dedicated solely to funding research into the different forms of dementia. We also seek to raise public awareness of the disease and encourage a dialogue between different disciplines and experiences of dementia in order to deepen understanding.

We support medical and scientific research in four main areas:

• How the brain works, in order to understand more clearly what has gone wrong in someone with dementia.
• Development of effective and accurate means of diagnosing the condition as early as possible
• Finding new treatments and assessing their effectiveness in clinical trials
• Investigating the potential link between certain genes in our DNA (the information we carry in each cell in our body) and the chances of developing dementia.

BRACE is committed to funding high quality research projects that ultimately contribute to the knowledge of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. These projects may be in any discipline but must have as the basis of the project, an intention to generate results that will bring further understanding of the risk factors/causes, effective diagnosis or treatment of dementia. All researchers must have the intention of publishing the results of their studies.

BRACE will consider applications for PhD studentships, pilot projects and equipment grants.

PhD studentship grants will be the cost of tuition fees, MRC-recommended stipend and a fixed sum for consumables and other overheads. This is typically around £90,000 at current prices.

We would expect pilot projects normally to last 12-18 months and cost no more than £70,000, but applicants with pilot proposals that exceed these guidelines are welcome to contact us for advice. As a general guideline, equipment grants typically do not exceed £25,000.

Applications will be considered from researchers in South West England or South Wales. Applications from outside this region will not be considered. Our geographical restriction is a sensible policy for a charity of this size, and it has enabled us to help develop a strong research network in this part of the UK.

Applicants must be based within appropriate academic/research institutions, preferably one where there is clear evidence of existing studies in dementia. No application will be considered without a letter from the institution to confirm that facilities will be made available for the proposed research project, for the duration of the grant and that the financial elements of the application have been checked.

As a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities. BRACE publicly supports the endeavours of the AMRC to achieve and maintain ethical and transparent practices in medical research, including its statement on animal testing, including a committment to the 3Rs of reduction, replacement and refinement, as basic principles of humane animal research

Any project requiring ethical approval will only be awarded once such approval has been granted.

You can read about our current research projects here.