In 2025 we launched the TSA Grant Round focused on supporting research with the potential to drive progress in line with our strategic priorities.

Meet the successful researchers from our two grant streams funded by the TSA – turning research into real change

Four awards of up to £10,000 each, supporting early-stage or exploratory projects that can generate preliminary data, build collaborations, or strengthen applications for larger funding.

Dr Elaine Dunlop

School of Medicine at Cardiff University

Senior Lecturer in the Division of Cancer and Genetics

Elaine gained a PhD in cancer biology before moving to Cardiff to begin her research into the genetic condition Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC).

Project: Simpler tools for diagnosing and monitoring TSC

Current diagnostic and management tools for TSC rely on identifying clinical signs that develop over time, genetic testing which does not always give a clear answer, and expensive monitoring scans which are time-consuming for patients and not suitable for frequent screening.

Dr Elaine Dunlop, Cardiff University, is exploring innovative new ways to see whether information in a person’s blood can make this long ongoing journey simpler.

Blood-based biomarkers are information in a person’s blood that can give clues or hints about their health. They may offer a more precise approach to detecting and managing TSC throughout a person’s lifetime and importantly, they could help ensure more consistent and effective care.

Previous work led by Dr Dunlop identified a number of biomarkers that were present at different levels in TSC cells. Dr Dunlop will continue this work in collaboration with Welsh bioscience company Molomix Bioscience Ltd to build a potential route to use in the clinic.

Key Areas:

Diagnosing TSC
New Therapies

We have three more exciting seedcorn research projects to share with you.

Follow our updates on social media to find out when we will be releasing more details on the next project.

Project: Understanding lung repair in TSC-Lam

Project: Is TSC partly driven by inflammation?

Project: Exploring the blood-brain barrier in TSC

Commissioned by the TSA Board of Trustees, this award will offer up to £55,000 in match funding to support an excellent PhD candidate to initiate and shape the development of a TSC registry by gathering, organising and analysing longitudinal data.

Project: Building a national TSC registry

 

MORE DETAILS COMING SOON

Researcher Info:

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