28 June 2013

We have had another successful year. In 2012 we raised £349,308 – a steady annual increase. This year we are on track to exceed this figure. For the first time BDRF has funded two rounds of research projects in a single year. In November 2012, over £280,000 was awarded to seven projects based in Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool & Chester, Manchester & Leeds, Nottingham & Derby and Oxford. In April 2013, we awarded £170,000 to three projects in Observational Research based in Cambridge and Manchester. The combined total of awards from the two rounds is £450,000; this is the largets annual funding in BDRF’s history. We have now funded 46 research projects since 2008 for almost £1.5 million. These projects are located throughout the UK and include two in the Republic of Ireland. During this time BDRF has raised over £2 million. BDRF has re-launched its website (www.bdrf.org.uk). We have a new appearance and logo and have features which will make the site more navigable and interactive. We have updated the content and our social media activity via our Facebook and Twitter accounts and have also introduced a “News” section to keep you informed of new projects and developments in coloproctology. BDRF was delighted to receive the final instalment of a generous legacy bringing the total value of the bequest to £577,355; the largest gift in BDRF’s history. Legacies allow us to perpetuate the memories of generous people who wished to enhance the understanding of bowel disease for generations to come, for which we are very grateful. The Research Trial Recruiters (RTRs) was a programme set up by the BDRF and NIHR in 2010 to increase recruitment into trials in coloproctology. An RTR participant, Arabis Oglesby of Dorset County Hospital, recounts her experience: “I’ve been in post as RTR at Dorset County Hospital since May 2012, and was delighted to be presented with the opportunity to expand and develop our portfolio of colorectal surgical trials. It has taken a lot of time, effort and investigative work to set new trials up with a lot of challenges from all angles along the way, but with my new trials opening shortly I’m sure I will now be rewarded with good recruitment.” The BDRF has pump-primed projects which have led to longer-term funding from larger donors . An example is the national DREAMS trail, investigating whether the steroid dexamethasone reduces vomiting after major colorectal surgery. The pilot was funded by BDRF, and in November 2012 the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) awarded a further £250,000 to complete the study. It has already recruited 833 patients from 38 sites; over 80% of its target. Another example is a project from the Univeristy of Birmingham - The selective recruitment of regulatory T-cells into colorectal cancer. Although BDRF support finished in October 2012, the project is continuing through funding from the Medical Research Council. With pride we note that Anil George, whose study on Tibial Nerve Stimulation was funded by BDRF, received the John of Arderne Medal of the Coloproctology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine. Congratulations also to another of our grant recipients, Trevor Yeung, whose research Molecular Imaging of Dysplasia using Fluorescent Lectins in Colonoscopy under Professor Sir Walter Bodmer at the University of Oxford, won the Harry E Bacon Foundation Award which is given once every 2 years for the best Basic Science Podium Presentation at the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons conference - this year in Phoenix, Arizona. Asha Senapati and Martyn Hall Bowel Disease Research Foundation

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