Why Support our charity
To help improve lives and outcomes
Education and research are at the heart of the Foundation’s vision. To achieve this, we have set up a number of projects and facilities that are intended to support and facilitate our vision.
Your donations will benefit the work we carry out to help improve the lives and the outcomes of those affected by many neurological conditions by assisting the education of those who look after patients and supporting research projects on a range of neurological conditions.
The costs associated with our work are extensive and with little government and state funding, we rely on donations to continue our ground-breaking work. Your donation will make a significant difference to the advancement of treatments and the subsequent impact this will have on people’s lives.
Through education and research we are continually learning how these conditions develop, and can therefore affect the outcome as well as the quality of life for the individual by developing innovative and effective treatments.
Your donation will help us make faster progress and develop new treatments for many of the conditions outlined above.
The Foundation does not support research which involves animal experiments.
Where will my donation go?
All donations will go to our education and research facilities to drive key advancements that could potentially benefit every person with a neurological disorder.
Since we began the Foundation, the majority of research activities have been supported and financed by the Sydney Driscoll Neuroscience Foundation.
We are extremely grateful to those who have made donations in the past, however small, and to the events hosted to raise money to support our essential work
Our past and current projects include the following:
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Brain navigation
In 2009, the foundation donated £250,000 to the Lancashire Teaching Hospital for purchasing equipment based on modern technology called the neuro-navigation ,which provided a state-of-the-art patient safety device for operating safely inside the brain.
Brain cancer research
We have a particular focus on Brain cancer research. Brain cancer can affect children and adults. The most severe type affects about 2,200 people every year in England alone. Less than 10% of patients with this condition survive 5 years.
In 2018 the Foundation pledged £100,000 for a research programme on Brain cancer by signing a Collaboration agreement with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). The aim is to contribute to research to find a cure for this type of cancer. We began with four projects and despite the restrictions created by the pandemic, one project was completed in 2022.
Brain tumour Tissue Bank
We have supported (about £20,000 per annum) this very important project based at the Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust to provide cell cultures of brain cancers that can be used by research teams who are working on treatments for this condition for the past 10 years.
Equipment for Augmented Reality (2023)
We have donated £20,000 to the Department of Neurosurgery to purchase the above to facilitate teaching and surgical planning for junior surgeons.
Other research projects
Potentially lead to key publications, PhDs (Doctor of Philosophy) and MDs (Doctor of Medicine) and contributions to scientific literature.
SDNF Neuroscience Library
This unique facility began as a small bookcase in 1989!
It is funded entirely by the Foundation, and we now have a fully equipped neuroscience facility with all the current neuroscience textbooks and journals available.
It is used by doctors, medical students and nurses studying for high-level examinations and undertaking projects for teaching, PhDs, MDs, and publications in learned journals.
We have a qualified librarian supporting the facility to assist with background information required for clinical work and research projects.
Click here to find out more about the resources and facilities available in the Library.
Annual Neuroscience Lecture
Each year an eminent and inspirational neuroscientist is invited to deliver a lecture on a frontier area of neuroscience. Previous lecturers have included Sir Graham Teasdale, Sir Colin Blakemore and Baroness Susan Greenfield.
The very first lecture was delivered by the late Mr Kenneth Tutton, Consultant neurosurgeon, Preston. Mr Tutton was the neurosurgeon who began the unit at Preston in 1955 and was the surgeon who looked after Sydney Driscoll when he was a patient at Preston in the 1960s (see Events and Previous lectures sections).
Annual Neuroscience Award
This annual award has been given to neuroscience students for an original manuscript on a neuroscience topic. It is currently worth over £2,000 to provide the opportunity for further study at a centre of excellence in neuroscience in the UK or overseas.
Expenses for Courses and conferences
The Foundation supports doctors, nurses and practitioners to attend neuroscience based medical courses and conferences enabling clinical staff to keep abreast of the latest in diagnostic methods, treatments and surgical techniques.
Who it helps
Anyone with a neurological condition.
Our research leads to improvements in treatments for a large range of conditions which includes:
- Treatment of head injuries
- Brain and spinal tumours
- Strokes
- Cerebral haemorrhage
- Multiple sclerosis
- Motor neurone disease
- Parkinson’s disease.
It is estimated that there are approximately 11 million people in the UK living with a chronic neurological condition including those listed above. These conditions have a hugely detrimental impact on people’s lives and your donation could help to improve their quality of life.
How it helps
Your donation makes a significant difference to the work we do in this field.
Through education and research we are continually learning how neurological conditions develop, and can therefore influence the outcome as well as the quality of life for the individual by developing innovative and effective treatments.
Your donation will help us make faster progress and develop new treatments for many of the conditions outlined.