KCHC Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 Spreads - Flipbook - Page 16
How did we do?
Funding world-class research
The new 3D bioprinter revolutionising
paediatric liver care
A state-of-the-art 3D bioprinter, which was purchased
thanks to generous donations from Pallak and Faiza
Seth, will allow researchers at the King’s paediatric
liver research MowatLabs to look into treatments for
liver failure beyond liver transplants with the aim of
saving many young lives. Transplants require patients
to take immunosuppressants for the rest of their lives,
which impacts their quality of life and reduces their life
expectancy.
Dr Jessica Nulty, Senior Liver Cell Scientists at the
King’s MowatLabs, said: “The 3D bioprinter opens up a
lot of new avenues for us, not just for acute liver failure
but for a wider range of diseases.”
Our research will hopefully
enable children with liver failure
to leave the hospital completely
cured without the need for any other
medication.”
The research looks into creating advanced therapeutic
medicinal products (ATMPs) that can temporarily fulfil
the function of the liver, allowing more time for patients
to receive a liver transplant, or for their livers to recover
on their own. The 3D bioprinter creates a 3D biological
environment that mimics the liver, which will help
develop the next generation of therapies for children
with liver disease.
Landmark donations from Tim Flynn, The Mowat Family
and Rishi and Milan Khosla mean that the next big
step in our paediatric liver research programme is now
underway, with the recruitment of a team including
post-doc students and PhD fellowships to support it.
Funded fellowships
We previously part-funded two 12-month fellowships
focused on developing and sharing expertise in
specialist clinical areas. These fellowships, one
on epilepsy and metabolic diseases; the other on
behavioural neurology and neuropsychiatry with South
London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, helped
the Fellows grow professionally and also directly
impacted patients and colleagues. We have now
committed funding for two more fellowships including
one in HIV neurology and one in neuro-oncology.
Hope for patients with liver cirrhosis
Thanks to donations from people like you, we are
continuing to support a major clinical trial looking into
slowing the progression of liver cirrhosis (liver scarring).
For those who are living with this life-threatening
condition, there are currently no drugs proven to treat
it or prevent it worsening. This ground-breaking clinical
trial, led by Dr Vishal Patel and Dr Mark McPhail at the
Institute of Liver Studies, aims to change that.
Dr Mark McPhail said: “Cirrhosis is increasingly common
and one of the top five causes of death in the UK. Our
research tries to understand how we can start to treat the
condition, which is a major step forward.”
This research brings together 760 patients with liver
disease across the UK, making this the biggest trial
of its type globally. It also places King’s liver unit in
a strong position to help researchers around the
world answer important questions about future
diagnostics and therapies, to give patients with
cirrhosis the chance of a better, healthier future.
A study on the role of DNA in organ
failure
Dr. Vishal Patel and his team are researching how a
specific type of DNA found in the blood, known as cellfree DNA, affects patients with chronic liver disease.
In 2024/25, we were proud to support this work by
co-funding a study alongside the Foundation for Liver
Research into where cell free DNA comes from and
how it contributes to organ failure in its early stages.
This research will have far reaching benefits not only
for local King’s patients but also globally, given
the increasing prevalence of cirrhosis and acutechronic liver failure around the world.
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