The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has set out how it will allocate the record £13.9 billion in funding for transformational research and development in the next year. Areas including life sciences are set to benefit.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the UK’s lead public research funder – will receive £8.8 billion over the next year. However, this represents a slight fall in funding compared to the previous year, in part due to the challenging economic climate.
Part of the funding will be earmarked for health research to help make the NHS fit for the future.
This includes current work on blood tests to diagnose dementia earlier. Researchers are exploring whether looking for proteins specific to many forms of dementia, alongside a quick and easy test of patients’ cognitive functions, could unlock a fast, cheaper and non-invasive way of diagnosing the disease.
