We make a difference

We make a difference, we really do. It’s just that it’s so hard to give a simple answer to the question “what has BRACE achieved?”

This is because we fund research that generally takes years to produce clear results. It builds on earlier research and spawns further research. Everything we support is part of a network of scientific enquiry which bestrides seas and continents and draws on donations from other funding bodies, including governments. It’s therefore very difficult for us to say simply “we did this” without over-simplifying or failing to acknowledge the contributions of numerous others. Yet our supporters naturally want to know that their efforts through us are having an impact.

We know that we are making a difference, but how do we pinpoint examples in a way that makes sense without long screeds about context?

It was therefore great news this week when a major drug trial was announced. It involves the Universities of Bristol, Belfast and Cambridge and will be hosted by North Bristol NHS Trust. It also builds on work that BRACE has been doing for years.

As always, our contribution is part of a wide network, with research supported by other charities and public funds playing a vital part. However, our involvement is quite easy to describe. We have supported research projects at the University of Bristol since at least 2004 that have helped pave the way for this trial. We currently fund the research in The BRACE Centre, itself a BRACE initiative, which will be one of the key locations involved in the trial.

You can read on our website what the drug trial is all about. What matters most is that it has clear potential to bring about clinical benefit for future patients. That’s why BRACE exists and it’s one of those moments when anyone who does anything for us can see that they really are making a difference.