£3.2 million grant for Chair of Palliative and End of Life Care at UCL

Marie Curie Cancer Care and University College London School of Life & Medical Sciences are pleased to announce the establishment of the first Chair of Palliative and End of Life Care at UCL, following a £3.2 million grant from the UK’s leading end of life care charity.

The Chair will lead an established team of researchers in the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit (MCPCRU) in the Mental Health Sciences Unit, UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences.  It is a world leading centre of excellence in palliative and end of life care research for those with advanced progressive life limiting illnesses, such as dementia.

The MCPCRU is multi-disciplinary and includes experts in palliative medicine, old age psychiatry, health psychology, nursing, systematic review methodology, health economics and statistics. The unit receives core funding from Marie Curie and matches this income with external grants.  The Marie Curie grant will also support a non-clinical lectureship and a number of studentships.

Dr Jane Collins, Chief Executive of Marie Curie, said: “Despite the fact that death and dying affects everyone, palliative and end of life care is seriously under-researched because research is under-funded in the UK. We believe the establishment of a new Chair in Palliative and End of Life Care at UCL will help improve our understanding of how we should care for people with advanced progressive life limiting illnesses, as well as encourage greater research collaborations across the UK and more widely.”

Professor Alan Thompson, Dean of Faculty of Brain Sciences said:  “This exciting development will enable the Faculty of Brain Sciences to build on the pioneering research of the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit and make further significant impact for patients, carers and their families.”