Thursday 13th July 2017 was a landmark day for Beat SCAD following the presentation of a £25,000 donation to the SCAD research project in Leicester.
Thanks to the hard work and generosity of the SCAD community, Beat SCAD Trustees Rebecca Breslin, Karen Rockell and Debbie Oliver were overjoyed and immensely proud to hand over the cheque to Dr David Adlam, who is leading the UK SCAD research project. It will be used towards the salary of the new Clinical Research Fellow, Dr Alice Wood.
Dr Wood is a UCL graduate who joins the Leicester team to replace Dr Abtehale (Abi) Al-Hussaini who is returning to London to a consultant position. Dr Abi will remain involved in the SCAD research programme, as well being available to treat SCAD patients during her weekly specialist clinic.
Since the launch of Beat SCAD in 2015, SCAD survivors, family members, friends and work colleagues have been incredibly busy completing an array of individual and team challenges as well as organising and participating in Beat SCAD events including ‘Scones for SCAD’ bake sales and walks to help raise this fantastic amount for the research programme.
Please take a moment to catch up on highlights of Beat SCAD’s first year by watching our achievements video and reading the annual report.
Beat SCAD Trustee Chair Rebecca Breslin said: “This is our first Beat SCAD donation to the research and we are so happy to present this on behalf of our patient group and supporters. It is exciting to see the money raised being put into action to further the research.
“The research is hugely important to us all and we will do everything we can to fund it to find the answers we are looking for to understand SCAD. It is vital that we keep pushing forward so we must raise more money and find other funding sources.”
Dr Adlam said: “On behalf of the research team at Leicester’s Hospitals and the University of Leicester, I would like to thank Becks and everyone at the Beat SCAD charity for their support and hard work in raising the funds to continue with this important area of research.”
After the presentation, the Trustees met with Dr Adlam, Dr Abi, Dr Wood and Cardiac Research Nurse Ellie Clarke and discussed the research status in the UK, Europe and Worldwide plus plans for next steps with the programme, including additional research team members: scientist Anna Baranowska and NHS-funded academic Dr Marios Magaritis.
Dr Adlam said: “This is an exciting time. Abi is working frantically to analyse the data collected so far and prepare articles for review and publication. We look forward to continuing to work with Dr Abi in her new consultant role in Chelsea and Westminster and welcoming Dr Wood, Dr Magaritis and Ms Baranowska to the SCAD research team. Rest assured we are working flat out with our collaborators around the world to find the answers patients are asking for.”
Rebecca added: “The UK SCAD research team is growing and research overall is increasing worldwide, which is absolutely fantastic. It really feels like progress is being made – even though we don’t have the answers yet, they feel much closer than five years ago when I had my SCAD. The Beat SCAD team feel even more compelled to raise our game with spreading awareness and raising funds for the research.”
Thank you to everyone who has supported us in any way to further the Beat SCAD mission – whether by helping to spread the word about SCAD, being a part of the support network to help others affected by SCAD, volunteering, donating, organising or participating in events. This donation is a result of your hard work and dedication to this cause.
Thanks also to the SCAD Research team at the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (formerly Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit) for their continued dedication and support.
