The Skin Health Alliance (SHA) has donated £140,000 to the British Skin Foundation (BSF) for research into skin health.
This marks the SHA’s 13th annual donation to the BSF, with a total of more than £2.1m having been donated so far. Since 2023, the SHA and BSF have also worked together to award a portion of this funding as research grants for skin health. This year, £92,000 will be donated to fund a two-year research project focusing on skin diseases and skin cancers that affect kidney transplant patients. This funding was chosen at the request of SHA founder Matthew Patey, who had a kidney transplant last year.
As a result of immunosuppressive medication, patients who have a kidney transplant have a greater risk of developing both skin diseases and skin cancer. The medication minimises the risk of the body rejecting the new kidney by lowering the immune system, and this affects the skin’s ability to identify and fight abnormal cells. It also weakens the immune system’s ability to repair skin damage caused by ultraviolet light, which can result in skin cancer.
Other areas of skin health previously focused on by the SHA and BSF include research on how certain skin diseases disproportionately affect skin of colour and research on the relationship between skin health and mental health.
Applications for the research grant on skin diseases and renal transplant will be open from 15 April to 2 July 2026.
Phil Brady, chief operating officer at the BSF, said: “Funding of this scale allows us to support research that might otherwise struggle to get off the ground, particularly in areas like skin disease in renal transplant patients where the need is significant and often under-recognised. This contribution will have a meaningful impact on both research progress and future patient care.”