Basic Asthma Research Strategy II (BARSII)
The priorities for Basic Asthma Research cover laboratory-based work on causation and mechanisms in asthma and research that may eventually translate laboratory findings into clinical settings. The discussions and recommendations from the second consultation have been brought together in Basic Asthma Research Strategy II (BARSII).
The key research questions for each priority area are summarised in straightforward terms in the lay version of BARS II, titled 'Basic Asthma Research - Asthma UK's priority areas'.
Clinical Asthma Research Strategy (CARS)
The priorities for Clinical Asthma Research Strategy cover the diagnosis and assessment of asthma in the clinical setting, the evaluation of asthma therapies and interventions, the organisation of asthma care and psychosocial aspect of asthma management. Asthma UK has published the results of this consultation and highlighted the priority research areas in the document 'Where next in clinical asthma research?'
A guide to 'Where next in clinical asthma research?' provides a summary of the full document.
Shaping the future of asthma research
Asthma UK is committed to funding research that is relevant to the needs and aspirations of people living with asthma. This can only be achieved by greater dialogue and understanding between clinicians and researchers and people with asthma.
The report 'Shaping the Future of Asthma Research' describes how Asthma UK has begun this process and highlights some of the questions and hopes of people living with asthma today.
Priority areas for asthma research funding
We shall expect applications for research funding to be influenced by, and to refer directly to, the ideas and themes discussed in the three strategy documents.
The charity will also remain sensitive to new ideas and will not rule out applications for novel work outside the scope of the strategic priorities. Applications of this kind will need to devote particular attention to showing how a successful project would further our understanding of asthma and benefit people with asthma, and applications would be expected to be exceptional.
Some of the areas of particular research interest to Asthma UK, are outlined below. These questions are intended to provide guidance to research to applicants for funding and are not specific criteria to apply against.
- Why do so many people with asthma tolerate a lifestyle more restricted by their asthma than is necessary, given the therapies already available?
- How can people with asthma, and their health professionals, be helped to make the most of the limited time available for the clinical consultation?
- What can be done for people with severe asthma, when current therapies do not relieve their symptoms?
- How can the development of asthma, particularly in early life, be prevented?
- What is the best therapy for asthma in young children?
- Why do more than 1,200 people in the UK continue to die from asthma each year? How much asthma death can be prevented?
- What discovery might lead to new asthma medicines (prior to drug development by pharmaceutical companies) ?
- Why, for many teenagers, does asthma seem to 'go away'?
- What happens in the lungs of people for whom asthma becomes chronic and irreversible?
- What can be done to prevent asthma caused at the workplace?
While we do not fund training support directly, we remain interested in our project funds providing an environment where research training can take place.
Collaborations
The charity is aware that it has a valued role to play in providing access to project support for the early stages of research programme development. In doing this we are particularly interested in applications for collaborative funding between research groups.
Researchers
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