Support the Department
Help us to understand the action of drugs on the body and develop better treatments for disorders such as arthritis, diabetes, Crohn's, cardiovascular disease and cancer!
The Department of Pharmacology is at the forefront of research into the effects of drugs and other molecules on biological systems. This is a crucial first step towards a greater understanding of disease and eventual effective treatment.
The Department is actively seeking support for all aspects of its activities. With a donation, you will be supporting:
- The purchase of new equipment
- Research grants and collaborations around the UK and overseas
- The next generation of Cambridge pharmacologists via postgraduate studentships and undergraduate summer projects
- Student hardship funds
We would greatly appreciate any donations received, regardless of size.
If you would like to discuss how you might contribute to the Department, please contact the Head of Department or the Departmental Administrator. They will be very happy to discuss your concerns confidentially.
How you can help
£500 will contribute to enabling a researcher to publish their work in the best open-access journals. This level will also provide support for the travel costs for a researcher to visit a collaborator's laboratory or attend a conference within the UK. For international visits, £1000 would be a major contribution to costs.
£750 will provide support towards the travel costs for a researcher to visit a collaborator's laboratory or attend a conference.
£750 will enable a pharmacologist to develop an aspect of their research as an outreach project, for example, as part of the Young Pharmas programme.
£1,000 will support a postgraduate student for one month to extend or complete an exceptionally promising piece of research. £1,000 can also help a researcher visit a collaborator’s laboratory overseas.
£2,000 will fund a summer project to support talented undergraduate students in gaining invaluable research experience at the Department.
£5,000 will help a researcher to scope out a new exploratory project, in association with matched funding, which could then lead to a larger research application to a funder.
£15,000 will help to provide part-time support for 6 months for a ‘Roving Researcher’ in a lab where a researcher is on leave (e.g. maternity leave, sick leave).
£20,000 will help towards the purchase of equipment for a new research group in the Department.
Donations can be made through the University's CUDAR website here.
Methods of Giving
Single gifts are helpful and can be directed where most needed. You can give by cheque, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) voucher or online with credit/debit card.
Regular gifts by standing order allow the Department to budget more accurately and to plan its spending.
One very effective way of contributing to the long-term development of the Department of Pharmacology is through a legacy in your will. Legacies are tax-exempt, and therefore reduce inheritance tax liability. The University of Cambridge provides advice about how to give legacies and have a very helpful downloadable document called “A Gift in Your Will”.
Many companies provide funding for joint collaborations, laboratory equipment, outreach and studentships. To find out more about opportunities for corporate giving, contact our Head of Department, Professor Laura Itzhaki.
Further details on gift aid, overseas giving and giving forms are available from the University of Cambridge giving website.
Ways Travel Funds Have Helped Our Students
Yawei Qi:
First of all, I am very grateful to the Departmental funding for supporting my attendance at the 39th Annual Symposium of The Protein Society, held in San Francisco. The conference brought together leading researchers in structural biology, protein engineering, and biomolecular design — areas that align closely with the focus of my PhD project on engineering biomolecular condensates for targeted protein degradation via the SPOP ubiquitin ligase pathway.
During the symposium, I presented a poster on my recent research, which attracted valuable feedback from experts in the field and opened up a number of exciting potential collaborations. I also had the opportunity to build connections with researchers from UCLA, Stanford, and UCSF, and made many new friends in the process.
Yu Zhu:
Thanks to the generous support from the Department, I was able to attend the European Calcium Society Meeting in Doha, Qatar, where I presented both a poster and a short talk on our recent study, “Mutation-Induced Rewiring of the Conformational Dynamics of the N-Terminal of Human Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor Type 1.” This opportunity made a meaningful contribution to my studies and professional development. I attended many state-of-the-art talks and had the chance to discuss my work with leading scientists who have shaped the field, as well as with early-career researchers. These conversations were incredibly insightful, helping me gain new perspectives, refine my ideas, and feel more connected to the research community. Presenting our work at an international conference was both motivating and confidence-building. I am truly grateful to the Department for its support, which made this valuable and memorable experience possible.
Chloe Mosonyi:
The funding I received through the Fieldwork Fund allowed me to complete my PIPS placement at Sense about Science, a charity that promotes the use of sound science and evidence in public life. The projects and events with which I was involved during my placement were a great introduction to the world of science policy. My favourite part of my time at Sense about Science was preparing for and participating in Evidence Week in Parliament, where researchers gave quickfire briefings to parliamentarians on key policy issues. I have no doubt that this placement will help inform my choice of career as I think about my next steps beyond the world of academia.
Sampurna Chakrabarti (Smith Lab, PhD student) visited Professor Paul Heppenstall’s laboratory at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Rome, to make adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) encoding cargoes that enabled chemical-genetic control of sensory neurons. Without access to a viral core facility, progress would have stopped. This funding allowed Sampurna to access this viral resource abroad. Sampurna used the AAVs to demonstrate how inhibiting the activity of knee-innervating sensory neurons could ameliorate joint pain.
Jess Berry (Harper Lab, PhD student) visited Professor Keith Neeves' lab at the University of Colorado, learning how to manufacture microfluidic devices that can replace animal experiments. Jess used this to develop an arterial thrombosis-on-a-chip device. Multiple projects in the lab are now using this technology to help secure further funding from the British Heart Foundation and the Medical Research Council.
Members of the Itzhaki Lab have visited collaborators in the UK, Europe, and Asia. Without financial support, these visits would have been impossible. These visits resulted in various publications, which include an exploration of the mechanical properties of proteins with the aim of developing sensor to understand mechanobiology and using an innovative peptide library to screen for inhibitors to target malaria.
Regarding summer students, a recent intern in the Miller Lab stated, “My summer placement was a fantastic experience that was pivotal in helping me decide if laboratory research was for me. Not only this, it also equipped me with skills and training, both technical and transferable, that opened doors and enabled me to subsequently make competitive PhD applications."