The National Brain Appeal

25/08/2026

Could a “digital stethoscope for movement” help transform care for people with movement disorders?

Last year, The National Brain Appeal’s Innovation Fund awarded £75,000 to support a project led by Dr Anna Sadnicka, developing a low-cost tool to help NHS doctors diagnose and monitor movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and tremor.

In many clinics, movement is still assessed by eye, making it difficult to detect subtle changes or track symptoms precisely over time.

Anna’s project aims to change that by using everyday technology, including cameras, microphones and writing tablets, alongside computer vision and machine learning, to measure movement, speech and fine motor tasks.

The goal is to give clinicians a more objective way to assess symptoms, supporting more accurate diagnosis, better monitoring and more tailored treatment.

Dr Anna Sadnicka said: “I am sincerely grateful for this funding, which provides the vital foundation to begin developing a new assessment system for neurology, think of it as a digital stethoscope for movement.”

We are very grateful to our Innovation Fund Ambassadors and to Rosetrees for their support of this project.

Find out how you can support future Innovation Fund projects: https://www.nationalbrainappeal.org/what-we-do/current-appeals/innovation-fund/

24/08/2026

Every A Letter in Mind artwork begins with the same starting point: an envelope.

From there, hundreds of artists have taken the theme in their own direction, creating original pieces that are thoughtful, surprising, playful, moving and completely unique.

All remaining A Letter in Mind artworks are now available to purchase for £50 each.

Each artwork is original, anonymous and created on an envelope, with funds raised supporting The National Brain Appeal’s work for people living with brain conditions.

You might even find a new favourite.

See the collection: shop.nationalbrainappeal.org

Photo 1: Marie Mangan

21/08/2026

🏃‍♀️ This week’s Friday Fundraiser is Jacqui Millard

We love seeing our fundraisers take on all kinds of challenges!

Jacqui, joined by her friend Rachel, ran the Holy Trail Marathon on Saturday 9 May 2026 in memory of her dad, Chris.

Together, they raised over £900 for The National Brain Appeal, helping to raise awareness and support our work to create a better future for people with brain conditions.

A huge thank you to Jacqui and Rachel for taking on the challenge and supporting us 💙

19/08/2026

We are saddened to hear of the death of Phyllida Law, actress and longstanding celebrity ambassador for The National Brain Appeal.

Phyllida was a generous supporter of our work, helping to raise awareness of the impact of neurological conditions and the need to support patients, families and research. Over the years, she created and donated some fabulous artworks for our annual art on envelopes fundraiser, A Letter in Mind.

Speaking about The National Brain Appeal when she first joined us a celebrity ambassador, she said, “Most of us will have witnessed the challenge of neurological conditions, through friends if not through family. The National Brain Appeal’s ongoing campaigns to fund improvements that will benefit patients and research is richly deserving of our support, in whatever form we are able to offer.”

We are very grateful for Phyllida’s support over the years, and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with her family and friends.

19/08/2026

The A Letter in Mind promotion is now live ✉️

Until 30 September, all artworks are available for £50 each, reduced from £85.

Each artwork is original, anonymous and created on an envelope, with funds raised supporting The National Brain Appeal’s work for people living with brain conditions.

It’s a chance to discover a one-of-a-kind piece while supporting research, treatment and care at Queen Square.

Explore the collection shop.nationalbrainappeal.org

18/08/2026

Waiting for the next A Letter in Mind announcement? ✉️🎨

We’re not quite ready to reveal it yet…

But if you’re still thinking about an artwork from this year’s exhibition, we do have a little update coming soon.

Whether you missed out earlier this year or have had your eye on a piece since the exhibition, keep an eye right here!

14/08/2026

Congratulations to Harpreet Hyare and Diego Kaski on their promotions at UCL.

Harpreet has been promoted to Professor of Translational Neuroradiology, and Diego has been promoted to Professor of Vestibular Neuroscience.

At The National Brain Appeal, we’re proud to have supported projects led by both Harpreet and Diego at Queen Square.

Through our Innovation Fund, with generous support from Rosetrees and The Q Charitable Trust, we funded Harpreet’s work using AI to improve brain tumour diagnosis and monitoring. Her project aims to provide more objective descriptions of brain scans, supporting faster and more accurate reporting for patients.

We have funded two of Diego's projects through our Small Acorns Fund. His current project is testing a low-cost, open-source system for analysing eye movements in patients with dizziness or vertigo. The project aims to help clinicians distinguish more quickly and accurately between benign causes and more serious ones, such as stroke or brain tumour.

Congratulations to both on this well-deserved recognition.

Read about their projects below:
Harpreet's project: https://www.nationalbrainappeal.org/ai-assisted-monitoring-of-brain-tumours/
Diego's project: https://www.nationalbrainappeal.org/nystagmus-diagnosis-software/

Photo (right): Marie Mangan

13/08/2026

How our Innovation Fund is helping move epilepsy research forward

In 2023, The National Brain Appeal's Innovation Fund awarded £59,000 to support a two-year project led by Dr Tim Tierney.

The project set out to develop a lower-cost brain imaging system that could be used without the need for a £1m magnetically shielded room, making this kind of technology more practical for clinical use in the future.

Since then, Tim and his team have made significant progress.

They established proof of principle for the new system, developed analysis tools to improve the quality of data collected, published an academic paper documenting the theory, and secured intellectual property rights for the technology.

The team has also secured further funding for its ongoing development, while testing with patients is now underway.

Dr Tim Tierney said: “This project has accelerated research in this area, encouraging collaboration across clinical, commercial and academic partners. We estimate that patients will benefit within the next five years.”

We are very grateful to Rosetrees, The Q Charitable Trust and the Epilepsy Research Institute UK for their support of this project.

This is exactly what the Innovation Fund is designed to do: give promising ideas the early support they need to develop, attract further backing and move closer to patient benefit.

Find out how you can support the Innovation Fund: https://www.nationalbrainappeal.org/what-we-do/current-appeals/innovation-fund/

Photo: Marie Mangan

07/08/2026

Get your team on the water for The National Brain Appeal

We’re looking for teams to take part in the London Dragon Boat Festival on 10 September, a fast-paced day of racing, teamwork and friendly competition.

Each boat needs 10 paddlers and 1 drummer, with squads of up to 15 people allowed to rotate throughout the day.

It’s a great option for workplaces, groups of friends or community teams looking for something active, social and a bit different.

Funds raised will help The National Brain Appeal support pioneering research, innovative treatments and specialist care at Queen Square.

Find out more and enter your team: https://www.nationalbrainappeal.org/event/dragon-boat-festival/

03/08/2026

Final chance to ride from London to Brighton 🚴

Applications are closing soon for the London to Brighton Cycle Ride on 13 September.

Join and take on 55 miles from Clapham Common to Brighton seafront, raising funds to support pioneering research, innovative treatments and specialist care at Queen Square.

Whether you sign up solo or with friends, this is a brilliant cycling challenge with a finish by the coast.

Don’t miss your chance to join our team.

Sign up today

Take on one of the UK’s most famous cycling challenges – the London to Brighton Cycle Ride. Starting in the capital and winding through the scenic Surrey and Sussex countryside, this spectacular route finishes on the beautiful Brighton seafront. It’s a must for cyclists of all levels, combinin...