King's College London

The Wolfson Foundation has awarded King's College London a £1.5 million grant to establish the Centre for Human Brain Development (CHBD). This centre is a pioneering initiative focused on understanding early brain development.

Professor Oscar Marín and co-investigators from the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology will establish the Brain Organoids Laboratory, the first laboratory of the new centre, where researchers can access cutting-edge tools to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of human brain development. This work will drive new insights into neurodevelopmental conditions including autism, epilepsy, and intellectual disability, laying the groundwork for future therapies and interventions.

The Wolfson Foundation has a long-standing reputation for investing in scientific excellence, focusing on projects that deliver real-world impact. This generous award empowers the CHBD to embark on novel discoveries, providing researchers with cutting-edge tools to conduct sophisticated experiments

The CHBD is the first centre of its kind, combining advanced imaging, electrophysiology, and computational modelling to study human brain development. The Wolfson Foundation’s prestigious investment ensures that this research can begin immediately, accelerating progress in an area where discoveries can lead to life-changing impacts.

The Wolfson Foundation’s support marks the launch of our ambitious fundraising journey to realise the potential of CHBD. With this investment, the centre is poised to make discoveries to prime a new generation of therapies and interventions and change the prognosis for children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions.

To find out more about the future of the Centre for Human Brain Development and how you might support its work, please contact maggy.liu@kcl.ac.uk.