Skip to content

DEBRA partners with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity to offer research funding for children with EB

8th June 2026 (Last updated 10th June 2026)

A new funding partnership between DEBRA UK and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity) is set to strengthen research into epidermolysis bullosa (EB) in childhood, as part of a wider national funding call aimed at improving outcomes for young patients across the UK.

Logo for DEBRA, The Butterfly Skin Charity, featuring a blue butterfly graphic and the tagline “Help stop the pain of EB” beneath the organisation’s name.

Logo of Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity featuring a simple drawing of a child’s face with a blue teardrop and the charity's name in bold text below.

UK researchers are invited to submit applications for funding projects that advance care for children living with EB until the deadline on 16th July 2026. Individual grants ranging from £50,000 to £350,000 will be awarded for projects lasting up to three years. Funding decisions will be made through a rigorous review process involving both scientific experts and insight from patients as lived experience experts, ensuring that the funded work meets high standards of quality, impact, and value for money. Funding will be awarded to successful applicants in March 2027.

APPLY FOR GOSH/DEBRA UK RESEARCH FUNDING – DEADLINE 16 JULY 2026

The scheme also places significant emphasis on nurturing early-career researchers. Applicants with less than £350,000 in prior grant income as principal investigators and without tenured academic positions are encouraged to apply, with priority given to early-career candidates when proposals are equally competitive. This focus reflects wider sector concerns about sustaining research in childhood and rare conditions.

The collaboration forms part of the GOSH Charity National Research Project Grants scheme, which has committed up to £2.5 million to support child health research projects. The initiative is open to UK researchers nationwide and focuses particularly on complex and rare conditions affecting babies and children.

A red-brick hospital building with a columned entrance stands on a busy city street with cars, buses, and people outside.

A young girl in a yellow dress stands in a brightly lit paediatrician’s surgery decorated with colourful wall art and children's furniture.

DEBRA UK, the patient support and research charity dedicated to EB, is one of four partner organisations contributing to the scheme. Through this partnership, we can co-fund high-quality research proposals that align with our mission to improve treatments and outcomes for everyone living with EB.

Projects eligible for funding span the full spectrum of biomedical research, from laboratory-based studies to clinical and healthcare management approaches. All proposals must demonstrate a clear route to patient benefit, whether through improved diagnostics, new therapeutic strategies, or enhanced care pathways.

For DEBRA UK, this partnership represents an important opportunity to accelerate progress in EB research. As a rare genetic skin condition with very limited treatment options, partnering with GOSH Charity can help ensure that promising EB-focused projects are identified and supported.