Our projects
The Drake Foundation is committed to working towards scientifically-significant studies that provide a greater understanding of long-term brain health and disease risk factors. While our individual studies focus on specific populations, including sports players and people who have experienced domestics abuse, all have translational value to contribute a wider understanding of brain injury and long-term health outcomes across society.
Each research project has been achieved by building connections and encouraging collaboration, in addition financial investment. We encourage projects that answer key public health concerns including concussion in sport, neurodegenerative disease in former players and long-term holistic health.
You can see details of ongoing and past studies funded by The Drake Foundation below, in addition to information on our research governance and future work.
BRAIN – Brain health & healthy ageing in retired elite rugby players
Principal Investigators: Professor Neil Pearce, Dr Valentina Gallo, Professor Damien McElvenny Co-Investigators: Dr Simon Kemp, Professor Nigel Arden Institutions: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Institute of Occupational Medicine, RFU, ...
Drake Football Concussion Study: evaluating concussion in Premier League football
Principal Investigators: Professor Tony Belli, Dr Patrick O’Halloran Institutions: University of Birmingham, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust Status: Ongoing Premier League footballers are participating in this ground-breaking concussion study run by the University of ...
The Drake Football Study
Principal Investigators: Vincent Gouttebarge, Gino Kerkhoffs Co-Investigators: Thor Einar Andersen, Charlotte Cowie, Edwin Goedhart, Harald Jørstad, Simon Kemp, Marsh Konigs, Mario Maas, Emmanuel Orhant, Jussi Rantanen, Jari Salo, Luis Serratosa, Keith Stokes, Johannes Tol, Evert Verhagen, ...
The Drake IPV Study
Learn more about the Drake IPV Study, as well as IPV-related research, policy and care at the Drake IPV Symposium on 29th November 2022. Find out more here Principle Investigators: Professor William Stewart, Professor Craig Ritchie, Dr Graciela Muniz-Terrera Institutions: University of Glasgow, ...
HEADING – Health and Ageing Data IN the Game of football
Principal Investigators: Professor Neil Pearce, Dr Valentina Gallo, Professor Damien McElvenny Co-Investigators: Dr Simon Kemp, Dr Sebastian Crutch, Professor Huw Morris, Professor Henrik Zetterberg, Dr Andrea Malaspina, Professor John Cherrie, Professor John Hardy, Dr Mike Loosemore, Dr ...
Studying concussion in rugby: The Drake Rugby Biomarker Study
Principal Investigators: Professor John Hardy, Professor Huw Morris, Professor Henrik Zetterberg Co-Investigators: Dr Etienne Laverse, Professor David Sharp Institutions: UCL Institute of Neurology, Imperial College London Status: Ongoing Having commenced at Saracens Rugby Club in 2015, this ...
Head injury, cognition & imaging correlates of dementia in the Insight 1946 cohort
Principal Investigators: Professor Nick Fox, Dr Jonathan Schott Institution: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology Status: Complete The 1946 birth cohort consists of over 3000 individuals, all born in the UK in the same week in 1946, who have been studied over their life course. ...
Mixed pathologies, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy, account for dementia in retired association football (soccer) players
Principal Investigators: Dr Helen Ling, Professor Huw Morris, Dr James Neal, Professor Andrew Lees, Professor John Hardy, Professor Janice Holton, Professor Tamasz Revesz, Dr Don Williams Institution: Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL Institute of Neurology, Cardiff University, Cefn Coed Hospital ...
Research governance
Research aims of The Drake Foundation The research aims of The Drake Foundation are centred on forging the most effective partnerships and funding the best minds at leading institutions in the UK and beyond. Core research aims of funded projects should have the potential to make a positive and ...
Future work
On the 12 November 2017 The Drake Foundation announced its intention to commit £1 million to UK-based research projects investigating concussion in association football. This was followed by the announcements of funding for two new studies in 2018: ‘HEADING‘ and ‘Evaluating ...