Every summit funds research
Brainpower & Brainpower282 exists to turn 282 Scottish mountains into meaningful support for brain tumour research. Money raised through the round goes to Brain Tumour Research and, in particular, the Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence — a joint initiative between the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, funded through a game-changing collaboration with Glasgow-based Beatson Cancer Charity.
Why it matters
Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 in the UK, yet historically they have received just around 1% of the national spend on cancer research. Progress on survival has been painfully slow.
Brain Tumour Research is on a mission to change that — funding sustainable, world-class research at dedicated Centres of Excellence and campaigning for a national investment of £35 million a year, matched to the scale of the disease.
The story behind the research
Watch how the Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence is bringing together Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Beatson Cancer Charity to change outcomes for people with brain tumours.
The Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence
University of Edinburgh · University of Glasgow · CRUK Scotland Centre
Launched by Brain Tumour Research as the charity's first dedicated Centre of Excellence in Scotland, the Scottish Centre is a fifth pillar in its UK-wide network — and a genuinely joint effort between the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow. It brings clinicians and laboratory scientists from both cities together to tackle the tumours that current treatments fail — most notably glioblastoma, the most aggressive adult brain cancer.
The Centre is funded through a game-changing collaboration between Brain Tumour Research, which Brainpower feeds into, and Glasgow-based Beatson Cancer Charity. By combining research investment with the strengths of two of Scotland's leading universities, the partnership is designed to accelerate progress and get discoveries from the lab into patient care.
The team is led by Professor Steven Pollard and Professor Anthony Chalmers alongside consultant neuro-oncologists and neurosurgeons, and works hand-in-glove with the NHS through the Edinburgh Cancer Centre — meaning discoveries in the lab can move quickly into patient care.
Glioblastoma stem cells
Understanding the treatment-resistant cells that drive tumour regrowth and testing new ways to shut them down.
Precision drug discovery
Screening thousands of potential compounds against patient-derived cells to find drugs that could actually work.
From lab bench to bedside
Building clinical trials in Scotland so patients here get faster access to promising new therapies.
Training the next generation
Funding PhD students and early-career researchers to grow long-term UK expertise in neuro-oncology.
Where your donation goes
Brain Tumour Research talks about the true cost of research in days — because a single day in the lab is all it takes to make a discovery that changes someone's life.
Keeps a scientist at the bench for 60 focused seconds.
Funds an hour of research on the ward and in the lab.
Powers a full day of world-class brain tumour research.
Figures published by Brain Tumour Research (2024). Reaching all 282 Munros is the equivalent of dozens of research days — every mile and every metre counts.
How Brainpower helps
- Direct fundraising: Glenn's JustGiving page channels donations straight to Brain Tumour Research.
- Team Brainpower: supporters take on their own challenges — real Munros, virtual climbs, or sponsoring a peak — and rally their own networks behind the cause.
- Awareness: sharing what it is like to live with a brain tumour, and pointing readers toward the research that will one day change the odds.
Get involved
Back the round, join Team Brainpower, or share the story.
Brain Tumour Research is a registered charity in England and Wales (1153487) and Scotland (SC046840).