Research Policies
Statement of the PSP Association’s Policies on Peer Review, Animal Research and Human Embryos
Peer Review
As a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), The PSP Association complies with AMRC guidelines for peer review. Each year applications for research into PSP are sought in an advertisement in the prestigious international medical journal ‘Movement Disorders’. Applicants are asked initially to apply, outlining their costed proposal on a single A4 sheet, which is circulated to our Medical Advisory Panel (MAP). Those passing this initial hurdle are then asked to complete a full PSP Association Research Application Proforma, which is again circulated to our MAP and peer reviewed by two independent Peer Reviewers. Applications are then tabled at The PSP Association biennial Executive Committee Meeting, with MAP recommendations. The applicant is asked to present their proposal at the meeting. Selection is dictated by available funding and Peer Review and Map assessment of quality and relevance of the application to the PSP Association’s aims to find the cause, an effective treatment and eventual cure for PSP. Applications are sought by 1st August and 1st February for decisions at the May and November Executive Committee Meetings respectively.
Animal Research and the use of Human Embryos
The PSP Association endorses the AMRC Statement on the Use of Animals in Research and the AMRC Statement on Human Embryo and Stem Cell Research and will only fund research involving protected animals where no viable alternative exists. Research must then be carried out under the appropriate Home Office licences and certificates, and the applicant must have regard to animal welfare and advances in the refinement, replacement and reduction of animal use. To date, The PSP Association has funded no research involving the use of animals. The PSP Association will only fund research involving human embryos where no viable alternative exists. Research must be carried out under the rigorous regulatory framework provided by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
