New Pump Priming Grant: Christopher Bricogne - Skin Patch Warning System to Detect Lung Transplant Rejection

Each year, the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation supports early-stage ideas with the potential to change lives. Our Pump Priming Grants provide small-scale funding to help launch ambitious research projects that can pave the way for major breakthroughs. This year’s recipient, Christopher Bricogne from the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, is exploring a new way to detect lung transplant rejection before irreversible damage occurs.

A New Window into Transplant Health

Lung transplant rejection is a leading cause of graft failure and patient mortality, often going undetected until it’s too late. Bricogne’s innovative project asks a simple but transformative question: Could a small patch of donor skin offer an early warning sign that the transplanted lung is in trouble?

The idea builds on evidence that changes in donor skin may mirror what’s happening inside the body. Because the skin is visible, it could serve as a real-time “window” into the immune response, revealing rejection before lung function starts to decline.

The Study and Its Aims

Supported by a £10,000 Pump Priming Grant, Bricogne’s study will investigate whether a donor skin patch transplanted alongside a lung can reliably predict signs of rejection. By comparing immune responses in the skin and the lung, the team aims to determine whether skin changes can be used as an early diagnostic tool.

This research will form part of the largest-ever clinical trial of skin allografts, involving 76 grafts. Using cutting-edge techniques, the team will analyse over 35 protein markers per cell to map the immune system’s activity in both donor and recipient tissues. This multi-parameter approach will reveal not only which immune cells are present, but also how active or exhausted they are - crucial for understanding how and when rejection begins.

Samples will be collected at defined points over 3, 6, and 12 months to track how skin responses evolve and whether they correspond to changes in lung health. If successful, this approach could transform post-transplant monitoring - allowing doctors to detect rejection at its earliest stage, when treatment is most effective.

Expert Support and Scientific Collaboration

The project impressed our review panel for its strong scientific foundation and clear potential for impact. Reviewers praised it as “well written and scientifically sound,” highlighting its connection to an established, larger trial and its strong leadership under Professor Freddie Hamdy and Professor Fadi Issa, previous BMRF grant recipient and newly appointed Professor of Transplant Surgery at Oxford.

Transforming the Future of Transplant Care

Around 4,500 organ transplants take place in the UK each year, including roughly 140 lung transplants. Despite advances in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive therapy, long-term success still depends on catching rejection early.

By funding pioneering ideas like this, the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation continues to champion innovative, practical research that directly improves patient outcomes.

Christopher Bricogne’s project exemplifies the vision behind our Pump Priming Grants - giving promising ideas the start they need to make a real difference.

Learn more about our Pump Priming Grants.