Funding research into life saving treatment for bowel diseases.
About our charity
Bowel disease UK is a registered charity funding clinical research into treatments for bowel disease. Our research is carried out under the close guidance of our trustee, Professor Devinder Kumar, a leading gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher.
​As a not-for-profit organisation, we are reliant upon donations, fundraising, and legacies from the public. Last year, by not paying employees or consultants, we were able to limit our administration costs to just £2,200. This means that your donations will have the greatest possible impact in the fight against bowel cancer and bowel disease.
We are grateful to be surrounded by a community of volunteers who have held events on our behalf. These are fundamental in raising much needed funds, and we always welcome new events. We organise our own events too, which in the past these have taken place at the House of Commons, Lincoln's Inn, Hampton Court Palace, and The All England Club (Wimbledon Tennis). Events such as these have enabled us to have raised in excess of £850,000, an achievement we are incredibly proud of.
This has enabled us to fund some amazing research projects. Recently this has included a £250,000 commitment St George's University Hospital, to study the positive effects of Artesunate in the treatment of Bowel Cancer. Should the next 3 years of clinical trials match the initial 2 year study, then we could have found a ground-breaking treatment for Bowel Cancer.
Bowel cancer:
The 4th most common cancer in in the UK
40,000 diagnoses annually
16,000 fatalities annually
Statistics replicated globally
We are currently funding the NeoART study at St. George's Hospital looking into Artesunate as a safe and affordable cancer treatment.
Crohn's disease:
3-6,000 cases diagnosed every year
1 in 6 are under the age of 16
Our current Crohn's research is investigating Artesunate Curcumin as a treatment for patients not responding to traditional treatments
Our story
A short video from Prof. Kumar, Gary Douch, Catia and Brenda
Our Volunteers
We do not have any paid staff and all those involved with the charity are all volunteers who give up their own time, money and efforts to raise funds and awareness.
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Gary Douch
Chairman
In 2006, Gary co-founded Bowel Disease UK alongside Professor Devinder Kumar. The charity was founded from Gary's hospital bed, when a need for research funds became clear. As chairman, Gary is the driving force behind fundraising efforts and his unwavering devotion is admirable.
2016 saw Gary receive a 'Pride of Britain' nomination for fundraiser of the year, making it to the final 4 in the London and South East category. He was also recognised, along with Andrew Fisher Tomlin, for showcasing a garden for Crohn's Disease at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. The garden was critically acclaimed, winning a Gold Medal and voted Best in Show.
In 2017, Gary received a Points of Light award from the Prime Minister, Theresa May, for his contribution to making a change to the local community and beyond.
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Outside of BDUK, Gary is the director of Allium Construction in South West London. He is also keen on rugby having played and coached at many levels.
Grant Woodthorpe
Trustee
Grant has been a keen supporter of the charity for many years and he is a fantastic asset. He has provided much needed publicity and financial support through The Metro, where he is Managing Director of Commercial.
Grant became a Trustee in 2019 to provide further practical advice and support to the Charity and we are so excited to have his commercial and directional support as a Trustee.
Grant is a keen cyclist and has undertaken many gruelling races including the 100km Ride London event.
Jonathan Harmsworth
Patron
Viscount Rothermere has been a patron since 2008, he has assisted the charity financially and with media coverage through The Metro Newspaper and The Daily Mail. His contribution has been key to the establishment of the charity and for its future growth.
Stephan Hammond, MP
Ambassador
Stephen is MP for Wimbledon in South West London. He has supported the charity for many years and has supported all the charity functions. He understands that we are a small charity doing essential research which will have an international benefit if successful.
Stephen's involvement is both exciting and rewarding for the charity and has helped us raise much needed funding for our clinical trials.
Nathanial Wood
Ambassador
Nathaniel was born and raised in Morden and is a Professional MMA competitor currently competing in the popular UFC circuit.
A former Cage Warriors Bantamweight World Champion, his talents have not gone unnoticed and has been included in the UFC roster.
Nathaniel stated 'I am looking forward to helping in any way I can with Bowel Disease UK which I believe is a great charity that are helping make a difference'.
Duncan McNair
Financial Officer
Duncan is a Chartered Accountant. He recently retired following a career in finance culminating as Finance Director of Chevron in the UK. During this time at Chevron he was a Trustee of the Chevron Pension schemes in UK and Europe with responsibility for investment decisions.
Prof Devinder Kumar
Trustee
Professor Devinder Kumar (retired) is a highly experienced Professor of Gastrointestinal Surgery at St George’s University of London and Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at St George’s Hospital in London and other leading medical institutions. Now retired, he is fully engaged in Bowel Disease research.
Professor Kumar obtained his undergraduate medical degree from the University of Delhi, India, in 1975. Following this he worked in the Small-Pox eradication programme and was awarded a certificate of merit by the Minister of Health.
He completed his basic surgical training at Great Ormond Street Hospital for sick children, St James’ Hospital in Balham and the North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke. During this time he passed the FRCS examination. He then went on to undertake research in Gastrointestinal motility at the Royal London Hospital and was awarded a PhD from the University of London. He was successful in obtaining a Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic for 2 years.
In 1994, he took up the position of Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at St George’s Hospital. He was awarded a personal chair in Gastrointestinal Surgery in 2004 by the University of London.
He has published 120 original papers in peer reviewed journals, more than 50 review articles and book chapters and has authored/edited 6 books. Professor Kumar is a regular reviewer for national and international journals.
Ronnie Wood
Patron
Ronnie has been amazing in his support of the charity, he has provided auction prizes and appearances that have enhanced our events and generated much interest from the media and members of the public.
Peter Jordan
Ambassador
Peter is a County Judge. He qualified in 1990 and has specialised in the provision of legal advice to Lender Services industry and Employment Law clients ever since. As a former Trustee Peter’s invaluable legal expertise has professionally guided the charity. Peter is now a Judge
Andrew Fisher Tomlin
Ambassador
Andrew Fisher Tomlin is one of the UK's leading garden designers. A horticulturist by training he has used the power of gardens and plants to promote the health benefits of gardening.
His office designs active horticultural therapy landscapes for care settings such as hospices and residential homes linked to dementia care. in 2017 Andrew designed Gold Medal winning Bowel Disease UK show garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, showing the importance of plants in the treatment of illness.
John Duddy
Ambassador
John Duddy is an experienced charity consultant who advises charities on their systems, accounts and fundraising. John was a founder Trustee and served for 12 years. He has a very comprehensive knowledge of our charity and the charity sector and provides essential advisory support where needed.
Clemmie Oliver
Ambassador
Clemmie is a Nutritionist specialising in IBD. She set up the Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Clinic in 2018 where she works internationally helping to improve the quality of life of people with Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Clemmie was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis aged 9.
Find out more at https://nalmclinic.com