Current research

Fellowships

Enabling top scientists to dedicate their time to research and encouraging recently qualified scientists to stay in the field of dementia.

• Diagnosing Alzheimer’s using MRI scans

  Dr Julio Acosta-Cabronero will develop brain scans to help doctors diagnose Alzheimer's. The scans should help clinicians diagnose the disease earlier and with greater accuracy as well as help evaluate the effects of any treatment patients are given.

• Understanding Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)

  Researchers at the University of Cambridge aim to create a model of Dementia with Lewy bodies which replicates many features of the disease in people. The model will allow scientists to better understand the disease and develop new treatments

• How does Alzheimer’s disease spread in the brain?

  Alzheimer’s is not contagious, but it may spread in the brain by an infectious process, similar to that seen in Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD).

• Investigating posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), the rare, visual variant of Alzheimer’s.

  Dr Sebastian Crutch, based at University College London (UCL), is a leading expert on posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). His work is improving the understanding of PCA; its causes and symptoms as well as developing ways to diagnose and treat it.

• Using Stem Cells to Study the Tau Protein

  Dr Selina Wray at UCL is using stem cells, made from adult skin cells, to study the tau protein.

• Heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer's link

  Dr Cheryl Hawkes will be studying the links between heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s at the University of Southampton

• Tau protein and Alzheimer's disease

  Tara Caffrey at the University of Oxford is studying the tau protein and its links to Alzheimer's

• Protecting brain from amyloid in Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia

  During his fellowship, Dr Scott Miners aims to find out how our brains can protect themselves from amyloid.

• Computer modelling of protein aggregation

  Protein aggregation is a key component of neurodegeneration, but much controversy exists as to whether it is a cause or a consequence of the disease. Dr Carole Procter aims to find out more.

• The genetics of behaviour

  Dr Proitsi from King's College London is looking at the genetic basis of behavioural symptoms in Alzheimer's.