​UK DRI at UCL

• Specialisms at UCL
• Mechanistic understanding of dysfunction in cells and neural systems
• Gene expression and biological pathways in single cells related to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease
• New biomarkers to monitor disease progression
• Deficits in axonal transport in early neurodegeneration
• Wnt signalling in synapses to discover new targets for future dementia therapies

• Read more about UCL

  Research from UK DRI at UCL will cover the journey from the patient to the laboratory and back to the patient with improved diagnosis, biomarkers and candidate therapies to put to the test. Led by Professor Bart de Strooper, UK DRI Director, the team will address the key unanswered mechanistic questions that link genetic and lifecourse factors to dysfunction in molecular pathways, in cells and in neural systems during the progression of the dementias. This work will be enhanced by clinical resource to link lab work to the clinic.

  UK DRI at UCL will examine changes in gene expression and biological pathways in single cells to get a detailed picture of the changes happening during the initiation and development of Alzheimer’s disease. The UCL team will also develop new biomarkers to monitor disease progression. Programmes of work will look specifically at deficits in axonal transport as a very early step in neurodegeneration and at the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in the maintenance and function of synapses to see whether it is a promising target for future dementia therapies.

  Location: UK DRI at UCL will initially be located in a refurbished space within the Cruciform building, within UCL’s Bloomsbury campus. This location is near to Alzheimer's Research UK's UCL Drug Discovery Institute, the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cellular Biology, the MRC Prion Unit, the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, and genetic facilities.