Earlier this month, our annual conference brought together UK DRI researchers, support staff and students to share scientific progress. Now in its third year, Connectome is designed to align the institute’s vision, encourage new collaborations and spark ideas that take our research to the next level.

It’s been a challenging year for all of us, and the widespread impact of the pandemic has been acutely felt, with access to our laboratories and offices restricted, and the suspension of many experiments and clinical trials. UK DRI Directors, Bart De Strooper and Adrian Ivinson, were upbeat about the progress and milestones reached in spite of all this, and thanked all staff for their commitment and resourcefulness during a very difficult time. 

In an introductory overview, our Directors celebrated the growth of the institute this year from 350 to 650 researchers, and the establishment of 10 new research groups. The Directors’ initiatives continue to make progress, with the first brains collected and analysed for the ambitious multi-omics atlas project. We are also delighted to see the launch of three more scientific themes this year on the topics of the Synapse, DNA repair and Informatics, which will help forge and strengthen connections across the centres. The event also provided a platform to launch the brand-new intranet for the institute – the UK DRI Portal – and the digital software platforms that make up our Research Collaboration Service.

Science showcase

For the first time at Connectome, we assembled a programme organising committee led by Group Leader Giampietro Schiavo, with members representing all seven centres. Working around cross-cutting topic themes such as risk of dementia, and approaches including novel technologies, a diverse scientific programme was composed with Day 1 focused on ‘Discovering novel risks of neurodegeneration and dementia’ and Day 2 on ‘Translating mechanisms into cures’.

For the main scientific programme, we were treated to excellent presentations from Senior and Junior Group Leaders on an array of topics, with engaging Q&A sessions following each talk. A founding Group Leader of the UK DRI, Henrik Zetterberg (UK DRI at UCL), provided an overview of progress made in the biomarker field which is so important to our efforts in diagnosing dementia and improving clinical trials, while new recruit Raffaella Nativio (UK DRI at Imperial) discussed her ongoing research into epigenetics, a field of study gathering pace both within UK DRI and beyond. 

We also had the pleasure of welcoming keynotes from two pioneers in the neurodegeneration field. Firstly, David Holtzman (Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis) spoke on the fascinating topic of sleep and circadian rhythms during the earliest stages of neurodegeneration. C. Frank Bennett (Ionis Pharmaceuticals), then began Day 2 discussing antisense therapies for genetic diseases, with the presentation providing inspiration for researchers in our collective mission to develop treatments for dementia.

Steph Fowler, Speaker & Postdoctoral Researcher (UK DRI at UCL) commented:

“This year’s Connectome didn’t skip a beat! The talks were inspiring and motivational, and I was so fortunate to be able to share our lab’s work with the UK DRI community. I also particularly enjoyed the insight presentations which were brilliant way to showcase each lab. I’m certain that some good collaborations will develop over the coming months.”

New to this year’s event, short insight videos from all lab groups across the UK DRI were incorporated into the programme, giving a platform for early career researchers and showcasing the breadth of research and resource development taking place across the UK DRI. Additionally, following feedback, a pre-Connectome day was held exclusively for early career researchers, with sessions on ‘Getting published’, ‘Transition to independence’ and ‘Science careers’. Supporting the development of our researchers is important in maintaining a pipeline of top scientists and professionals, and we aim to roll out similar initiatives in future.

Viola Volpato, Research Insight presenter & Research Associate (UK DRI at Cardiff) said:

"The pre-Connectome ECR Day was really helpful and I appreciated the advice we received on getting our research published and cited, as well as all the tips to pursue different career paths.

I was really impressed by the huge success of the video insight sessions. I believe that this format  will be the way forward and could replace traditional poster sessions. It was great to have a have a chance to talk about my project and to listen to research from across all the other groups."

Looking forward to the year ahead

Bringing Connectome 2020 to a close, our Directors reflected on what had been an engaging and interesting scientific programme, and provided an overview on initiatives and events for 2021. A major area of investment for UK DRI is in Tools & Technology resources, with a dedicated HQ lead already in post. The first activity of a proteomics network is planned and an additional resource has been developed in the mapping of all the institute’s equipment and tools on the new Portal. We also announced a new UK DRI Diversity Thinktank, following on from our initial survey inspired by Black Lives Matter, which will provide momentum for positive change in this area.

We would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed to the conference and we look forward to all catching up again at Connectome2021!

Article published: 29 October 2020