This World Alzheimer’s Day (21 September), we are delighted to announce two new Emerging Leaders at the UK DRI: Dr Wioleta Zelek (UK DRI at Cardiff) and Dr Aitana Sogorb-Esteve (UK DRI at UCL). Both have been awarded prestigious Race Against Dementia (RAD) Fellowships and join the 11 Emerging Leaders announced earlier in the year.
The UK DRI Emerging Leaders initiative was established in May 2021 to support outstanding research fellows on their journey to independence. Sponsored and hosted by a UK DRI Group Leader, the researchers are recognised for their growing research experience and ability to secure a source of external funding such as a RAD Fellowship. As an Emerging Leader, those appointed receive support from their sponsors, are entitled to apply for particular internal funding schemes and have access to cross-centre collaboration with the other Emerging Leaders, among other benefits.
Dr Zelek (left) and Dr Sogorb-Esteve (right) are among four newly-announced RAD Fellows, selected by RAD, in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Research UK, for their ambitious dementia research ideas. RAD is a charity founded by Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, three-time Formula 1 World Champion, after his wife was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. It raises money to fuel breakthroughs in dementia research, including awarding fellowships to promising early careers researchers. As RAD Fellows and UK DRI Emerging leaders, Dr Zelek and Dr Sogorb-Esteve join Dr Cara Croft (UK DRI at UCL) and Dr Claire Durrant (UK DRI at Edinburgh) in receiving support and collaborative opportunities from world-leading dementia researchers.
