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“I'm not going to give up”: in conversation with 2022 MRC Millennium Medal winner Prof Sarah Tabrizi

For over 25 years, clinical neuroscientist, and UK DRI Group Leader at UCL, Prof Sarah Tabrizi has been at the leading edge of the search for Huntington’s disease treatments. Her breakthroughs have, and continue to, push the field forward at pace and bring real hope to those affected by this heart-breaking neurodegenerative disorder. For her outstanding efforts and achievements, Prof Tabrizi is recognised with this year’s prestigious MRC Millennium Medal. We caught up with Sarah to reflect on her career to date, passion for scientific investigation and tireless drive to deliver a cure for her patients at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), part of UCLH.

MRC announces Millennium Medal winners and Impact Prize finalists

UK DRI neuroscientist and neurologist, Prof Sarah Tabrizi, has today been named one of two winners of the prestigious MRC Millennium Medal for her work on Huntington’s disease.

UK DRI joins the Campaign for Science and Engineering, CaSE

We’re pleased to announce that the UK DRI has joined CaSE, the Campaign for Science and Engineering.

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Landmark results from trial of new Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab presented at major conference

Results from Eisai and Biogen’s phase 3 trial of new Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab were presented at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease conference (CTAD) in San Francisco yesterday and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Minister visits UK DRI ahead of reconfirming government’s commitment to the Dementia Mission

We were delighted to welcome Nus Ghani MP, Minister for Industry and Investment Security, to the UK DRI last week, to showcase a range of our research to tackle dementia.

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Making it Brain 2022: inspiring the next generation of dementia researchers

Over two afternoons during World Alzheimer’s Month in September, the UK DRI hosted the second annual Making it Brain, a virtual mini conference for secondary school students interested in neuroscience careers and research.

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In2Research: A student perspective

Aicha Ben Taher is an undergraduate student at Brunel University who undertook a summer placement at the UK DRI at UCL as part of the In2Research scheme. Here, she shares her experience for anyone else thinking about applying for an In2Research placement.

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Connectome 2022: In pictures

Returning in person for the first time since 2019, our annual conference Connectome took place in Brighton earlier this month. More than 600 UK DRI researchers from our seven centres across the UK gathered together for an event packed full of exciting science, with opportunities to make connections and spark new ideas.

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LGBTQ+ STEM Day: the importance of visibility

Today is LGBTQ+ STEM Day, an opportunity to celebrate and highlight the work of LGBTQ+ people in science and recognise the barriers that they face. We spoke to Dr Alexi Nott (UK DRI at Imperial) about his hopes and goals for the LGBTQ+ Allies Network which he recently set up within his department at Imperial.

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Prof Bart De Strooper is to step down as Director of the UK DRI

After six years as Director of the UK DRI, Prof Bart De Strooper is stepping down to focus on his research.

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Nine UK DRI researchers feature on Highly Cited Researcher 2022 list

We are proud to announce that nine UK DRI researchers have featured in this year’s Highly Cited Researcher 2022 list from Clarivate. The annual ranking identifies researchers who have demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.

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Disappointment as phase 3 trials for Alzheimer's drug ganteneurumab show no clinical benefit

In a press release today, pharmaceutical company Roche announced results from its phase 3 trials of immunotherapy drug ganteneurumab. The results show that the drug failed to slow cognitive decline in people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

Three UK DRI researchers awarded major Chan Zuckerberg Initiative funding for collaborative projects

Dr Soyon Hong, Dr Tim Bartels, and Prof Adrian Isaacs, all from UK DRI at UCL, have each been awarded further funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), for phase 2 of the organisation’s Collaborative Pairs Programme.

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UK DRI joins call to place medical and health research at the heart of economic plans

Ahead of the government’s Autumn Statement, the UK DRI has joined a call led by the Academy of Medical Sciences, for the Chancellor to place medical and health research at the heart of plans for growth.

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First recipients of UK DRI Recognition Prizes announced at Connectome 2022

For the 5th anniversary of the UK DRI, we introduced a series of special prizes to recognise the efforts and achievements of staff across the Institute over the past year. The Directors awarded certificates and personal awards during the conclusion to Connectome 2022, highlighting those individuals excelling in the categories of computational reproducibility, 3R’s, publications, posters and engagement.

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Macroglia: introducing the UK DRI’s newest research theme

When thinking about the cells that are involved in neurodegenerative diseases, it is easy to zero in on neurons – the fundamental units of the brain that receive and transmit sensory information. But there is strong evidence to indicate that other cells are also involved in the development and progression of dementia. Among them are macroglia cells; the focus of the UK DRI’s newest research theme.

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Scientists reveal new insight into how Alzheimer’s risk gene may cause disease

Researchers have uncovered a new biological pathway that could be linked to Alzheimer’s disease, in a study led by Prof Paul Elliott (UK DRI at Imperial). The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provide new insight into the underlying mechanisms of the disease, and could offer targets for future drug discovery.

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Discussing diversity in dementia research

How health inequalities are impacting people with dementia, and how research can help to address this was the subject of a lively webinar hosted by the UK DRI on Thursday 20 October.

‘Cell-penetrating’ proteins implicated in Parkinson’s and dementia with Lewy bodies

Small, aggregated proteins capable of entering cells have been shown to cause distinctive toxic effects in Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, according to a new study led by Dr Yu Ye (UK DRI at Imperial). The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), offer useful insight into the underlying mechanisms of these diseases, and highlight potential future targets for disease detection and therapeutic intervention.

UK DRI Director elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine

Prof Bart De Strooper, UK DRI Director, has today been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine (NAM), for his work in understanding the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease, ‘in an unrelenting search for therapeutic targets that can help patients’.