A tribute to Baroness Sally Greengross
Baroness Sally Greengross sadly passed away on 23 June this year – a loss that will be felt by the whole dementia research community.
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from the institute
Dementia Demystified: breaking barriers to public understanding of dementia
Members of the public gathered at the Francis Crick Institute to learn about cutting edge dementia research from scientists at ‘Dementia Demystified’, an open event run in collaboration with UK DRI to enhance public understanding of the condition.
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Collaboration with Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult to accelerate gene therapy
We are delighted to announce a collaboration with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGTC), an Innovate UK funded organisation, to accelerate the development of AAV based gene therapy treatments.
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UK DRI researcher pioneers new system to define stages of Huntington’s and ‘revolutionise’ drug trials
A novel framework that assesses the progression of Huntington’s disease, has been developed by scientists including Prof Sarah Tabrizi (UK DRI at UCL), as part of an international consortium.
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UK DRI secures £1.2 million in translational research funding from UKRI
We are pleased to announce that the UK DRI has secured £1.2 million from UK Research and Innovation’s Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) to jumpstart knowledge exchange, translation and commercialisation.
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Translational efforts transformed with £30 million LifeArc partnership
Today, we are thrilled to announce that the medical research charity LifeArc is committing £30 million over five years to the UK Dementia Research Institute, in a huge boost to our translational work.
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Inflammation, social robots and sleep: fourth round of pilot awards announced
We are pleased to announce the eight awardees in the fourth round of the UK DRI Pilot Studies programme - an initiative designed to encourage UK DRI early career researchers to take the next step towards forming an independent lab group, and consider new and innovative avenues of research aimed at treating or advancing understanding of dementia.
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UK DRI Prize for Computational Reproducibility: Insights from last year’s winners
Applications for the 2022 UK DRI Prize for ‘Computational Reproducibility in Dementia Research’ are now open. We spoke to last year’s winners, PhD students Kitty Murphy and Brian Schilder, both from the UK DRI at Imperial, about their experiences, and they shared some advice and resources for anyone thinking about applying this year.
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UK DRI Care Research & Technology Centre officially opens its doors
In another milestone for the Institute, we marked the official launch of the UK DRI Care Research & Technology Centre this month – a multi-million pound research facility to improve the lives of people living with dementia now. Minister of State for Care and Mental Health, Gillian Keegan, joined trial participants, researchers, and partners at the opening event to unveil a plaque commemorating the occasion.
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Time capsule buried at future new home for UK DRI hub and UCL neuroscience
An Iceland plastic carrier bag, a Covid-19 vaccine vial and a piece of stainless steel have been buried in a time capsule of a new world-class centre for neuroscience at UCL, and the future home of the UK DRI hub, currently in construction on Grays Inn Road, London. The capsule was placed in the building’s foundations today (Thursday 19 May) as part of Dementia Action Week.
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Researchers develop new biomarker test to track success of therapy for neurodegenerative disease
Researchers led by Prof Adrian Isaacs (UK DRI Group Leader at UCL) have developed a way to monitor the success of therapies targeting the most common genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
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Two UK DRI researchers elected to the prestigious Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship
It is a pleasure to announce that Prof Karen Duff, UK DRI Centre Director at UCL, and Prof Siddharthan Chandran, UK DRI Group Leader at Edinburgh, have been elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship for their outstanding research into neurodegenerative diseases.
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Director appointed to capitalise on innovations in informatics and data science
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Prof Caleb Webber as UK DRI Director of Data Science.
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‘Stressed’ cells offer clues to eliminating build-up of toxic proteins in dementia
A study led by Dr Edward Avezov (UK DRI at Cambridge) has uncovered a new mechanism that might help prevent the build-up of tangles of proteins commonly seen in dementia.
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Smart-Kages: The automated and AI-assisted innovation set to transform animal behaviour experiments
The use of animals remains a vital feature of modern research, allowing scientists to model and interrogate key aspects of disease. There are however limitations when mapping animal biology and behaviour to humans, many of which are blamed for poor translation from pre-clinical research to the patient. A new company, Cambridge Phenotyping Ltd, aims to tackle several of the common issues plaguing rodent behavioural work, with their novel automated and AI-assisted ‘smart-Kage’ technology.
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New researcher joins Emerging Leader programme for bright young research talent
We are thrilled to announce a new Emerging Leader at the Institute: Dr Jing Qiu, based at the UK DRI at Edinburgh. Dr Qiu joins the 13 other talented upcoming scientists who were elected to the programme last year.
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New partnership with Astex Pharmaceuticals to accelerate progress in dementia research
We are delighted to announce a new strategic partnership with Astex Pharmaceuticals alongside the funding of two new projects.
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Landmark study reveals 42 new genes associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease
A major new international study involving UK DRI researchers has identified 75 genes associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, including 42 new genes which had not previously been implicated in the condition.
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UK DRI founding funder update
An update to partnerships between UK DRI and its founding funders
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Welcoming a new Centre Director to UK DRI at King’s College London
It is a pleasure to announce that our new Centre Director for UK DRI at King’s is Prof Jernej Ule, an expert in RNA biology and its role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
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