Researchers led by Dr Lorena Arancibia Cárcamo and Dr Anna Mallach at the UK DRI at UCL, the Francis Crick Institute and the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research have revealed how communication between support cells in the brain disrupts signals between neurons in mice modelling Alzheimer’s disease.
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Researchers across the UK DRI are tackling Parkinson's from multiple angles, aiming to develop new diagnostic tools and treatments. We recently co-organised an event with Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP), bringing together nearly 100 early career researchers (ECRs) from the UK DRI and ASAP, to discuss their work, share ideas and form new collaborations.
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We are thrilled to announce that Prof Tara Spires-Jones (UK DRI at Edinburgh) is one of 58 exceptional scientists today elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship.
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We are delighted to announce that Jo Latimer will join the UK DRI as Chief Scientific Officer, commencing mid-August 2024.
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We are delighted to announce that Prof Sarah Tabrizi (UK DRI at UCL), Prof Bill Wisden and Prof Paul Elliott (both UK DRI at Imperial) have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society for their outstanding research.
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The brain’s ability to rid itself of toxins may be reduced during sleep, surprising new UK DRI research reveals. The study, led by Prof Bill Wisden (UK DRI at Imperial) and Prof Nick Franks (Imperial College London), is published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
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A study led by Prof Paul Matthews and Dr Nurun Fancy (both UK DRI at Imperial) provides important new insights into the mechanisms by which a process known as age-related cell senescence contributes to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
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We are delighted to announce the first recipients of the new ‘Key Questions’ intramural funding programme, leveraging the unique strengths and capabilities of our Institute to catalyse bold and ambitious research projects, which adopt multidisciplinary and innovative approaches.
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Dr Kiran K G Ravindran is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working with Prof Derk-Jan Dijk at the UK DRI Centre for Care Research & Technology and the Surrey Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey. Dr Ravindran was one of 30 scientists who participated in this year’s Royal Society Pairing Scheme, an initiative facilitating collaboration between scientists and policymakers. Here, he shares his experience with the scheme and its impact on his perspective.
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Dr Georgina (George) Starling is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow joint between Prof Adrian Isaacs lab (UK DRI at UCL) and Dr Jeremy Carlton's lab at King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute. Here she tells us about her experience on the Royal Society pairing scheme which saw her travel to Westminster to experience first-hand how science and policy intersect and are used in government.
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Ahead of BioBeat24, Iraida Soria-Espinosa, Senior Innovation & Business Manager at UK DRI, and Miranda Weston-Smith, Founder of BioBeat, caught up with keynote speaker Zoe Kourtzi, Professor of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge.
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During his postdoc Dr Philip Hasel (UK DRI at Edinburgh) discovered a distinct type of astrocyte that is only found in a single cell layer on the surface of the brain. In this Q&A, Dr Hasel explains what is so significant about these cells in disease, and why he has made them his research focus as he starts his lab at the UK DRI.
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A new study led by Dr Marco Brancaccio (UK DRI at Imperial) and Dr Marieke Hoekstra (former UK DRI at Imperial, now VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research) offers a deeper insight into how a neuroprotective pathway is regulated both by temperature and the body clock.
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Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition, affecting over 150,000 people in the UK. It is considered to be the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, with the number of people affected expected to double by 2050. In this blog for World Parkinson's Day, we take stock of what we know about the condition, and what UK DRI scientists are doing to help advance research in this area.
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A world-class research team at UCL led by UK DRI Co-Investigator Prof Jonathan Schott, and Dr Ashvini Keshavan, will carry out a countrywide trial to identify accurate and quick blood tests that can diagnose dementia. The team will work closely with the UK DRI Biomarker Factory, led by Prof Henrik Zetterberg and Dr Amanda Heslegrave, to validate the tests.
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We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Prof David Attwell as the Centre Director for the groundbreaking new BHF-UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia Research. With a distinguished career spanning decades and a wealth of expertise in neuroscience and physiology, Prof Attwell brings unparalleled leadership and vision to this pivotal role.
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Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, are implicated in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, but the exact mechanisms behind this are not yet understood. A team led by Prof Bart De Strooper (UK DRI at UCL and VIB-KU Leuven) and Prof Renzo Mancuso (VIB-UAntwerp) has transplanted human microglia into mouse brains to better observe how the microglia respond to the disease environment.
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There are approximately 6 million people worldwide who have Down syndrome. About two in three people with Down syndrome will have been diagnosed with dementia by the time they are 65. Dr Frances Wiseman (UK DRI at UCL) aims to understand dementia in people with Down syndrome, including why individuals who have Down syndrome and develop dementia also experience seizures.
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A major new UK DRI Grand Challenge project, led by Prof Karen Duff, Centre Director of the UK DRI at UCL, seeks to understand the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s, by simultaneously examining molecular and cellular changes in mice and studying the very first behavioural changes in humans at risk of the disease. Through greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms of Alzheimer's, the project could lead to the development of new biomarkers to aid in early disease detection, and therapeutics to treat the condition.
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Prof Sir David Klenerman (UK DRI and Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge) and Prof Sir Shankar Balasubramanian (University of Cambridge) are being honoured with the 2024 Novo Nordisk Prize for their pioneering work, which enables the human genome to be sequenced in just an hour.
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