UKDRI
UK DRI at Cardiff
Hadyn Ellis building

UK DRI at Cardiff

Prof Baljit S. Khakh

Centre Director & Research Division Lead

Unlocking understanding of astrocyte biology and neuronal interactions

Prof Baljit S. Khakh

At the UK DRI at Cardiff, we are investigating the fundamental neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to dementia and exploring the biological and physiological functions of genes implicated in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. We hope to use this knowledge to shed new light on the mechanisms that cause dementia and find new ways to diagnose and treat it.

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Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
Tina Cottrell

The UK DRI at Cardiff is the biggest investment Wales has made in neurodegenerative disease research to date. The Centre brings together scientists from a range of research backgrounds, with expertise in genetics, immunology, computational analytics, synaptic function and DNA repair. 

The highly collaborative team bring fresh ideas and perspectives, and are working together to discover new disease mechanisms, identify drug targets, and ultimately deliver new treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and other neurodegenerative conditions. 

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Dr Dayne Beccano-Kelly

Group Leader

UK DRI at Cardiff

Investigating synaptic health and function over time in Parkinson's

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Ed Birt

PhD Student

Systems-Approached Models of Neurodegeneration

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Dr Rob Byrne

Postdoctoral Researcher

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Dr Sarah Carpanini

Postdoctoral Researcher

Cardiff University

Exploring the interplay between HLA haplotype and immune dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease

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Dr Natalie Connor-Robson

Emerging Leader

UK DRI at Cardiff

Deciphering the genetics of late-onset Alzheimer's and the role of the endocytic pathway

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Tina Cottrell

Centre Manager, UK DRI at Cardiff

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Dr Nikoleta Daskoulidou

Postdoctoral Researcher

Investigating how complement contributes to Alzheimer's disease development

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Prof Vincent Dion

Group Leader

UK DRI at Cardiff

Developing new treatments to stop the progression of expanded repeat disorders

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Prof Valentina Escott-Price

Group Leader & Research Division Lead

UK DRI at Cardiff

Using Big Data, machine learning and AI to accelerate discoveries into dementia

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Dr Gareth Fenn

Postdoctoral Researcher

Therapereutic development targeting the complement system in dementia

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Hannah Fox

Project Officer

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Dr Hazel Hall-Roberts

Postdoctoral Researcher

Understanding the cellular consequences of Alzheimer's disease genetic risk

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Rachel Hills

Postdoctoral Researcher

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Prof Peter Holmans

UK DRI Affiliate Member - Cardiff

Professor, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University

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Prof Baljit S. Khakh

Centre Director & Research Division Lead

Unlocking understanding of astrocyte biology and neuronal interactions

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Maris Lelos

Dr Mariah Lelos

UK DRI Affiliate Member - Cardiff

Co-director of the Brain Repair Group and Deputy Head of the Neuroscience Division, Cardiff University

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Dr Tom Massey

Group Leader

UK DRI at Cardiff

Using recent genetic discoveries to develop new drug targets for Huntington's disease

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Georgina Menzies, female with shoulder length wavy dark blonde hair and glasses

Dr Georgina Menzies

UK DRI Affiliate Member - Cardiff

Lecturer, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University

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Dr Jimena Monzon Sandoval

Bioinformatician

Aiming to better understand molecular mechanisms driving altered gene expression and pathway dysregulation through transcriptomic analyses in disease models, aiding the identification of therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

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Prof Paul Morgan

Interim Centre Director

UK DRI at Cardiff

Investigating exactly how key immune proteins contribute to Alzheimer's disease development

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Prof Valerie O'Donnell

UK DRI Affiliate Member - Cardiff

Professor of lipid biochemistry, Cardiff University

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Cerri Pay

Senior Administrator

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Owen Peters

Dr Owen Peters

UK DRI Affiliate Member - Cardiff

Lecturer in Dementia Research, Cardiff University

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Alexey Shatunov

Research Associate (Bioinformatician)

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Gaynor Smith, female with long blonde hair

Dr Gaynor Smith

UK DRI Affiliate Member - Cardiff

Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University

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Matthew Summers

Research Associate (Bioinformatician)

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Prof Phil Taylor

Group Leader

UK DRI at Cardiff

Working to understand how rare coding variants that alter disease risk impact the behaviour of microglia for targeting in Alzheimer's disease

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Dr Lewis Watkins

Postdoctoral Researcher

Identifying complement biomarkers in frontotemporal dementia

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Prof Caleb Webber

Director of Data Science & Group Leader

UK DRI at Cardiff

Combining state-of-the-art stem cell models with bioinformatics techniques to boost our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease

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Prof Julie Williams

Group Leader

UK DRI at Cardiff

Understanding the genetics of Alzheimer's disease

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Dr Wioleta Zelek

Group Leader

UK DRI at Cardiff

Targeting novel anti-complement drugs to the brain for therapy of dementia

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He Zhao

PhD Student

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Scientific focus

Read about the scientific focus of the UK DRI at Cardiff

Research at the UK DRI at Cardiff
Neurons and microglia