Develop

Brain research is finally at a tipping point thanks to years of painstaking research: in the next ten years the UK DRI will help drive the translation of these discoveries into new treatments and diagnostics. 

To ensure that our work has maximum benefit on people’s brain health as we age, we work closely with other researchers, Medical Research Council (MRC) Institutes, people with lived experience of dementia and related neurodegenerative conditions, charities, the pharmaceutical industry, the NHS and regulators. We have ambitious plans that need investment, which we will use to build new companies to scale our innovations. Through this work, we will bring investment and create jobs within the UK life sciences sector.

Right now, we are developing simple, scalable tests – such as a blood test at your GP or even a finger-prick blood test at home – to spot “red flags” that signal brain changes perhaps years before symptoms appear, opening the door for trying to prevent onset - see UK DRI Biomarker Factory.

We are also designing new tools to help match the right treatments to the right people, as well as digital tools to monitor disease progression and measure the impact of emerging treatments at home.

At the same time, to test the new medicines that are being developed, we are developing new ways to run clinical trials that will increasingly be done in people’s homes, delivered and powered by digital innovation. 

Find out more about translation and innovation at the UK DRI