Centre Director for BHF-UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia Research
UK Dementia Research Institute
Full time, professorial appointment
Five year start-up package funded by the UK DRI and BHF, with opportunity to extend
Dementia is the greatest health challenge of our century.
To date there is no way to prevent it or even slow its progression, and there is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap in our basic understanding of the diseases that cause it.
The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is the biggest UK initiative driving forward research to fill this gap.
We are a globally leading multidisciplinary research institute of 900+ staff investigating the spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders causing dementia, with laboratory-based research groups located at University College London, the University of Cambridge, Cardiff University, University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London and King’s College London.
In partnership with the British Heart Foundation, UK DRI will establish a new research centre: the “BHF – UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia Research” (CVDR). The CVDR will provide a critical mass, visibility and long-term commitment to this important area of research. The CVDR will adopt a distributed, network structure.
We are looking to appoint an outstanding scientist and visionary leader to the role of the Centre Director for the CVDR. The Centre Director will work with the UK DRI leadership to develop and implement an Institute-wide, highly collaborative, vascular dementia research vision and strategy. The successful candidate will bring an outstanding international reputation in a related research field and exceptional leadership and management experience.
The successful applicant will be based at one of the UK DRI’s host universities, which is to be determined by the applicant during the selection process.
Already working at the level of academic distinction that the UK DRI would expect of a substantive Professor, you will have a proven track record as an internationally recognised researcher in vascular research with commensurate publications.
For further details relating to the role please refer to the job description and person specification document.
Applicants are asked to send the following documents to UK DRI Office Coordinator Caroline Hurley (caroline.hurley@ukdri.ucl.ac.uk), 9am GMT on 15 January 2024:
• A cover letter that explains your motivation for joining the UK DRI and for leading the CVDR.
• A description of your vision for the CVDR, including science priorities, research themes that you and the CVDR’s other Group Leaders will pursue. Also describe your past and future (next 5 years) research plan, the optimum university host for your research programme, and the other institutions that might host subsequent Group Leaders. 6 pages maximum including references and all material.
• A full curriculum vitae and details of three referees.
Please include your surname followed by ‘CVDR Director recruitment’ in the subject line.
Prospective applicants should contact Professor Giles Hardingham (Giles.Hardingham@ed.ac.uk), who led on the establishment of the BHF-UK DRI partnership in the first instance for an informal and confidential discussion.
Image credit: Dr Axel Montagne
