College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine

Funders join forces to tackle dementia

Dementia researchers across the UK are joining forces to find new ways of tackling the condition.

Dementia Research Institute
The director and five associate directors of the new institute. Professor Giles Hardingham from the University of Edinburgh is pictured fourth from the left.

The University of Edinburgh is to join five other institutions to form the UK Dementia Research Institute, a £250m initiative bringing together world-leading expertise and cutting-edge facilities.

The institute is a joint initiative to advance dementia research led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) with founding charity partners, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK.

 

Mission

The new institute has been established in response to the Government’s 2020 Challenge on Dementia. Its mission is to find new ways of diagnosing and treating dementias – a group of neurodegenerative diseases which include Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.

Researchers will identify strategies to help prevent dementia before symptoms appear. They will also investigate new approaches to improve care for people living with the conditions.

Professor Giles Hardingham, Associate Director, UK DRI at the University of Edinburgh said:

“The UK DRI will enable us to join forces to accelerate research into neurodegenerative diseases leading to dementia. Our responsibility to dementia patients and their families, both current and future, is to use this opportunity to find new ways to prevent or slow progression of this devastating group of diseases.”

The institute is head-quartered at University College London with additional centres at the universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge, Cardiff University, Imperial College London and King’s College London.

 

Related links

UK Dementia Research Institute

Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences

Edinburgh Neuroscience

Edinburgh Medical School