Double grant success for Horsburgh group

Congratulations to Prof. Karen Horsburgh who has been awarded two major research grants to study cerebral vascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

The research grants, totalling  over £880,000, will fund studies aimed at improving the understanding of cerebral vascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. In both of these diseases the blood supply to the brain is disrupted which may lead to degenerative changes and cognitive impairment.

“Recent research has highlighted the brain’s blood supply and the immune system as a key players in the development of certain forms of dementia. With this new funding we aim to better understand how these two systems could be interacting to drive damage to the brain in the two most common causes of dementia and whether blocking the activation of the immune cells could help to stop this damage. “We are thrilled to have secured this funding, there is still much we need to learn about the basic biology of diseases like Alzheimer’s in order to understand how to treat them, and the knowledge we gain from our research should inform clinical trials for much-needed new treatments.”

In a project funded by the Alzheimer’s Society, the effect of reduced blood supply on the  neurovascular unit  will be investigated with a particular emphasis on the role of NADPH oxidase. In a second project funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK, the effect of reduced blood flow on microglial proliferation and neuroinflammation will be investigated. 

This work will be conducted  in collaboration  with  Prof.Ajay Shah (Kings College London),  Dr.Barry McColl, Dr. Adriana Tavares (University of Edinburgh) and Prof. Raj Kalaria (University of Newcastle).   

Further information

Prof Karen Horsburgh's staff profile

Information about the Alzheimer's Society project

Information about the Alzheimers Research UK project