The UK Dementia Research Institute is the single biggest initiative in dementia research ever launched in the UK and thanks to you, we’re proud to be part of it.
The UK DRI is a landmark investment in dementia research, which brings together government and charity funding to transform treatment and care for people with all forms of dementia. First announced in 2015, work is now underway at the UK DRI where teams of talented scientists are driving progress in a range of innovative scientific programmes and providing a vital boost research efforts in dementia.
As a founding funder, we joined forces with the Medical Research Council and Alzheimer’s Society to make a long-term investment in the UK DRI, to support the people and ideas that will inspire our search for the first life-changing treatments for dementia.
What is the UK DRI?
The UK DRI is an Institute made up of one hub and six centres across the UK, all working towards a shared vision of changing the outlook for people with dementia. Once at full strength, the UK DRI will be home to over 700 researchers from a range of disciplines.
With your help, we’ve already doubled the number of dementia researchers in the UK since 2008, but they’re still outnumbered. For every one dementia researcher, four work on cancer.
The UK DRI is a fantastic opportunity to attract talented researchers to work on this important health condition.
What research is happening there?
The UK DRI aims to build a solid base of discovery science, feeding its discoveries into existing initiatives like our Drug Discovery Alliance to ensure they’re fast-tracked towards benefits for people with dementia and their family as soon as possible.
There are over 50 innovative programmes happening across the hub plus six UK DRI centres, each tackling dementia from a different angle – from molecular biology to brain imaging.
UK DRI scientists will be driving forward research into areas including:
- The genetics underpinning dementia
- The transport of proteins, how they behave and how they go wrong in dementia.
- The role of the brain’s immune system.
Just as w
e realised that a whole range of factors is responsible for how cancers occur and progress in an individual, we now need to take a more holistic view of dementia. We have a huge amount of discovery science to do – and I want to see real surprises."
Prof Bart De Strooper, Director, UK DRI
How can I support the UK DRI?
Alzheimer’s Research UK has made a £50m commitment to support the UK DRI and this is only possible through your donations.
If you would like to support research in the UK DRI by donating to Alzheimer’s Research UK, click here.
