January 2012
Examining UK dementia research capacity and outlining opportunities to improve support for scientists.
Our Defeating Dementia report aims to understand in more detail the number of researchers working on dementia in the UK, and examines our ability to capitalise on our research strengths and take new discoveries forward.
Defeating Dementia
Combining an analysis of research publications and in-depth interviews with UK-based researchers working on dementia, the report shows:
- The number of UK dementia researchers is low compared to other disease areas. For every one dementia researcher, six work on cancer.
- Despite this, the UK is global leader in the field, with world-class research outstripping the country’s investment and research capacity.
- UK dementia researchers face multiple barriers including insufficient funding, restricted career opportunities, a lack of multidisciplinary research and a need for more research into the diseases that cause dementia.
The report outlines several recommendations aimed at boosting capacity, and calls for a long-term view on dementia research with sustained investment and a cohesive national dementia research strategy.
This analysis was repeated in 2017, with results published in our report Keeping Pace: progress in dementia research capacity.
This report was published in 2012
