Current research

Pilot projects

Innovative projects to that could lead to new avenues of research and new ways to tackle dementia.

• Vitamin D and Alzheimer’s disease

  Prof David Smith and his team at the University of Oxford are investigating whether Alzheimer's patients have low vitamin D levels.

• Searching for Alzheimer’s treatment targets

  Three groups at University College London (UCL) are joining forces with colleagues in Sweden to identify new treatment targets for Alzheimer’s disease.

• Using fruit flies to investigate the link between age and Alzheimer’s

  Dr Maria Giannakou is investigating ageing and its link to Alzheimer’s disease

• Hunting for new ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

  Dr James Dear and his team are searching for ‘markers’ of Alzheimer’s disease. If successful, their work could lead to a new test to diagnose Alzheimer’s.

• Measuring blood flow in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease

  Prof Seth Love wants to find out which proteins and chemicals affect blood vessels in the brain.

• Measuring ‘tau tangles’ in Alzheimer’s

  Dr Malcolm Ward at King's College London will create a test that measures ‘tau tangles’ in cerebo-spinal fluid (CSF), and eventually blood.

• Dementia with Lewy Bodies

  Dr Oleg Anichtchik at the University of Cambridge is studying dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB).

• Diagnosing Alzheimer's early

  Researchers at the University of Cambridge led by Professor Carol Brayne aim to improve the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

• Investigating two Alzheimer's proteins

  Professor Jean Manson and her team are studying the link between two proteins - amyloid and prion.

• Using stem cells to study dementia

  Dr Michael Coleman at Aston University is using stem cells to study the toxic amyloid protein