Current research

Major programmes

Making major advances in research, our programme grants offer funding of up to £1million for projects lasting 2-5 years.

• Could diabetes drugs help Alzheimer’s patients?

  Dr Calum Sutherland from the University of Dundee is studying the links between Alzheimer’s and diabetes. He aims to find out if drugs commonly prescribed to people with diabetes could also help Alzheimer’s patients.

• Uncovering early changes to brain cells in Alzheimer’s

  This project aims to find out how astrocytes, star shaped cells in the brain that support nerve cells, are affected during Alzheimer’s disease

• Linking Alzheimer’s and vascular disease.

  This project aims to find out if blood flow in the brain can affect how nerve cells function. Specifically, the team in Edinburgh is studying how blood flow affects the way nerve cells communicate with each other.

• Following up patients from the first ever Alzheimer’s vaccine trial

  University of Southampton researchers are investigating the effects of the first vaccine for Alzheimer's.

• Investigating the causes of Alzheimer’s

  Prof Nigel Hooper and his team at the University of Leeds are investigating links between two proteins.

• Unravelling the genetics of Alzheimer’s

  Researchers led by Prof John Hardy at University College London (UCL) aim to sequence every gene in 500 Alzheimer’s patients; a total of 10 million genes.

• Keeping brain cells talking

  Prof Patricia Salinas from UCL is investigating how brain cell communication is altered in Alzheimer’s.

• Aging fruit flies

  Prof Linda Partridge and her team at UCL are using fruit flies to study aging and Alzheimer's.

• Diabetes and Alzheimer's

  Dr Magdalena Sastre at Imperial College London is studying the link between Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes.

• Improving Alzheimer's diagnosis

  Professor David Brooks at Imperial College is using state-of-the-art scanning techniques to look at the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.