Welcome

Dementia is the biggest health challenge of the century – currently affecting fifty million people worldwide, projected to triple by 2050, with huge financial, emotional and social impact on people directly affected, their carers, families and the community.

Dementia is a symptom of several neurodegenerative disorders, with Alzheimer’s disease accounting for about 60% of cases. To date there is no way to prevent it or even slow its progression, and there is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap in our basic understanding of these diseases.

The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is a joint £290 million investment by the Medical Research Council, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK. Its mission is to drive a step change in the understanding of neurodegeneration, and to accelerate the discovery, development and delivery of interventions that will help diagnose, treat and ultimately prevent dementia.

UK DRI currently have around 60 Group Leaders and 550 researchers, and over the next five years we expect to grow to over 70 Group Leaders and 700 researchers. Its world-leading scientists focus on every aspect of dementia, developing new technologies and approaches for diagnosis, treatment, care and prevention.

The headquarters team is based at UCL and works across all six UK DRI host institutions. Collectively, the HQ team is responsible for making the distributed UK DRI community function as a single institute, with a shared culture of intensely collaborative research, common policies on hiring, communications, capital investments, finances and other operational activities, a single tech transfer programme, and shared external collaborations.

UK DRI HQ comprises a growing team of staff who bring a range of expertise to support the work of the seven centres, with specialisms in Business & Innovation, Communications, Finance, Human Resources and Scientific Affairs. The team works closely with Centre Managers across the institute to collaborate, share ideas and provide expert advice.