Experts at the University of Nottingham will be part of a new Doctoral Training Centre (DTC), which has been funded by a multi-million-pound investment from Alzheimer's Society.
The charity will be investing just under £3.2million into the new centre, which will be led by Professor John-Paul Taylor from Newcastle University, and will support and nurture dementia researchers at the start of their career.
Currently only one in five dementia PhD students go on to stay in dementia research often due to underfunding and the challenging nature of academic careers.
The DTC will focus on Lewy body dementia (LBD) – a move which is essential to progressing much-needed dementia research. Lewy body dementia is one of the most common forms of dementia with very challenging symptoms for the individual with the condition and for their loved ones, and yet it is not well understood. The Centre will focus on understanding underlying causes of the condition, develop technology to track its progression, improve its diagnosis and care, as well as support the design of clinical trials.
The University of Nottingham will have five funded PhD studentships through the Centre. Dr Helen Miranda Knight from the School of Life Sciences and Dr Anto Praveen Rajkumar Rajamani from the School of Medicine will lead the Nottingham arm of the Centre.
The DTC for Lewy body dementia is a great opportunity to form interdisciplinary and collaborative networks between LBD scientists and to train the next generation of LBD researchers. The University of Nottingham is delighted to be part of this exciting programme aimed to drive a better understanding, and treatment, of Lewy body dementia disorders."
Professor Tom Rodden, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research and Knowledge Exchange, at the University of Nottingham, said: "Congratulations to Dr Knight and Dr Rajamani and their teams on this significant funding. There is an urgent need to progress dementia research and training the next generation of researchers to do this is vital. It is fantastic that Nottingham can play such a significant role in this important DTC."
The recent news of potential new treatments in dementia highlights again that researchers taking their first steps into the field will be the dementia research leaders of the future. They are critical to maintaining the momentum to end the devastation caused by the condition.
Alzheimer's Society will be investing a total of £9 million into funding three new DTCs around the country and the centres will support nearly 90 students over five years to enter dementia research.They will focus on building knowledge and understanding in areas that have been particularly underfunded. This includes understanding how changes to blood vessels and our immune systems contribute to dementia, Lewy body dementia and Integrated Care.
Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer at Alzheimer's Society, said: "Dementia is the biggest health and social care issue of our time. By 2040, 1.4 million people will be living with the condition in the UK. And yet a worrying number of dementia researchers leave the field after finishing their PhDs, so a catastrophic amount of talent and expertise is being lost.
"This is a significant investment that aims to urgently attract and nurture a new, bold and ambitious generation of researchers so we can ramp up the speed and progress of life-changing breakthroughs so desperately needed for people living with this devastating condition."
