Dementia Support Line
Current research projects
Our research aims to understand the underlying causes of dementia, advance dementia diagnosis, improve care, and search for a cure.
Research will beat dementia and will lead to improved diagnosis, effective treatments and the high-quality care that everyone living with dementia deserves.
Here you can find out about a selection of the many research projects that we are funding. Discover more about our researchers' work and how it will impact people affected by dementia across our four research themes:
Improving care
By 2040, there will be 1.4 million people living with dementia in the UK, all of whom deserve the very best care.
Care research is focused on improving support for people living with dementia today, as well as those who will be diagnosed in the years to come.
Here are our latest research projects:
Advancing diagnosis
The earlier people with dementia receive their diagnosis, the sooner they can access treatments and support. Current tools for diagnosis are very invasive, expensive, and not specific enough to detect the diseases that are causing dementia.
We are funding diagnosis research which aims to improve how accurately and how early we detect dementia.
Here are our latest research projects:
Developing a new device for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease within minutes
Lead Investigator: Dr Steven Quinn
Institution: University of York
Grant type: Alzheimer’s Society Project Grant
Awarded: 2022/23
Developing faster, cheaper, and higher quality brain scans for dementia diagnosis
Lead Investigator: Professor Geoff Parker
Institution: University College London
Grant type: Alzheimer’s Society Project Grant
Awarded: 2022/23
Can we use small molecules in blood to diagnose vascular dementia?
Lead Investigator: Dr Eric Harshfield
Institution: University of Cambridge
Grant type: Alzheimer’s Society Research Fellowship
Awarded: 2022/23
Can studying eye changes in people with Down's syndrome help identify those at a higher risk of Alzheimer's?
Lead Investigator: Dr Imre Lengyel
Institution: Queen’s University Belfast
Grant type: Alzheimer’s Society Project Grant
Awarded: 2021/22
Can we predict Alzheimer’s disease and its risk factors from the proteins found in the blood?
Lead Investigator: Dr Riccardo Marioni
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Grant type: Project
Awarded: 2020/21
Spotting the early signs of inherited forms of frontotemporal dementia
Lead Investigator: Dr Martina Bocchetta
Institution: University College London
Grant type: Junior Fellowship
Awarded: 2019/20
Understanding the causes
Dementia is an incredibly complicated condition. Alzheimer’s Society is funding various research projects focused on improving our understanding on the causes, ranging from examining waste disposal mechanisms in brain cells, to investigating the impact of the disease on internal structures of the brain.
Here are our latest research projects:
Arterial ion channel dysfunction in dementia.
Read the research project summary
Lead Investigator: Dr Harry Pritchard
Institution: University of Manchester
Grant type: Dementia Research Leader Fellowship
Awarded: 2023/24
Does Cellular Depletion of Conditionally Essential Amino Acids by Dipeptide Repeats Underpin Neurodegeneration in C9Orf72 related Frontotemporal Dementia?
Read the research project summary
Lead Investigator: Dr Ryan West
Institution: University of Sheffield
Grant type: Project Grant
Awarded: 2023/24
Can we target the brain’s immune system as a potential therapy for frontotemporal dementia?
Lead Investigator: Dr Sarah Ryan
Institution: University of Manchester
Grant type: Dementia Research Leader Fellowship
Awarded: 2022/23
Understanding how tau protein jumps between nerve cells in the brain
Lead Investigator: Professor Amritpal Mudher
Institution: University of Southampton
Grant type: Project Grant
Awarded: 2021/22
Exploring the waste disposal system in brain cells and what it means for Alzheimer’s disease and Frontotemporal dementia
Lead Investigator: Dr Gemma Lace
Institution: University of Salford
Grant type: PhD
Awarded: 2020/21
Predicting when mild cognitive impairment progresses to dementia in the clinic
Lead investigator: Professor Karl Herholz
Institution: University of Manchester
Grant type: Project grant
Awarded: 2019/20
Searching for a cure
Treatment options for people living with dementia are incredibly limited, and to date there is no cure for any type of dementia.
In order to develop new medications for dementia, researchers must first identify the impact of the disease. We're funding research which aims to identify affects and target them with new drugs or treatments.
Here are our latest research projects:
NOTEPAD: NOvel Trial Endpoints for Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease
Read the research project summary
Lead Investigator: Dr David Cash
Institution: University College London
Grant type: Dementia Research Leader Fellowship
Awarded: 2024/25
We're proud to be funding several more projects which are looking for cures to dementia.
Can a cancer drug prevent memory loss in Alzheimer's disease?
Lead Investigator: Dr Peter Giese
Institution: Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience - King's College London
Grant type: Project Grant
Awarded: 2021/22
Designing drugs to stop overactive immune system in Alzheimer’s disease
Lead Investigator: Dr Wioleta Zelek
Institution: Cardiff University
Grant type: PhD Studentship
Awarded: 2021/22
Can a man-made enzyme trapped in gold particles become a new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease?
Lead Investigator: Dr Hui-Rong Jiang
Institution: University of Strathclyde
Grant type: PhD Studentship
Awarded: 2021/22
Using Conversation Analysis to inform evidence-based recommendations for mealtime practice for care home-based staff working with people living with a diagnosis of dementia.
Read the research project summary
Lead Investigator: Rosey Meiring
Institution: Hywel Dda University Health Board
Grant type: Alzheimer’s Society Clinician and Healthcare Professional Training Fellowship
Awarded: 2023/24
Exploring the potential of situational judgement tests for attracting and recruiting care home staff suited to caring for people with dementia.
Read the research project summary
Lead Investigator: Dr Kirsty Haunch
Institution: University of Leeds
Grant type: Career Development Grant
Awarded: 2023/24
We're proud to be funding several more projects which are looking for opportunities to improve dementia care.
Using at-home sleep technology to monitor Alzheimer's disease treatments
Lead Investigator: Dr Magdalena Jones
Institution: Imperial College London
Grant type: Clinician and Healthcare Professional Training Fellowship
Awarded: 2022/23
Improving personalized care planning for people with dementia and carers
Lead Investigator: Dr Sarah Griffiths
Institution: University College London
Grant type: Fellowships and Career Development Grants
Awarded: 2022/23
Using movement and music to deliver enjoyable experiences for people living with dementia and their carers
Lead Investigator: Professor Nicola Carey
Institution: University of Highlands and Islands
Grant type: PhD Studentship
Awarded: 2021/22
Improving driving safety assessments for people with dementia
Lead Investigator: Dr Paul Donaghy
Institution: Newcastle University
Grant type: PhD Studentship
Awarded: 2019/20