06 May 2016

Two British charities have teamed up with the Medical Research Council to fund a new research institute for the study of dementia in the United Kingdom. The Dementia Research Institute will receive £150 million from the British government, and £50 million each from the Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK. Expected to be up and running within four years, DRI will fulfill a promise made by Prime Minister David Cameron to establish an international dementia research institute in England by 2020.

According to a U.K. government press release, DRI will consist of a central hub and a network of regional branches that will involve hundreds of scientists. DRI will focus on basic discoveries that could help researchers understand mechanisms behind the development and progression of dementia. It complements the Dementia Discovery Fund announced last year by British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, which aims to invest in new therapeutics. According to gov.uk, major pharmaceutical companies, the British government, and Alzheimer’s Research UK have committed £100 million to this fund.  

For DRI, the MRC has begun a global search for a director to shape and steer the new institute. Applications are due by noon on Monday, June 13, 2016.—Tom Fagan