The Department has a strong focus on mechanistic dissection of genetic, molecular cellular and neuropathological processes which underlie neurodegeneration in particular diseases and across the neurodegeneration spectrum. A related touchstone of our research is to identify pathophysiological mechanisms and markers that link molecular pathology to clinical phenotypes of neurodegenerative disease. The Department has strong collaborative links with the Dementia Research Institute.
Huntington's Disease Centre
The Huntington’s Disease Centre’s research programme combines sophisticated cell-based systems with rigorously standardised preclinical target validation to prime mechanistically-driven drug developme
Dementia Research Centre
The Dementia Research Centre (DRC) is a hub for translational clinical research in the dementias. Our aim is to improve the diagnosis, management, care and support of patients and families affected by
People
Co-Heads of Department are Professors Nick Fox and Sarah Tabrizi. Our Principal Investigators' highly multidisciplinary and interactive studies span structural, cellular and molecular biology, neuroge
Training and Education
The Department has a strong commitment to educating the next generation of leading neurodegenerative disease researchers, hosting an extensive portfolio of PhD projects supported by a programme of mentorship and pastoral care. Graduate students benefit from a diverse peer network and regular departmental lectures and seminars featuring international leaders in clinical and basic neurodegeneration research.
The Department directs UCL’s MSc course in dementia neuroscience, which reflects our ethos of spanning bench to bedside and offers unique clinical and basic laboratory learning and research opportunities.
For more information see: Dementia: Causes, Treatments and Research (Neuroscience) (MSc)
Sponsors
External organisations that support our research:
- Alzheimer’s Research UK ; Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) ; Brain Research UK ; CHDI Foundation Inc.; Department of Health; European Huntington's Disease Network ; European Commission FP7; GlaxoSmithKline; Motor Neurone Disease Association; Medical Research Council (MRC); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR); The Wellcome Trust; The Wolfson Foundation
News and events
- Major Wellcome Trust award to UCL will drive forward translational research in Huntington’s disease
- Charlie Arber wins the inaugural “Spotlight on Dementia” research image competition from the Alzheimer’s Society.
- MRes Translational Neuroscience award: At the Institute's Annual Address, Sophie Field, who completed an Imaging MRes project within the HD Centre, was awarded a prize for the highest mark for her Dissertation. We are delighted that Sophie has now joined our team to continue her HD work.
- Mica Clarke wins Best 3MT Presentation 2021: Mica won at the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences Three Minute Thesis competition as part of the Postgraduate Research Student Conference this summer.
- 2021 Photomicrography Competition : James Innes received an honorable mention for Human brain tumor cells labeled with lentivirus: using fluorescent based approaches to trace clones in human brain tumour cells to investigate intra-tumour heterogeneity. A process of cell diversification that promotes treatment