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Celebrating UCL's pioneering brain research during Brain Awareness Week
10 March 2025
Brain Awareness Week is the global campaign to foster enthusiasm and support for brain science. From mental health to neurodegenerative diseases, from AI-driven diagnostics to new treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders, UCL is at the forefront of innovation and discovery.
UCL has worked at the frontiers of brain science for over three decades. Our research and expertise span the full spectrum from discovery science through to the evaluation of health and social care.
Brain Awareness Week is an opportunity to let people know about the pace of progress in brain research at UCL and this year we are focusing on six themes: mental health, neurodegenerative disorders, neurological conditions, AI and diagnostics, sensory systems and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Harnessing interdisciplinary expertise to address mental health challenges
In the UK alone, it’s estimated about one in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point each year. UCL’s Grand Challenge of Mental Health & Wellbeing aims to become a beacon for improvements in mental health and wellbeing through transformative cross-disciplinary research, practice and partnerships for prevention and early intervention. Professor Essi Viding, Pro-Vice Provost Mental Health & Wellbeing speaks to us about the importance of interdisciplinary research for advancing our understanding of mental health disorders and how to treat them.
Tackling the global challenge of neurodegenerative diseases
In the UK, over one million people are living with a neurodegenerative disease, such as such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, motor neuron disease and multiple sclerosis. During Brain Awareness Week 2025, we highlight some of the pioneering work going on in this area at UCL.
We speak to researchers at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the Francis Crick Institute, who have been working on a new gene therapy which has the potential to treat motor neuron disease in the future.
Pioneering new treatments for neurological conditions
At UCL, new treatments are also being developed for neurological conditions, such as stroke, epilepsy and brain injury. We speak to Professor Gabriele Lignani (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) who was recently awarded £7.7 million to lead an international team to develop a new gene therapy for neuropsychiatric disorders, including dementia, epilepsy and schizophrenia.
Using AI to detect and diagnose brain disorders
It was in a major speech at UCL earlier this year that Prime Minster, Sir Keir Starmer, announced a new plan for artificial intelligence (AI) to boost growth and living standards and revolutionise public services. During this visit, he spoke to UCL researchers about how their work is influencing many areas of health.
During Brain Awareness Week 2025, we speak to Dr James Ruffle (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology), who is developing AI technologies with the potential to revolutionise brain cancer care. And to Dr Arman Eshaghi, who is developing a suite of AI tools for multiple sclerosis to help predict how symptoms may change, when they may worsen, and which drugs are likely to help.
From helping researchers analyse large datasets and improve prediction, to offering new avenues of therapeutic treatment, AI is also having a big impact on mental health. Professor Argyris Stringaris, Pro-Vice Provost Mental Health & Wellbeing shares more about AI’s potential to shape the future of mental health diagnosis and treatment and some of the challenges that we might face.
Decoding brain health through sensory systems
AI is also being used in the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology to investigate how the eye's retinal tissue can help diagnose dementia and stroke. And collaborative work with Moorefields Eye Hospital on the the AlzEye study is using AI to detect Parkinson’s Disease in retinal biomarkers up to seven years before diagnosis.
Technology is having an impact in audiological sciences and during Brain Awareness Week, we speak to Dr Lucy Handsomb, whose MindEar app may help people living with tinnitus to change their relationship with the condition and avoid negative thinking.
Revolutionising care for those with neurodevelopmental disorders
Neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), dyslexia and global intellectual disability (ID) can impact people throughout life. During Brain Awareness Week, we speak to Dr Rebecca Gordon (UCL Faculty of Education and Society) about how dyslexia can affect executive function and the impactions for school and work life. We also speak to Dr Elizabeth O’Nions and Professor Joshua Stott (UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences) about the impact of ADHD on life expectancy.