The Institute provides a key training resource and centre of specialist expertise in the biology and medicine of prion diseases and supports the development of neurodegenerative disease research more widely. The Institute has many local, national, European and other international links and collaborations in prion and other neurodegenerative disease research, and provides an authoritative independent source of advice and opinion in what continues to be an area of major scientific, public health, animal health, political and economic importance.

Funders MRC (Medical Research Council) NIHR | National Institute for Health Research NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) University College London Hospital Charity / The Cure CJD Campaign  CHDI Foundation Alzheimer's Society  Alzheimer Research UK Medical Research Foundation Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) Foundation  CJD Support Network Economic and Social Research Council

CollaboratorsBirkbeck college  Brigham & Women's Hospital / Harvard Medical school  Cardiff University - Gerad Consortium  RIKEN  Technical University of Munich  US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service  University of Bristol  University of Exeter 

Commercial

  • D-Gen Ltd is an academic spin-out company launched from Imperial College in May 2000, shortly after the establishment of the MRC Prion Unit. The academic founders (including Professor John Collinge and Drs Graham Jackson and Jonathan Wadsworth) are continuing their research careers within the MRC Prion Unit at UCL. D-Gen Ltd’s business strategy is to develop and market preventions, diagnostics and treatments for prion diseases and other neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease. D-Gen owns significant intellectual property for use in applications in these fields, including diagnostic tests and potential therapeutics. The shareholders include Imperial College, UCL, The University of Bristol, the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the scientific founders.