Dementia theme board member named as Alzheimer’s Research UK Chief Medical Officer
18 December 2019
Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) has appointed BRC dementia theme board member Jonathan Schott as the charity’s first ever Chief Medical Officer (CMO).
Professor Schott will support and shape ongoing research, policy, advocacy and strategy work in the part-time role to help deliver life-changing dementia research.
He will continue in his current roles as Professor of Neurology at the UCL Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and as an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square.
His time in the NHS is spent running a busy cognitive disorders service with an emphasis on young onset and unusual dementias.
Professor Schott’s research focuses on how clinical assessment, brain imaging, and markers of disease can be combined to help spot the early signs of diseases like Alzheimer’s in the brain before dementia symptoms show.
Professor Schott said: “I am honoured to take up the position and have the opportunity to work with an inspiring group of people, who are committed, as I am, to undertake research to help those affected by, and at risk of, dementia.
“I hope that my experience as a clinician seeing patients with a range of dementias and as a researcher leading large patient-focussed studies, will allow me to help deliver further success for the charity, its supporters and those affected by dementia.”
ARUK Chief Executive Ian Wilson said: “Prof Schott’s expertise in clinical research, patient insight and ongoing policy work is hugely valuable and will be key in ensuring our research strategy has the greatest possible impact on the lives of people living with dementia.”