Artificial intelligence is opening up exciting new possibilities in dementia research. By analysing huge amounts of data, AI can uncover patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed, helping researchers answer questions that were once impossible to tackle.
That’s why Race Against Dementia and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) launched the AI Innovation Fellowship – bringing together expertise from data science, mathematics and medicine to tackle one of the world’s greatest medical challenges.
Meet Dr Alex Smith, the first researcher to be awarded our AI Innovation Fellowship.
Alex’s research will use AI to analyse fully anonymised medical records from more than 500,000 people living with dementia across the UK. By looking at this vast amount of data, he hopes to uncover patterns that would be impossible to detect using traditional research methods.
These insights could help researchers better understand why dementia develops, how it progresses, and why it affects people differently.
Alex will also develop AI tools that can predict how a person’s condition might change over time and explore how different treatments or interventions could affect their future health. One day, this could help doctors, patients and families make more informed decisions about care, leading to more personalised treatment. This Fellowship is part of our partnership with UK DRI to bring fresh thinking, new technologies and expertise from other fields into dementia research. Together, we’re helping researchers take bold new approaches that have the potential to transform how we understand, diagnose and treat dementia.
“Alex’s move from mathematics into dementia research captures the essence of this partnership – bringing together different disciplines to challenge how research is done.”
Lydia Beaton, CEO of Race Against Dementia
The second round of funding for this AI-focused Fellowship is now open and will close on will open on 21 October 2026, more information is available here.