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TEAMS

Collaborative science moves faster.

Dementia is not a single disease with a single cause. It involves genetics, inflammation, vascular health, immune response, imaging, data science and clinical care. No single researcher or discipline can tackle all of it alone.

Race Against Dementia supports teams designed for this complexity – bringing scientists, clinicians, engineers and data specialists together to answer questions no single discipline can answer alone.

The strongest ideas often emerge in the overlaps.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH

Our teams programme awards up to £750,000 over five years to back long-term, collaborative research.

Projects range from early laboratory research through to clinical studies, including new ways to diagnose, prevent and treat disease, and understanding how it develops.

Current research areas include:

  • Detecting Alzheimer’s-related changes before symptoms appear
  • Testing focused ultrasound in Lewy body dementia
  • Exploring links between air pollution and brain inflammation
  • Investigating protein interactions in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
  • Expanding treatment options for vascular dementia
  • Running clinical trials in frontotemporal dementia

The programme is delivered with the support of Rosetrees – a UK private medical charity and expert funding partner.

TEAMS IN ACTION

Team Vascular

Based at the University of Edinburgh, Team Vascular focuses on vascular dementia – one of the most common but under-researched forms of dementia. The team is investigating how damage to small blood vessels in the brain contributes to cognitive decline, while testing potential treatments for patients often excluded from clinical trials.

Team Rapid

Based at University College London and the Francis Crick Institute, Team Rapid is investigating how air pollution may contribute to dementia through inflammation and damage within the brain. The research brings together neuroscience, immunology and environmental science to explore an area that remains poorly understood despite growing evidence of risk.

Team FTD

Based at the University of Cambridge, Team FTD runs clinical trials for frontotemporal dementia and related disorders, testing potential treatments for symptoms that currently have few effective options. It combines expertise in neurology, psychiatry and clinical research to tackle conditions that remain difficult to diagnose and treat.

KEEPING GOOD TEAMS TOGETHER

Strong research teams take time to build.

Expertise accumulates. Trust develops. Methods improve through shared experience.

Just like in Formula 1.

One of the risks in dementia research is fragmentation – promising work losing momentum between funding cycles or collaborations ending too soon.

Race Against Dementia backs teams with the continuity needed for strong research to mature.

INTERESTED IN APPLYING FOR FUNDING?

Find out more about our open funding programmes and how to apply.
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