Research in the UK DRI Centre at Imperial focusses on 'The Environment and the Exposome'.
The exposome can be defined as all the environmental and occupational exposures that an individual experiences in their lifetime, and how those exposures relate to health. An individual's exposure begins before they are born and includes both external and internal factors.
Our researchers are seeking to understand how these components impact neurodegeneration and dementia.

Read more about our research programmes:

How temperature and circadian rhythms intersect to regulate a protein shown to protect against neurodegeneration

A new study led by Dr Marco Brancaccio (UK DRI at Imperial) and Dr Marieke Hoekstra (former UK DRI at Imperial, now VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research) offers a deeper insight into how a neuroprotective pathway is regulated both by temperature and the body clock. This research, published in the journal PNAS, could open up new therapeutic avenues for neurodegenerative disease. Read more on the UK DRI website

Introducing Cynthia Sandor: Pioneering earlier detection of Parkinson’s

Dr Cynthia Sandor, former Emerging Leader at the UK DRI at Cardiff, joins the UK DRI at Imperial as a Group Leader, where she will be tackling early diagnosis of Parkinson’s. 

With a background in genetics, Dr Sandor uses computational methods to bring greater understanding to the underlying molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s. Read more about Cynthia's work on the UK DRI website.

UK DRI