Imperial - Alzheimer's Research UK Dementia Symposium

UK DRI and ARUK Network Dementia Symposium

Annual Dementia Symposium

Wednesday, 16 December 2020, 09.30 – 17.30

PROGRAMME

9.30 Welcome – Prof Robert Perneczky and Dr Magdalena Sastre
Imperial College London

9.45 Welcome – Honor Pollard
Alzheimer’s Research UK

10:00 Invited speaker – Prof Karen Duff
(Director, UK DRI at UCL/ Columbia University Medical Center)
Pathogenic Mechanisms in the Tauopathies

IMPERIAL NETWORK SHORT PRESENTATIONS

Basic neuroscience research.

Chair: Dr Marco Brancaccio (Department of Brain Sciences, UK DRI at Imperial)

10.35 Maria Tortora (MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences)
New in vivo models of human axon degeneration in neurodegenerative diseases

10.50. Dr Berta Anuncibay-Soto (Department of Brain Sciences, UK DRI at Imperial)
Unravelling the link between sleep disturbances and dementia

11.05 Nicola Davis (Department of Brain Sciences, Neuroscience)
Exploring the role of astrocytes in an ex vivo model of Alzheimer’s disease

Clinical research.

Chair: Dr Paul Edison (Department of Brain Sciences)

11.20 Dr Adam Hampshire (Department of Brain Sciences, C3NL)
Insights into the cognitive impact of Covid-19 from the Great British Intelligence Test

11.35 Anna Fitzgerald (Department of Brain Sciences, Neurology)
High prevalence of lifetime depressive symptoms in patients referred for clinical amyloid-PET: a retrospective study

11.50 Invited speaker - Prof Henrik Zetterberg
(UK DRI at UCL)
Update on blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease

12.30. LUNCH BREAK

UK DRI SHORT PRESENTATIONS

Chair: Prof Steve Gentleman
(Department of Brain Sciences)

13.30. Prof Paul Matthews (Director, UK DRI at Imperial and Head, Department of Brain Sciences)

13.45. Dr Sarah Marzi (Department of Brain Sciences, Edmond and Lily Safra Research Fellow, UK DRI at Imperial)
Dysregulation of histone acetylation highlights a critical role for microglia in AD.

14.00. Prof David Sharp (Department of Brain Sciences, Director, UK DRI Care Research & Technology Centre)

14.15 Dr Ravi Vaidyanathan (Department of Michanical Engineering, UK DRI Care Research & Technology Centre)
Robotics for Engagement and Support of Dementia Patients

FLASH PRESENTATIONS

Chair: Prof Robert Perneczky
(School of Public Health)

1. Ann Go (Bioengineering)
2. Shivani Patel (Brain Sciences, Neuroscience)
3. Dr Christoforos Hadjichrysanthou (School of Public Health)
4. Dr Mara Golemme (Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust)
5. Dr Chi Udeh-Momoh (School of Public Health)
6. Fangda Leng (Brain Sciences, Neurology)
7. Dr Nurun Fancy (Brain sciences, UK DRI at Imperial)
8. Jiabin Tang (Brain Sciences, UK DRI at Imperial)

INVITED SPEAKERS

Chair: Dr Magdalena Sastre
(Department of Brain Sciences)

15.30. Invited speaker – Prof Costantino Iadecola (Weill Cornell Medicine):
Neurovascular threats to cognitive health: from bench to bedside

16.15. Invited speaker – Dr Cynthia Lemere (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard)
Anti-Amyloid Immunotherapy for AD: A “Focus” on Pyroglutamate-3 Aβ

17.00 Closing remarks - Prof Robert Perneczky

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.

Ageing brain fails to control neuronal activity with consequences for cognition

Age-linked cognitive decline findings from our UK DRI Centre

Ageing brain fails to control neuronal activity with consequences for cognition, according to a study led by Dr Sam Barnes and Dr Carola Radulescu. Read more on the UK DRI website.

Ancient DNA reveals reason for high MS and Alzheimer’s rates in Europe

Groundbreaking study of ancient genes provides brand new biological understanding of debilitating disorders

Researchers have created the world’s largest ancient human gene bank by analysing the bones and teeth of almost 5,000 humans who lived across western Europe and Asia up to 34,000 years ago. By sequencing ancient human DNA and comparing it to modern-day samples, the international team of experts mapped the historical spread of genes – and diseases – over time as populations migrated.

Read more on the University of Cambridge website.

Health Minister visits White City to see pioneering dementia research

The Minister for Health and Secondary Care Andrew Stephenson MP visited the UK Dementia Research Institute at White City.

The new Minister for Health and Secondary Care Andrew Stephenson MP visited Imperial's White City Campus yesterday to see the work of the UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre based at the Sir Michael Uren Hub. The Minister was hosted by Professor Deborah Ashby, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Professor Siddharthan Chandran, Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute. Read more on the Imperial news website.

New non-invasive form of deep brain stimulation could provide alternative treatment for brain diseases

Cutting-edge work led by Imperial PI Dr Nir Grossman makes national press

Scientists from the UK Dementia Research Institute centre at Imperial College London featured on ITV News and in national newspapers. Read more on the Imperial website and the UK DRI website.

Imperial named UK’s best university

Imperial College London is ranked top of a new league table of UK universities.

Imperial has also been named University of the Year in the league table, published by the Daily Mail, and is praised for its "sustained excellence in all areas” alongside its commitment to social inclusion, including generous bursary support.

Read full article.

The UK Dementia Research Institute is a joint £290 million investment from the Medical Research Council (MRC), Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK.