Research

The UK DRI at Cardiff is the biggest investment Wales has made in neurodegenerative disease research to date.

The challenge

The Centre brings together scientists from a range of research backgrounds, with expertise in genetics, immunology, computational analytics, synaptic function and DNA repair. The highly collaborative team bring fresh ideas and perspectives, and are working together to discover new disease mechanisms, identify drug targets, and ultimately deliver new treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Working towards solutions

The Centre has four overarching research themes:

• genetics
• computational biology
• immunity
• DNA repair

The Centre integrates diverse national and international digital data resources, focusing on genetics, electronic healthcare records, and clinical study data. By harnessing machine learning techniques and federated learning technology, we aim to transform healthcare data into actionable insights, enhancing both clinical decision-making and research capabilities. The work of the Centre bridges from underpinning molecular mechanisms through preclinical models to human disease, with researchers focussed on discovery of disease mechanisms, identification of novel therapeutic targets and ultimately creating new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases.

Our researchers are working to understand the contribution the immune system plays in Alzheimer’s disease through genetic studies of microglia and the complement system, producing novel disease models based on genetic risk, new biomarkers to diagnose disease at an earlier stage and novel approaches to treatment by targeting complement and inflammation.

In Parkinson’s disease, our researchers are combining data science, genetics and computational biology with cellular pathology, electrophysiology for assessment of circuit and synaptic biology, cohorts of early disease and modelling to pinpoint disease mechanisms.

Our team are utilising DNA repair mechanisms, genetics and DNA modifying techniques to better understand and treat Huntington’s disease and other DNA repeat disorders.

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