Why it matters

Sir Simon Lovestone
Professor of Translational Neuroscience, University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry

"Dementia has to be one of the most exciting and important areas of research today. Challenging, certainly, but we are surely on the cusp of major advances and there can be no better area for researchers to launch a career and one that has the potential to impact on huge numbers of people around the world."

Gill Livingstone
Professor of Psychiatry of Older People, University College London Division of Psychiatry

“Dementia is the most important health, social and economic challenge of our time. Now is the time to develop the most talented people in their early career as dementia researchers so they can build on the progress that has begun. These researchers will make a difference to those many people living and dying with dementia and their families and in doing so can transform the future for us all.”


Prof Dr Bart De Strooper
Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute

“We are going to take the early career researchers close to our heart in the Dementia Research Institute: they are the work force and the source of creativity we need for the successful future of dementia research”.

Prof Sebastian Crutch
Neuropsychologist, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology

"Although awareness of the dementias is on the rise, there is still much that researchers and their work can contribute to challenging traditional definitions and common misconceptions. A particularly exciting opportunity is to work not just for but with people living with or caring for someone with a dementia, who so often inspire, train and develop the thinking of creative researchers."

Prof Bob Woods, Professor of Clinical Psychology of Older People, Bangor University

“One of the most exciting developments in dementia research is the engagement of people living with dementia and their family care-givers. Whatever your area of research – from care to cause or cure – their involvement keeps you grounded in the real-life difficulties faced by those affected by the condition and their courage and creative ways of coping never fail to inspire and motivate. We urgently need to increase capacity in my own area of psychosocial research – improving care today and tomorrow is vital for the millions of people living with dementia across the world.” 

Professor Charlotte Clarke, Head of the School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh

Tackling the challenges of dementia in society needs fresh ideas, newly applied theory and innovative methods – and so it needs early career researchers working in research-rich environments that nurture careers.

We are well aware that you probably know more than most about the challenges of dementia, but it is still worth reminding you why a career in research is so important. In the UK:

  • Dementia is now the leading cause of death
  • Every 3 minutes someone develops dementia
  • Over 850,000 people are estimated to be living with dementia
  • 24.6 million people – 38% of the population – know a family member or close friend living with dementia
  • By 2025, it is predicted there will be over 1 million people living with the condition
  • 1 in 3 people born in 2015 will develop dementia in their lifetime
  • Yet, five times fewer researchers work on dementia than on cancer

A full range of dementia statistics are published by Alzheimer's Research UK visit https://www.dementiastatistics.org/

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