Doctoral Training Centre for Lewy body dementia

Lead researcher: Professor John-Paul Taylor, Newcastle University

Collaborating institutions: University College London, University of Exeter, University of Southampton, University of Nottingham, Newcastle University, King’s College London

Awarded: £3,172,928.66

Start date: January 2025

End date: August 2032 

With the support of Alzheimer’s Society our Doctoral Training Centre presents a huge opportunity to develop a critical mass of highly motivated researchers united around our mission to improve the lives of people living with Lewy Body dementia and related conditions. 

- Professor John-Paul Taylor 

About the Centre’s research focus

There are two types of Lewy body dementia (LBD): dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease dementia. Lewy body dementia is caused by Lewy body disease, where there is an abnormal build-up of proteins which form structures inside brain cells called ‘Lewy bodies’.

LBD can cause a wide range of symptoms that can be distressing. These include seeing things that are not there (visual hallucinations), depression, anxiety, delusions (fixed beliefs which are not true), episodes of confusion, sleep difficulties, slow movements, and falls. These symptoms can have a huge impact on people’s quality of life, as well as the lives of their families.

LBD is not well-understood and not widely researched. We also currently lack good ways to diagnose this type of dementia, and there are no treatments available. Unfortunately, the research community in this field is also small, and the researchers are not well connected, which slows down the progress towards breakthroughs.

The Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre for Lewy body dementia aims to bring together experts from UK’s world-leading LBD research centres. These experts will work together to tackle Lewy body dementia and train the next generation of researchers in this field.

The work of this Doctoral Training Centre will be all-encompassing. The researchers will be looking at understanding the causes of Lewy body dementia, as well as potential new treatment options in a laboratory-based setting. Importantly, the researchers will also focus on people who are currently living with, and are affected by, Lewy body dementia, by conducting community-based studies to improve care, and to find real-world solutions to the challenges people are facing now.

The Doctoral Training Centre will fund a total of 20 early career projects across 8 years, which will focus on Lewy body dementia.

This DTC includes supervisors from a wide range of backgrounds. We have, for example, lab-based scientists, through to clinicians, allied health care professionals, statisticians and epidemiologists. By bringing together experts from various fields who will work with and support our students, we’ll generate new ideas and diverse approaches that can accelerate discoveries and translate into real-world healthcare improvements for people living with dementia.

- Professor John-Paul Taylor