On 4 September we were delighted to welcome Stephen Doughty MP, Member of Parliament for Cardiff South and Penarth to the UK DRI at Cardiff to see first-hand the research under way to accelerate understanding and develop diagnostics and treatments for dementia.
Mr Doughty was welcomed by Professor Siddharthan Chandran, Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute, Professor Bal Khakh, Director of UK DRI at Cardiff, and Professor Wendy Larner, Vice-Chancellor and President of Cardiff University.
During the visit, Mr Doughty met researchers whose work spans the breadth of the UK DRI’s mission: from Dr Hazel Hall Roberts who is studying how the disease progresses through to Dr Tom Massey who is developing clinical therapies for people living with dementia.
Mr Doughty heard from Dr Sarah Carpanini how advances in genetics, imaging and AI are driving breakthroughs in the diagnostics and therapies of the future, and how UK DRI Cardiff sits within a wider network of international collaboration in the field.
Mr Doughty also met with a group of early career researchers, hearing directly from the next generation of scientists working to change the outlook for people living with or at risk of dementia.
Reflecting on his visit, Stephen Doughty MP said:
"It's truly wonderful to have [the UK DRI] here. I think, just like we've helped change the world in many different ways from South Wales in the past, it really gives me hope that we can do that again by being at the frontier of these incredible new discoveries and developments. Crucially, that's going make a difference to people's lives."
Prof Siddharthan Chandran said:
"It was a pleasure to welcome Stephen Doughty to UK DRI at Cardiff, to showcase the world-leading dementia research taking place here in Wales. Cardiff exemplifies UK DRI's end-to-end model, combining excellence in discovery research and large-scale population studies with pioneering clinical research into conditions like Huntington's disease. I look forward to continuing to work with Stephen and the Government to make Cardiff a global hub for research.”
Prof Wendy Larner said:
“I was really pleased to welcome Stephen to campus today to view some of our world-leading neuroscience facilities and to meet our incredible team - including Professor Baljit Khakh, the new Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff, an appointment supported by the UK Government's Global Talent Fund.
Cardiff University’s reputation for neuroscience is internationally recognised. These facilities, along with the expertise of our researchers and innovators, has helped attract some of the world’s leading academics to Cardiff University in order to further their research. This research is leading to real world impact as we discover treatments for neurological diseases and disorders.
I was particularly pleased Stephen had the chance to meet some of our early career researchers. They are our next generation of researchers and innovators who I am confident will achieve great things here at Cardiff University.”