New Clinical Fellowships Set to Bring Better Diagnosis and Treatments Closer for People with Dementia

Six new Clinical Fellowships have been announced to help bring cutting-edge dementia research closer to the people who need it most, covering everything from making brain scanning more accessible to improving diagnosis of rarer forms of dementia and helping more people take part in clinical trials.

Backed by £2.6 million in funding, the awards will support research aimed at improving how dementia is diagnosed, monitored and treated, while strengthening the UK’s capacity to deliver more clinical studies in the field. For people living with, or at risk of, dementia, the investment offers hope of more accurate diagnosis, improved treatment options and wider access to research that could change lives.

Why clinical research matters

While recent years have seen significant advances in scientific understanding of dementia, such discoveries only translate into real benefit when they lead to better tests and more effective treatments. Clinical research provides that bridge, moving promising ideas from the laboratory into real-world studies involving people affected by the condition.

Delivering this progress requires more clinicians, including doctors and other healthcare professionals, who can combine research with patient care, trial new approaches in real-world settings, and work closely with researchers, healthcare teams and people affected by dementia.

A programme designed to deliver change

The fellowships form part of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Clinical Accelerator Programme, established to bring more dementia clinical trials to the UK and speed up progress towards a cure. Made possible by £3.1 million raised through the Omaze Mallorca Superdraw, the programme focuses on three priorities: building expertise by increasing the number of clinicians working in dementia research, nurturing innovation by supporting research-active clinicians to develop promising trial ideas, and accelerating trials by helping more potential treatments move into clinical testing.
The new fellowships sit at the heart of this effort, equipping clinicians at different career stages with the skills and support needed to become future leaders in dementia research.

Meet the new Clinical Fellows

The six newly funded fellows are tackling a diverse range of challenges spanning diagnosis, treatment, prevention and trial delivery, areas considered vital if research is to translate into better outcomes for people affected by dementia.

On improving access to earlier diagnosis, Dr Ashwin Venkataraman at King’s College London is developing portable brain scanners to improve how dementia is diagnosed and monitored. His team is testing smaller, quieter devices that could be used in memory clinics, hospitals and care homes, potentially making brain scans more accessible for people who find it difficult to travel to hospital scanners, including those in rural areas or with limited mobility. The approach could also offer a lower-cost way to monitor side effects in people receiving new Alzheimer’s treatments.

Dr Sabbiha Majumder at University College London is developing new tools to improve diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia, a form of dementia affecting speech and communication. She is designing culturally fair assessments that better reflect real-world communication skills rather than relying mainly on memory-based tests, which can miss the condition, and her work will also address barriers faced by people who do not speak English and who are currently more likely to experience delayed or incorrect diagnosis. The project aims to help people receive an accurate diagnosis sooner so they can access the right support, therapy and clinical trials.

On identifying and reducing dementia risk, Dr Rachael Matthews at the University of Liverpool is investigating why some people who experience delirium during infections, including COVID-19, later develop cognitive decline and dementia. Combining brain scans, memory and thinking tests, blood biomarkers and genetic information, she hopes to develop a tool that can identify who may be most vulnerable to future dementia, helping doctors spot people at higher risk earlier and creating opportunities to intervene before significant brain damage occurs.

Dr Dexter Penn at Imperial College London is investigating whether pacemakers could be adjusted to improve blood flow to the brain and reduce dementia risk, testing whether current pacemaker settings may slow the heart too much for some people and exploring whether slightly increasing heart rate could help protect brain vessels and cells. If successful, the work could point to a new use for an existing, widely used technology.

On predicting progression and testing potential treatments, Dr Abdulwarrith Olawale at the University of Cambridge is using artificial intelligence to improve the quality of NHS brain scans for people with frontotemporal dementia, analysing MRI scans to identify patterns that could help predict disease progression and treatment response. By making routine NHS scans more useful for research and clinical trials, the project could reduce costs and allow more people to take part in studies. Dr Olawale is also the first fellow to undertake a clinical trials placement as part of a partnership with the UK Dementia Trials Network, giving him hands-on experience of how dementia trials are designed and delivered, skills considered essential for turning promising discoveries into real-world studies.

Dr Harry Costello at University College London is testing whether a slow-release ketamine tablet can safely and effectively treat depression in people living with Alzheimer’s disease. Depression affects more than 40% of people with Alzheimer’s, but current treatments often have limited benefits and unwanted side effects; if successful, the research could improve mood, motivation and quality of life, while helping people with Alzheimer’s maintain their independence for longer. This project is partly funded by Rosetrees Trust.

How the fellowships were selected

The Doctoral and Advanced Clinical Fellows were chosen through a competitive process led by Alzheimer’s Research UK’s newly established Clinical Committee at its January 2026 meeting. The committee, which brings together experts in clinical research, trial design and lived experience, provides independent advice to help ensure supported research is high quality, feasible and focused on areas of greatest impact, and will continue to shape the programme’s direction and review future funding proposals.

Dr Leah Mursaleen, Head of Clinical Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Dementia research in the UK has huge strengths, but we need to keep building the clinical research system that will turn scientific progress into better tests, better treatments and more opportunities for people to take part in research.

“These fellowships are an important part of that. They will support talented clinicians to develop research careers, while focusing on practical questions that could improve diagnosis, make studies more inclusive and help bring more clinical trials to the UK.

“The Clinical Committee also has an important role in helping invest in research that is scientifically strong, realistic to deliver and focused on the areas of greatest need. That kind of strategic support will be vital if we are to speed up progress and help more promising ideas move forward.”