Researchers Awarded Prestigious Prizes at UK’s Largest Dementia Research Conference
Dementia research charity, Alzheimer’s Research UK, has awarded two early career researchers – Dr Soyon Hong and Anna-Leigh Brown – esteemed prizes for outstanding research at their annual research conference.
Dr Soyon Hong from the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at University College London (UCL) will receive the David Hague Early Career Investigator of the Year Award.
Ms Anna-Leigh Brown, a PhD student from the Institute of Neuromuscular Disease, UCL, will be awarded the Jean Corsan Prize, for the best published scientific paper by a PhD student in the field.
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, Executive Director of Research and Partnerships at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“We are delighted we can continue to support outstanding early career researchers and provide them the recognition they deserve. We look forward to welcoming Dr Hong and Ms Brown to the Alzheimer’s Research UK Conference 2023 to present their findings.
“We must continue to back early career researchers if we are to re-ignite dementia research and deliver life-changing treatments for people living with dementia. Investing in early career researchers now is vital to make sure we have the best dementia research leaders of tomorrow and that we can continue to make research breakthroughs possible.”
Dr Soyon Hong, from the UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London, said:
“My group is looking at the role of microglia, a type of immune cell found in our brain. Microglia usually have a protective function, but sometimes they malfunction and confer risk for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. My team are finding ways to target malfunctioning microglia, which may help slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s.”
“Receiving this award is an honour and is so encouraging for me and my team who are just starting their careers in dementia research. We hope the discoveries we make in the lab will make a fundamental difference in our understanding of how the brain works. Ultimately, we want to find new drug targets that could be new life-changing treatments for people with dementia.”
PhD student Anna-Leigh Brown, from the Institute of Neuromuscular Disease, UCL, wins the Jean Corsan Prize for the best published paper by a PhD student in the field.
Anna-Leigh Brown, speaking about winning the Jean Corsan Prize 2023, said:
“We’ve known for over a decade that people who have variations in the UNC13A gene are at a greater risk of developing ALS and FTD. But scientists have still not been able to find out how this happens. We’ve now discovered an important link between this gene and faults in the function of TDP-43 protein.
“Our next step will be to fix the incorrect UNC13A produced when TDP-43 protein stops working. We hope that in the future, our work will lead to new treatments to slow down disease progression and give valuable time for people living with ALS and FTD.”
