UKDP: Integrated DEmentiA research environment (IDEA)
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Institute for Ageing and Health
Abstract
The UK Dementias Platform (UKDP) is a radically new approach to dementias research. It brings together data from
around 2,000,000 study participants from 22 cohorts to try and discover the causes of dementia and to find out ways of
slowing it down. The platform has been funded to the level of £12M.
In this proposal we want to improve UK infrastructure for dementia research so that the most can be made of the
opportunity provided by UKDP. We wan to improve the infrastructure by buying important pieces of equipment that will put
the UK at the forefront of dementia research worldwide and by establishing networks of scientists who will work together to
make best use of the equipment.
The three themes of the proposal are imaging, informatics and stem cells.
For imaging we want to establish a network of PET/MR scanning facilities across the UK so that the molecular processes
going on inside the brain that cause dementia can be studied.
For informatics we want to be bring together bas many different types of data as possible and make it easy as possible for
scientists to use them
For stem cells we want to take cells form adults with and without dementia to find out how cells change as the dementias
process begins and progresses.
We believe these proposals will raise standards, reduce costs, and deliver innovative and coordinated research, making
the UK an internationally unique place to study dementia.
around 2,000,000 study participants from 22 cohorts to try and discover the causes of dementia and to find out ways of
slowing it down. The platform has been funded to the level of £12M.
In this proposal we want to improve UK infrastructure for dementia research so that the most can be made of the
opportunity provided by UKDP. We wan to improve the infrastructure by buying important pieces of equipment that will put
the UK at the forefront of dementia research worldwide and by establishing networks of scientists who will work together to
make best use of the equipment.
The three themes of the proposal are imaging, informatics and stem cells.
For imaging we want to establish a network of PET/MR scanning facilities across the UK so that the molecular processes
going on inside the brain that cause dementia can be studied.
For informatics we want to be bring together bas many different types of data as possible and make it easy as possible for
scientists to use them
For stem cells we want to take cells form adults with and without dementia to find out how cells change as the dementias
process begins and progresses.
We believe these proposals will raise standards, reduce costs, and deliver innovative and coordinated research, making
the UK an internationally unique place to study dementia.
Technical Summary
Our objective is to achieve a step-change in UK dementia research capacity through establishing national networks of
existing and emerging centres of excellence in imaging, informatics and cell-biology.
The UK Dementias Platform (UKDP) is a radically new approach to dementias research, providing a highly efficient and
cost-effective translational pipeline from discovery through to early phase trials. UKDP will create closer synergy between
epidemiology and experimental medicine with the re-purposing of epidemiologic cohorts for trials readiness. The size and
depth of phenotyping available to UKDP will deliver a step-change in the complexity and granularity of dementia related
hypothesis testing and accelerate compound development.
Proposed here is an infrastructure of investment and collaboration. Underpinning UKDP is a critical mass of researchers
and resources that will work together to encourage, facilitate, and develop a fully integrated dementia dedicated UK
research environment. This will raise standards, reduce costs, and deliver innovative and coordinated research, to make
the UK an internationally unique research environment. Through its partnership with major academic centres and industry,
UKDP is well positioned to achieve this goal.
Building on the recent MRC investment in UKDP, we propose here to renew and extend the UKDP integrative research
environment with an advanced molecular imaging network strategically located to exploit UKDP cohorts. Also proposed is
an integrated informatics environment to facilitate the location of and access to both data and bio-samples. The third
proposal is for a stem-cells network to promote the use of this important and emerging technology. Each of these elements
adds value to existing infrastructure investments and fills significant gaps in the UK research landscape.
existing and emerging centres of excellence in imaging, informatics and cell-biology.
The UK Dementias Platform (UKDP) is a radically new approach to dementias research, providing a highly efficient and
cost-effective translational pipeline from discovery through to early phase trials. UKDP will create closer synergy between
epidemiology and experimental medicine with the re-purposing of epidemiologic cohorts for trials readiness. The size and
depth of phenotyping available to UKDP will deliver a step-change in the complexity and granularity of dementia related
hypothesis testing and accelerate compound development.
Proposed here is an infrastructure of investment and collaboration. Underpinning UKDP is a critical mass of researchers
and resources that will work together to encourage, facilitate, and develop a fully integrated dementia dedicated UK
research environment. This will raise standards, reduce costs, and deliver innovative and coordinated research, to make
the UK an internationally unique research environment. Through its partnership with major academic centres and industry,
UKDP is well positioned to achieve this goal.
Building on the recent MRC investment in UKDP, we propose here to renew and extend the UKDP integrative research
environment with an advanced molecular imaging network strategically located to exploit UKDP cohorts. Also proposed is
an integrated informatics environment to facilitate the location of and access to both data and bio-samples. The third
proposal is for a stem-cells network to promote the use of this important and emerging technology. Each of these elements
adds value to existing infrastructure investments and fills significant gaps in the UK research landscape.
Planned Impact
The current proposal in in support of the UKDP and will become part of the the UKDP impact strategy.
In summary, the UKDP strategy to deliver pact is to develop networks of partnership to actively consult engage the UK
academic community in relation to dementia research focussing on the direction,
technologies and collaborations of the UKDP and the wider UK national infrastructure.
Our aim is to:
1) promote the best possible science
2) create momentum in dementias research by being inclusive of, and synergistic with, other initiatives.
Partnership discussions with industry are already underway with exchanges of ides, interests and needs between
academic and industry stakeholders. Industry have identified their need for access to conversion (early MVI to dementia
cohorts and for experimental medicine studies to conform to regulatory requirements.
We remain committed to raising the profile of contemporary debate about dementia and its treatment. We wish to
encourage a culture of commitment to solving this problem. By increasing awareness at all levels of society we intend to
leverage resources for the platform and for dementia research in general, to increase awareness of the need for earlier
interventions and better targeted treatment in general by health service providers and the public alike.
Engagement with the general public and with patients and carers is a very important part of our mission. This serves not
only to communicate our research findings and their relevance but also to address such issues as stigma in society and the
research culture in the NHS in relation to dementia and older people. In addition to using the platform web-site to
communicate to the general public, we will also liaise with charities and advocate groups such as Age UK and the
Alzheimer's Society to promote our work and findings and to engage them in shaping the work programme.
In addition we will have a dedicated free-phone number available 6 days a week and a communications officer at 50% FTE
over 5 years whose responsibility is to develop and implement a communications and public engagement strategy.
In summary, the UKDP strategy to deliver pact is to develop networks of partnership to actively consult engage the UK
academic community in relation to dementia research focussing on the direction,
technologies and collaborations of the UKDP and the wider UK national infrastructure.
Our aim is to:
1) promote the best possible science
2) create momentum in dementias research by being inclusive of, and synergistic with, other initiatives.
Partnership discussions with industry are already underway with exchanges of ides, interests and needs between
academic and industry stakeholders. Industry have identified their need for access to conversion (early MVI to dementia
cohorts and for experimental medicine studies to conform to regulatory requirements.
We remain committed to raising the profile of contemporary debate about dementia and its treatment. We wish to
encourage a culture of commitment to solving this problem. By increasing awareness at all levels of society we intend to
leverage resources for the platform and for dementia research in general, to increase awareness of the need for earlier
interventions and better targeted treatment in general by health service providers and the public alike.
Engagement with the general public and with patients and carers is a very important part of our mission. This serves not
only to communicate our research findings and their relevance but also to address such issues as stigma in society and the
research culture in the NHS in relation to dementia and older people. In addition to using the platform web-site to
communicate to the general public, we will also liaise with charities and advocate groups such as Age UK and the
Alzheimer's Society to promote our work and findings and to engage them in shaping the work programme.
In addition we will have a dedicated free-phone number available 6 days a week and a communications officer at 50% FTE
over 5 years whose responsibility is to develop and implement a communications and public engagement strategy.
Publications
Wyatt JJ
(2021)
Evaluating the image quality of combined positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance images acquired in the pelvic radiotherapy position.
in Physics in medicine and biology
Wyatt JJ
(2019)
The accuracy of Magnetic Resonance - Cone Beam Computed Tomography soft-tissue matching for prostate radiotherapy.
in Physics and imaging in radiation oncology
Firbank MJ
(2017)
Cerebral glucose metabolism and cognition in newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease: ICICLE-PD study.
in Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
Description | An FDG PET-MRI study across IDEA centres to harmonise findings in 6 MCI patients or healthy controls and a phantom (PI Karl Herholz, Manchester; Newcastle PI JP Taylor) |
Amount | £61,969 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MRC R119705 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2016 |
End | 09/2019 |
Description | CoEN 4007- Is prion like propagation of alpha synuclein aggregation associated with a ferroptotic cell death |
Amount | £233,046 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/S005048/1 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2018 |
End | 06/2021 |
Description | Deep & Frequent Phenotype Gait Analysis (CI Simon Lovestone, Oxford; Newcastle PI Alan Thomas) |
Amount | £218,009 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/N029941/1 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2016 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | Developing a dynamic PDG-PET/MR imaging methodology to study gait in aging and neurodegenerative disease |
Amount | £100,375 (GBP) |
Organisation | GE Healthcare Limited |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2019 |
End | 05/2020 |
Description | EIT Health Grant: Deep-Learning MR-only Radiation Therapy |
Amount | € 914,000 (EUR) |
Organisation | Eastern Institute of Technology |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | New Zealand |
Start | 02/2019 |
End | 01/2020 |
Description | In vivo assessment of early pathological features of parkinsonism and cognitive impairment in patients with REM sleep behaviour disorder. A multimodal imaging study |
Amount | £47,850 (GBP) |
Funding ID | K-1703 |
Organisation | Parkinson's UK |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2018 |
End | 07/2022 |
Description | Multiple System Atrophy Trust Research Award |
Amount | £148,103 (GBP) |
Organisation | Sarah Matheson Trust for MSA |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | Newcastle University |
Amount | £8,000,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Newcastle |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | Australia |
Start | 03/2016 |
Description | Philanthropic donation for funding of PET/MRI facility |
Amount | £800,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | GT Holdings |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start |
Description | RIF (Research Infrastructure Funding) for new Radiochemistry Unit adjacent to PET/MRI machine |
Amount | £1,231,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Newcastle University |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
Description | Sarcoma (UK) & MRC Confidence in Concept (competitively obtained internal allocation from award to Newcastle University) |
Amount | £51,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Sarcoma UK |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2016 |
End | 03/2018 |
Description | WESTERN The Selfridges Group Foundation: Developing a novel eletrophysiological cholinergic biomarker in Lewy body dementia CREED-WESTERN |
Amount | £298,559 (GBP) |
Organisation | Selfridges Group Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2019 |
End | 02/2022 |
Description | Cambridge tau project |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Department of Psychiatry |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Provision of dementia with Lewy body cases for multicentre study of new tau PET tracer (planned) with some funding for scans |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of PET tracer |
Impact | nil yet (nascent) |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | DPUK, PET MR Harmonisation |
Organisation | University of Manchester |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Newcastle is part of a collaboration aimed at standardising imaging reads out from PET/MRI machines. This also involves: Edinburgh University, Cambridge University, UCL, KCL, Imperial College, InVicro, and Sheffield University |
Collaborator Contribution | Sharing of data acquisition, sequences, processes |
Impact | none yet |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | DPUK, PET MR Harmonisation |
Organisation | University of Manchester |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Newcastle is part of a collaboration aimed at standardising imaging reads out from PET/MRI machines. This also involves: Edinburgh University, Cambridge University, UCL, KCL, Imperial College, InVicro, and Sheffield University |
Collaborator Contribution | Sharing of data acquisition, sequences, processes |
Impact | none yet |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Exploring tracer share agreement with Edinburgh University |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The PET/MRI team in Newcastle led by Prof David Brooks and Dr Ross Maxwell have discussed potential for transfer of fluorinated PET tracers from Edinburgh for use in Newcastle |
Collaborator Contribution | see above - aim will be for reciprocal exchange of novel tracers once Newcastle radiochemistry is fully functional |
Impact | No outcomes as yet - discussions at an early stage. But idea will be for tracers sourced from Edinburgh to "pump prime" Newcastle projects for leveraging large external awards. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | 2. Y-Move, Yorkshire Movement Disorder Group. "Treatment of Parkinson's Disease. A Practical Update" Lees, UK, 5th December 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A Practical Update on Treatment of Parkinson's Disease to consultant Neurologists. We discussed recent clinical trial, including preliminary results of the effect of deferiprone in patients with Parkinson. Discussed MRI biomarkers of Parkinson's. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Deep MR in Radiotherapy project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public engagement meeting organised with voice-global.org to discuss specific aspects of Deep MR in Radiotherapy project. Valuable feedback on public/patient experience and priorities for MR imaging; support for technological help to improve diagnosis and treatment; strong criticism around public perception of terminology used including 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Deep Learning' and 'Algorithms'. Feedback made available for Faculty 'Imaging Informatics' proposal. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Education Afternoon for patents recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | Description of research projects running at the Clinical Ageing Research Unit. Dissemination of preliminary results with Deferiprone in Parkinson's disease. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | MSA Trust Study Day, Newcastle |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was an event to discuss the condition and clinical treatment of MSA, including a multi-disciplinary approach. We were invited to discuss the current state of research in MSA and associated conditions, and specifically Clinical Research Fellow, Dr Laura Best, did a presentation specifically on this project. This invited much discussion and increased interest in the application, and emphasised importance of developing neuroimaging in these conditions. We also were able to highlight the study to the other healthcare professionals who were present and worked in the field of Parkinsonism, which we hope will be beneficial with regard to recruitment. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Multimodal microstructural MRI for the identification of early Multiple System Atrophy biomarkers |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 8th Congress of the European-Academy-of-Neurology presentation aimed at explaining how different MRI sequences can assist in the diagnosis of MSA |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | PD UK research roadshow: Penrith, Cumbria |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | The purpose of this event was primarily for the education of patient, care-givers and professionals involved with Parkinson's disease. It consisted of brief presentations by invited speakers, which included specialist clinicians and researchers, followed by discussions in small groups. This allowed the audience, primarily patients and their families, to directly ask the experts questions about ongoing research in Parkinson's disease. It also afforded the opportunity for patients to become involved and express an interest in being involved in studies such as our own. We were able to chat about our study in detail and its rationale, and get a sense that patients felt it was important in moving the field of Parkinson's research forward. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Parkinson's UK research roadshow: Durham |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | This was again an event designed to promote research in Parkinson's Disease. This included formal presentations by experts in this field, as well as, informal discussion in small groups with patients, affiliated professionals and carers regarding current projects funded by PD UK and how to get involved. This sparked a lot of questions and discussions with the audience with regard to our project, with many patients interested in getting involved and putting their names forward for further information and potential recruitment. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Participation in New PD patient education afternoons, based at the CRESTA clinic, Newcastle Upon Tyne |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | The Regional Movement Disorder clinic, based at the CRESTA clinic in Newcastle Upon Tyne, organises a 'New Patient Education Afternoon' every 2-3 months. This is ran by the movement disorder Specialist Consultants, Neurology Registrars and PD Specialist Nurses. It is also attended by the Speech and Language Team, who work closely with service, and Specialist Physiotherapists with expertise in PD management. A member of our research team, Dr Laura Best, attends these meetings to educate patients and their carers regarding active research in the until, as well as some of the science underpinning the PD diagnosis and its treatment. These educational afternoons are also an opportunity for patients to express an interest in becoming involved in active research and has been one avenue for recruitment to this study. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
Description | Presentation at invited talk Copenhagen University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talks on neuroimaging findings in prodromal Parkinson's |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Presentation at invited talk First Parkinson's disease and movement disorders Congress organised in Romania. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation at invited talk First Parkinson's disease and movement disorders Congress organised in Romania. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health - President's Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research in the Northeast: Ageing. Presentation of preliminary findings of Deferiprone in Parkinson's disease. MRI biomarker of Parkinson's. The audience consisted of Consultants paediatrician. Interesting discussion on disease modifying agents in Parkinson's disease. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |