Leicester academic involved in new initiative on Alzheimers
An international research platform involving a Leicester Professor has been launched today that brings together researchers and projects involved in different aspects of dementia research.
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and its AETIONOMY, EMIF and EPAD projects announced the creation of the IMI Alzheimer’s Disease Research Platform. The platform will facilitate collaboration between the three projects, helping them to deliver results faster.
Anthony Brookes, Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics in the world-renowned Department of Genetics, said: “Unifying the world's dementia research means appropriately and effectively connecting and synergising the data from these projects.
“The University of Leicester operates in the large EMIF and EPAD projects to help innovate and deliver the necessary data management solutions, in particular emphasizing joint data sharing and data discovery approaches that can release the value of integrated data while respecting the requirements and ambitions of researchers and patients alike.”
Dementia already affects over 35 million people globally, and as populations age, this figure is set to rise to over 115 million by 2050. The disease places a huge and growing burden on health and social care systems and on the families and carers of those affected. Yet despite decades of research, there is still neither treatment nor cure for the disease.