Lights. Cameras. Axons.

More than 47 million people live with dementia worldwide, of which Alzheimer's disease is the most common form. However, no treatments are currently available to prevent or slow the progression of this disease. The first clinical indicator of Alzheimer's dementia is the loss of memory. The connections between nerve cells in the brain are called synapses and these are the 'microprocessors' of the mind that enable us to encode memories. I will present our understanding of how synapses encode memories.

Studying diseases of the brain, which cause the damage to nerve cells resulting in dementia, is hugely challenging. The interface between the vascular (blood) system and the nervous system is critical in maintaining brain health and function. We are using specialised stem cells, generated from adult cells, to make both the nerve cells and the supporting cells that form this blood-brain barrier. In this talk I will explain how we generate these 3D cell models and how we are using them to study both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

We constantly perceive, analyse, and react to our physical environment. Some of our senses, such as vision, hearing, or our sense of smell are almost always at the forefront of our attention. Others, such as the perception of inner temperature, potential tissue damage (pain), or the position of our limbs (the hidden sense called proprioception) are only occasionally in the crosshairs of our conscious mind. Yet, without these critical sensory functions, our everyday lives would be impossible. We study the molecular mechanisms that allow our sensory nerves to detect these cues.