The Medical Research Council awarded Dr John Danial, a Lecturer from the University of St Andrews, £1.6million. He will use the prestigious award to support his research into developing a pan-dementia blood-based diagnostic tool. This marks a crucial step towards tackling the shortage of accessible diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia.
Recent studies using high-resolution electron microscopy from the Goedert and Scheres labs have shown that amyloids in different neurodegenerative diseases assemble into fibrils of distinct structures. This is a crucial finding because it demonstrates that if one can detect the structure of those fibrils in human fluids, it may be possible to readily diagnose any neurodegenerative disease.
The diagnostic tool will capture amyloid strands in blood and use fluorescent dyes to fingerprint these structures. The electron microscope will identify these structures and detect brain disease. The diagnostic will assist in early diagnosis and provide medical practitioners with the timely information they need to treat neurodegenerative illnesses.
Dr Danial stated: “I am very pleased to receive this award, which will support my group in developing a single, accurate blood diagnostic for a wide range of brain diseases, including rare ones that are fatal. The award represents a key milestone for my group in materialising an idea into a tool of transformative impact.”
Overall, Dr Danial’s work aligns with the MRC’s mission to improve early and accurate diagnosis of dementia. Neurosciences and mental health remain one of the most challenging areas in life sciences with a high degree of unmet needs.
