CURE MAGA JAN26 DOUBLE PG-LINKS - Flipbook - Page 9
120 years of understanding
dementia.
1906 – Dr Alois Alzheimer
first describes Alzheimer’s
disease.
Prof Selina Wray
at the 2025 TCS London Marathon
Maybe in 10 years we’ll have two
dementia researchers for every four
working on cancer.
Q. And finally. You ran the TCS
London Marathon last year – on your
birthday! And you’re running it again
this year…
A. Yep! Running’s a huge part of my
life. I run for my own health, of course,
but I also do it to support research.
This will be my fourth marathon for
Alzheimer’s Research UK, and second
as an ambassador for the charity. I’m
really looking forward to it.
One of the reasons is that when other
runners and supporters meet me – a
dementia scientist – it really reassures
them. I can explain what’s happening in
my lab or in a colleague’s study, and
they get a real sense of how important
their donations are.
They share their own stories with me
too. About a parent, a partner, a
friend. And it reinforces why I do what
I do. I’m doing this to help. I’m doing
this so people’s lives can be better.
1984 – Amyloid protein
identified as a hallmark of
Alzheimer’s.
1986 – Tau protein found
to be the main component
of tangles.
1992 – Alzheimer’s Research
UK founded (then Alzheimer’s
Research Trust).
1993 – APOE4 identified as
the first major risk gene for
Alzheimer’s.
2012 – Discovery of gene
TREM2, spotlighting the
immune system’s role.
2015 – We launch the Drug
Discovery Alliance to speed up
the development of treatments.
2016 – We become a founding
funder of the UK Dementia
Research Institute.
2021 – First drug to slow
memory loss (lecanemab)
shows success in phase 3 trials.
2023 – Our Blood Biomarker
Challenge aims to revolutionise
diagnosis, by bringing blood
tests into the NHS.
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