# Alzheimer's Research UK

Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) is a dementia research charity in the United Kingdom, founded in 1992 as the Alzheimer's Research Trust.
Alzheimer’s Research UK funds scientific studies to find ways to treat, diagnose and prevent all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia.
As of 2024, Alzheimer's Research UK has funded 1,275 research projects across the UK and internationally, and has committed more than £237 million to dementia research.
Alzheimer's Research UK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities.

## History

In 1998, the trust awarded its first major grant of £500,000 to a team led by distinguished scientist Dr Michel Goedert in Cambridge.
In March 2008, author Terry Pratchett, who had the disease, donated one million US dollars to the trust.
In February 2010, the Alzheimer's Research Trust released the Dementia 2010 report, revealing new evidence of the prevalence, economic cost and research funding for dementia and other major conditions.
In February 2011, Alzheimer's Research Trust was renamed Alzheimer's Research UK.
In 2014, the charity launched its Defeat Dementia campaign, which aimed to fast-track discoveries in dementia research and bring about potential new treatments sooner. This included the establishing of a Drug Discovery Alliance, a network of three dedicated Drug Discovery Institutes, all working to translate new findings from academic research into potential treatments as quickly as possible.
In 2016, Alzheimer's Research UK became a founding funder of the UK Dementia Research Institute, a £290 million joint investment with the Medical Research Council and Alzheimer's Society.
In 2017, former Prime Minister David Cameron was appointed president of Alzheimer's Research UK, an unpaid voluntary position.
Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society were the joint Charity of the Year for the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon. The Dementia Revolution campaign raised £4 million, supporting research at the UK Dementia Research Institute.
In 2021, Alzheimer's Research UK launched a public awareness campaign, called Think Brain Health. The campaign aims to highlight the importance of good brain health, and how making small lifestyle changes can help reduce the risk of dementia in later life. In 2023, the charity launched an online check-in tool to support people to protect their brain health.
In 2023, estimates made by Alzheimer's Research UK suggested that clinical trials for lecanemab and donanemab would only find 575,000 people living in the UK eligible for treatment. The challenge was, these people needed a diagnosis but the National Health Service couldn't deliver at that scale. This was because of the risks of side effects, few PET scanners to diagnose Alzheimer's and limited skilled professionals to perform lumbar punctures. Within the organisation in 2023, David Mayhew CBE (former Chairman of JP Morgan Cazenove) became Vice President of Alzheimer's Research UK. Prior to his role as Vice President, Mayhew was Chair of the Board of Trustees at Alzheimer's Research UK for more than a decade.
In 2024, Prof Sir John Hardy became a Vice President of Alzheimer’s Research UK. His work has led to significant advances in the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, laying the groundwork for the first treatments that can slow the disease.
In February 2025, Gavin Patterson, former President and Chief Revenue Officer of Salesforce and CEO of BT Group, was appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees for the charity.
The charity reported a total income of £56.9m for the 12-month period ending March 2024, £34.6m committed to charitable activities.