Dr Tara Spires-Jones, of the Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems has been awarded a grant of £450,000 from Alzheimer's Research UK. This will fund the study of molecular mechanisms that cause deterioration of synapses - connections between nerve cells that allow them to communicate with each other. This breakdown of synapses leads to the memory loss experienced by people with Alzheimer’s, and the researchers hope to find ways of protecting the synapses and preserving memory. We are thrilled to have secured this funding, which will allow us to gain a much clearer understanding of the mechanisms at play in Alzheimer's disease. There is still much we need to learn about the basic biology of Alzheimer's in order to understand how to treat the disease, and the knowledge we gain from our research should inform clinical trials for much-needed new treatments Dr Tara Spires-JonesChancellors Fellow, CCNS Related links In the BBC news Press clippings for this article Dr Spires-Jones lab profile Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems Publication date 16 Apr, 2015