Professor Bart De Strooper (UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL) has been awarded an honorary CBE for his services to dementia research in the UK and internationally.
Bart De Strooper is a Professor in dementia studies in the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, a Principal Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute, and served as the Founding Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) from its conception in 2016 to 2022. Under his leadership from the institute’s hub at UCL, the UK DRI became internationally renowned for its expertise and made many important contributions to the neurodegeneration field.
He has now been recognised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as part of the honorary awards to foreign nationals 2025.
Professor De Strooper said on receiving the Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE): "I am honoured by this recognition, which I see as a tribute to the many colleagues who helped establish the UK Dementia Research Institute and to our shared commitment to advancing dementia research for the benefit of patients and society."
Professor De Strooper is best known for his work on the role of the presenilin and gamma-secretase proteins in the proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). When processed abnormally, APP produces toxic amyloid beta, which accumulates in the brain to form plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.
More recently, he has worked on a cellular theory for Alzheimer’s to explain how different cell types, and their underlying genetics and behaviour, contribute to the progressive disease process.
He has received several major awards including the Potamkin Prize, the Metlife Foundation Award for Medical Research, Alois Alzheimer’s prize, the highly prestigious Brain Prize (in 2018) and Commander in the Order of Leopold I (Belgium). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Member of the National Academy of Medicine (US).
Professor De Strooper’s lab at the UK DRI at UCL, which he leads along with Dr Lorena Arancibia Carcamo (UK DRI at UCL), continues to investigate the effects of amyloid beta on different cell types, including neurons and support cells in the brain. The team aims to identify key cellular changes that will lead to new therapeutic targets.
Professor Alan Thompson, Dean of the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences, commented: "Many congratulations to Bart on this well-deserved honour, which is a testament to his inspiring leadership in developing the UK DRI as it has become globally recognised for driving forward dementia research, and to his own pioneering research helping us to understand Alzheimer’s disease."
Professor Siddharthan Chandran, UK DRI Director and also an honorary professor at UCL, added: "We warmly congratulate Bart on receiving this award. It is richly deserved, and a fitting recognition of his leadership and dedication in founding and shaping the UK DRI.
"His vision laid the foundation on which our achievements continue to build, around our shared goal to transform through research the outlook for people living with or at risk of dementia."
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