The Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research (CJCADR) is focused on developing outputs that can alter the clinical outcomes for individuals with dementia and those who are as yet undiagnosed. The Centre's research explains, at a biochemical, molecular, behavioural, electrophysiological, histological and systems level, how ageing dementia causes neurodegeneration and decline of cognitive function. This research is complemented by studies into physiological ageing. A major aim of the Centre is the development of therapeutic interventions to delay the onset, prevent and even cure dementia in patients, as well as new drugs and better methods to deliver them to the brain. Another aim is the development of biomarkers to diagnose dementia earlier, more cheaply, and with higher sensitivity and specificity, and to monitor therapeutic interventions.

Website

http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/clem-jones-centre-ageing-dementia-research-cjcadr

Organisation type

• University Research Centre

Number of research staff

20-100 research staff

Address

Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Building 79, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072

Strengths and capabilities

• Prevention and treatment of dementia
• Neural regeneration
• Super-resolution microscopy
• Cell neurochemistry
• Proteomics and intermolecular interactions
• Model and transgenic organisms
• Gene editing
• Systems biology
• Transcriptomics Lipidomics

Facilities and major equipment

• Physical Containment Class 2 (PC2) laboratories
• Vivarium and animal behaviour facility
• Tissue culture facility
• Two-photon microscopy facility
• Electrophysiology rigs
• Ultrasound equipment
• Operant boxes

Lead researchers

• Professor Jürgen Götz—Discovery that non-invasive ultrasound therapy can be used to restore memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
• Professor Perry Bartlett—Recipient of the 2015 CSL Florey Medal, which recognised his pioneering work in the discovery of neural stem cells in the adult brain.
• Professor Frederic Meunier—His work led to an understanding of how secretory vesicles interact with the cortical actin network in neurotransmitter release.

Achievements of the centre

• Discovery that non-invasive ultrasound therapy can be used to reduce amyloid plaques and restore memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
• Discovery that specific exercise regimes can increase the production of new neurons in the hippocampus in older animals, resulting in improved learning, which has implications for reversing cognitive decline in the elderly
• Discovering the molecular mechanisms that allow severed nerves to fuse back together in the model organism C elegans, which holds promise for the future treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord injury.

Key science sectors

More information about the sectors this centre is involved in:

• Health and medical
• Social sciences