Dementia and Brain Health
Who is involved in our studies?
Our studies involve people who have memory problems like mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. They often involve family members or someone who knows them well.
Current research
Every study is different and designed for different groups of people. Some involve a questionnaire, some involve a therapy and some involve taking a medication. Some studies take place at home and some take place in our research clinics. They broadly fall into the following categories:
Clinic Based Drug Studies
- Clinic-based drug studies compare the effects of one treatment (the study-drug) against another treatment, usually called the control.
- Participants are usually required to complete assessments such as scans, medical reviews, blood tests and cognitive assessments.
Biomarker Studies
- Biomarkers are molecules found in the blood, body fluids and tissues that can help clinicians identify abnormal functioning or disease.
- Unlike clinic-based drug studies, these studies are mostly observational and do not require participants to take a medication.
Therapy or Intervention Studies
- Therapy or intervention studies investigate new treatments that are not medications.
- Often these therapies can be carried out from your own home.
We are sometimes able to contact people directly about research, but we always appreciate hearing from people who are interested in getting involved.
Click here for current studies
These studies are currently open to new participants:
Clinic Based Drug Studies
POLARIS: This phase 3 clinical trial is investigating a new potential therapy for early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease, recruiting participants aged 55-90 with an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis.
Principal Investigator: Professor Vanessa Raymont, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist and R&D Director, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Sub I: Dr Qi Pei – Consultant Psychiatrist
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COBALT: Combining memantine and cholinesterase inhibitors in Lewy Body dementia and Parkinson Disease dementia, recruiting participants aged 55+ with a diagnosis of Lewy body Dementia or Parkinson’s Disease Dementia.
Principal Investigator: Dr Qi Pei – Consultant Psychiatrist
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ISAP: The ISAP Study will examine whether semaglutide, a tablet used to treat diabetes, can change the course of the earliest changes that happen in the brains of people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia. Recruiting participants aged 55+ with no memory issues or minimal mild cognitive impairment.
Principal Investigator: Dr Ivan Koychev – Senior Clinical Researcher, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist
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ReTain: Assessing the effects of the study drug JNJ-64042056, an immunotherapy targeting phosphorylated Tau (a protein in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease) in participants with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Recruiting participants aged 55-75 without memory problems.
Principal Investigator: Professor Vanessa Raymont, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist and R&D Director, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Biomarker studies:
FAST: Feasibility and acceptability study of scalable biomarkers of brain health. Recruiting participants aged 50+ with or without a dementia diagnosis.
Principal Investigator: Dr Ivan Koychev – Senior Clinical Researcher, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist
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READ-OUT: Assessing the usefulness of blood-based tests for dementia and whether they a good use of money for the NHS. Recruiting individuals aged 45+, with a memory problem diagnosis or presenting to a clinician with memory complaints.
Principal Investigator: Professor Vanessa Raymont, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist and R&D Director, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
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SHINE: Investigating the use of different scans (M/EEG, MRI, lumbar puncture, PET scan) to identify biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Dementia for diagnosis and prediction of disease. Recruiting individuals aged 50-85 with or without a dementia diagnosis.
Principal Investigator: Professor Vanessa Raymont, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist and R&D Director, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Therapy or Intervention Studies:
CognoSpeak: Investigating if CognoSpeak – a computerized assessment tool based on language which can measure cognitive function. Recruiting individuals aged 18+ with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
These studies have completed the recruitment phase:
The people who signed up continue to be involved in study interventions/ assessments.
Being Kind to Ourselves: Compassion focussed therapy for mood and/or anxiety in dementia.
Principal Investigator: Dr Sarada Krishnan – Consultant Psychiatrist
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SOCIAL: Social cognition and functioning in Alzheimer’s dementia – how Alzheimer’s dementia affects social relationships and activities.
Principal Investigator: Amanda Colston – Clinical Research Facility Matron
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EVOKE and EVOKE plus: A research study investigating semaglutide in people with early Alzheimer’s disease.
Principal Investigator: Dr Qi Pei – Consultant Psychiatrist
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PREVENT Dementia: Aiming to identify the earliest signs of dementia.
Principal Investigator: Dr Ivan Koychev – Senior Clinical Researcher, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist
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Brains for dementia research: A longitudinal cohort study of planned brain donation. A world-class brain tissue resource supporting dementia research.
Principal Investigator: Professor Vanessa Raymont, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist and R&D Director, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Key contacts
You can contact the Memory and Cognition Research Delivery Team:
Email: dementia.research@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk
Phone: 01865 902 694
Previous research studies
The research teams at Oxford Health have been involved with lots of research studies in the past
Click here for previous studies
Free-Cog: A novel, free to use, measure of combined cognitive and functional abilities for clinical use. We recruited to this study in 2019, and 48 participants consented to take part.
LTCQ: Long-Term Conditions Questionnaire: a new tool for evaluation of integrated people-centred services in multi-morbidity and complex care needs. We represented five of the fourteen memory clinics that recruited participants to this study.
PRaISED: Promoting Activity, Independence and Stability in Early Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment. We recruited to this study in 2019, and 24 participants consented to take part.
Page last reviewed: 18 March, 2025