The £20 million dementia research centre was officially opened on Thursday by Vaughan Gething, Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport in the Welsh Assembly.
More than 70 scientists from around the world have been recruited to the centre, with the aim of expanding the team to 100 in the near future.
The new centre is one of six that together make up the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) in Britain.
At Cardiff, the institute will build upon research strengths in dementia genetics, immunology, computational analytics, cellular and whole system modelling, and neuroimaging to identify disease mechanisms and therapies for a range of dementia types, including Alzheimer’s disease.
More than 40 genes which contribute to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease have been discovered in recent years.
The team at Cardiff will use this research to work on new theories and discoveries.
The researchers will work on several separate but aligned research programmes that will model Alzheimer’s disease in various ways, including through stem cells which can be transformed into neurons, immune and other cells.
“With a new case of dementia diagnosed somewhere in the world every four seconds we aim to bring about a step change in the way we study this set of diseases,” said Professor Julie Williams, director of the UK DRI at Cardiff University.
“Here at the UK DRI at Cardiff University we are combining novel techniques to unveil the mechanisms of dementia so that we can transform the outlook for people living with dementia today and in the future.”
“I am delighted by the calibre of the scientists we have been able to recruit from Wales and around the world.”
The centre has been funded by the Medical Research Council, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society and the Welsh government.
Funding has allowed the installation of a £1 million robotic microscope, which is able to scan and analyse thousands of individual cells at high speed.
Although the principal research will focus on Alzheimer’s disease, there will also be relevant findings for Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
“Cardiff’s focus on innate immunity will bring a broader understanding of the disruptive effect of these mechanisms in dementia,” said UK DRI Director Professor Bart De Strooper.
“Professor Williams is internationally recognised for her large-scale genetic projects, and alongside the translational potential of her team’s programmes, there is exciting room for growth at this centre.”
According to Alzheimer’s Society, around 850,000 people in the UK have dementia.
This number is expected to rise to around one million by 2025.
One in 14 people over the age of 65 will develop dementia, while one in six people over the age of 80 will develop the disease.
“Dementia is one of the top ten causes of death, yet the only one condition that we can’t currently cure, prevent or slow down,” said Sue Phelps, country director of Alzheimer’s Society Cymru.
“This unique collaboration bringing together the brains of six universities across the UK, including the great team of world-leading researchers at Cardiff University who are working tirelessly to beat dementia, offers people affected by dementia hope for a better future and for a world without dementia.”