I support the Medical School and Katie’s work for many reasons. The first is in memory of my wife Joyce, who I loved dearly. She had vascular dementia for six years and it was sadly only diagnosed at the very end of her life. Joyce was a surgical nurse and was initially trained at the RD&E.
Nursing was something that was hugely important to her; she would have loved to know someone was working to find a cure and improve early diagnosis. I also do it in memory of my wider family, in particular my Uncle Stanley, who was a very good doctor, even though at heart, he would probably have preferred to have been an artist. There is also no doubt that the RD&E saved my life when I had acute pancreatitis and so supporting medical research in Exeter Medical School is very important to me. I think the work that Professor Lunnon is doing is fascinating and it is a pleasure to support it.
I enjoyed doing my second degree at Exeter very much and have always felt it important that Exeter do more STEM, and I am a great supporter of that. I hope my contribution will help to progress the great work that is happening at the Medical School and assist the next generation in gaining further knowledge. I enjoy hearing about the work and I feel that it is a fitting way to honour Joyce’s memory.
John Slate (History and Archaeology, 1986)
Innovative research into dementia treatment funded by alumnus
Alumnus John Slate (History and Archaeology, 1986) is a long-term supporter of the University and has pledged a legacy to the Medical School. Following a meeting with Dr Katie Lunnon setting out her outstanding work on dementia, he elected to cover the purchase of specialist equipment, and to fund the John Slate Studentship in the area of Epigenetics in dementia.
Epigenetics refers to the addition of chemical tags to genes, which can switch them on and off, and can be influenced by the environment. The study of epigenetics is growing in importance and an area of excellence for Exeter Medicine. Katie leads the only team looking solely at epigenetic mechanisms in dementia in the UK. Her work has provided some of the first evidence of differences in epigenetic tags in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, opening the door to a much-needed new approach to tackle the disease. Katie was awarded the Early Career Investigator of the Year Award at the Alzheimer’s Research UK Conference 2017; this year she won the prestigious international Cavanagh prize for her contribution to this field.
John’s philanthropy has enabled her to expand her team. Although Katie’s team has shown there are different levels of these epigenetic tags in the brain of someone with Alzheimer’s disease, they do not know if these are causing the disease, or are a consequence of it. The John Slate PhD Scholar is using state-of-the-art genetic engineering technology in cell models to alter the levels of the epigenetic tags on specific genes that they know are altered in Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. It is a very exciting line of research in dementia as epigenetic changes are potentially reversible, so they could represent promising targets for future treatments.
PhD researcher Michael Schrauben is the recipient of this funding. He said: “Dementia plays such a significant role in our ability to properly interact with our loved ones. Although ageing and death are certainly a part of every individual’s life, a dissipating consciousness and the gradual loss of the essence of being, shouldn’t be. And yet, despite the advances of the 21st century, the frontiers of medicine leave us with no remedy in sight. Science can be a force for good in this world and this is all made possible through the philanthropy of individuals like John. I intend to honour his goodwill by investigating the processes that lead to dementia and I hope to advance our understanding of this disease.”