UCL Receive £20 million for Experimental Neurology Centre

A new centre dedicated to the understanding and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases will be established at UCL following the award of a £20 million grant last month from the Wolfson Foundation. The grant, the largest single award ever made by the Foundation and one of the largest philanthropic donations in UCL’s history, was made as a result of the Wolfson Neurology Initiative, designed as a legacy to Lord Wolfson of Marylebone, who died in 2010. The Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre will be established at the heart of the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), the partner hospital of the UCL Institute of Neurology, reflecting the importance of bringing together clinical and scientific excellence in the search for effective treatments for these devastating diseases. The Centre will accelerate the development of treatments and identify future therapeutic targets for  neurodegenerative diseases, with the aim of earlier intervention for patients.

Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of The Wolfson Foundation, said:

“The grant reflects our commitment to supporting this vital area of science and addressing the crisis of  neurodegenerative disease facing an ageing population. In these times of austerity, the Foundation has taken the bold decision to commit £50 million of funding during 2011 including our largest single grant of £20 million -recognising that much other philanthropic support is under pressure. “We developed an extremely rigorous review process for the award, with advice provided by a team of internationally acclaimed scientists, chaired by the former

Dean of the Harvard Medical School. The standard of the competition was extremely high and UCL’s bid was of exceptional quality.

“This award is an appropriate legacy for our former chairman, Lord Wolfson. During his lifetime and under his guidance his family trusts committed over £1 billion of funding in real terms for good causes.” Professor Nick Fox, UCL Institute of Neurology, said: “The highest priority for patients with neurodegenerative diseases is to find treatments that slow or halt disease progression. These treatments must then be offered as early as possible, when the minimum of irretrievable neuronal loss has occurred, in order to have maximum impact on loss of cognitive and neurological function. There is increasing recognition in the field that the most effective therapies will be those applied in the very earliest stages of disease. This recognition will be at the heart of the work carried out by the Centre.”