There is no consensus on what the most important and game-changing problems are that need to be solved. As a result everyone works in parallel, and in competition, answering small, sometimes irrelevant questions that do not significantly move the field forward. This lack of focus is the result of poor collaboration and communication, a lack of reproducibility and a lack of funding.

Dementia research is composed of largely independent scientists competing for the same goals. In academia, division and competition is further intensified by the current obligation to “find your own niche” as explicitly required by funding bodies and academic institutions. There is little incentive to work together towards a common goal, working to everyone’s strengths.

Despite costing more in health and social care than cancer and heart disease combined, dementia research receives only 10% of the total annual funding of cancer research. Researchers have to spend a large part of their time trying to secure funding to continue their research, rather than actually doing their research. For example, in Australia (an identical system to the UK) it is estimated that a total of 550 WORKING YEARS of research time was spent writing grants with only a 21% chance of being successful.