Professor John Collinge stands as a preeminent figure in the field of neurodegenerative diseases with his groundbreaking work on prion disorders. He currently serves as Professor of Neurology and Head of the Department of Neurodegenerative Disease at the UCL Institute of Neurology, where he has established himself as a transformative leader in dementia research. His distinguished medical training began at Bristol University, followed by specialized clinical neurology training at St Mary's Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. Prior to joining University College London in 2001, he held prestigious Wellcome Senior and principal fellowships at Imperial College, building the foundation for his pioneering research program.
Professor Collinge's landmark 1996 discovery demonstrating that variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) shared the same prion strain as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle revolutionized our understanding of zoonotic transmission of neurodegenerative disorders and remains one of the most significant contributions to the field. His laboratory has made numerous key advances in elucidating the mechanisms of prion propagation, strain variation, and neurotoxicity, establishing fundamental principles that have shaped global research directions. Beyond prion diseases, his work has significantly advanced our understanding of the genetic architecture underlying frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and motor neurone disease, revealing critical pathways for therapeutic intervention. His research program has pioneered the development of both small molecule and immunotherapeutic approaches for treating prion and Alzheimer's diseases, with several promising candidates now advancing through preclinical evaluation.
As Director of the UK Medical Research Council's Prion Unit and the NHS National Prion Clinic, Professor Collinge has established a world-leading center that serves as the primary referral point for prion disease diagnosis and management across the United Kingdom. His exceptional contributions to medical science have been recognized through election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005 and the award of a CBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2004 for services to medical research. He maintains active leadership roles as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Pathologists, and the Academy of Medical Sciences, shaping national and international research priorities in neurodegeneration. Currently, his laboratory is extending the prion paradigm to investigate prion-like mechanisms in more common neurodegenerative disorders, with the potential to transform therapeutic approaches for millions affected by dementia worldwide.
