Dr Sheona ScalesSector leader

Biography

Dr Sheona Scales is Director of Research at Alzheimer's Research UK, the UK's leading dementia research charity, where she oversees the charity's research programme, including its response-mode funding, strategic initiatives such as the Drug Discovery Institutes, and its approach to clinical research in dementia. She holds a PhD in Developmental Neuroscience from King's College London and completed postdoctoral work at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research and the Francis Crick Institute, London. Before joining Alzheimer's Research UK, she held several roles at Cancer Research UK, including Head of Research for the Cancer Grand Challenges initiative and Head of the Experimental Cancer Medicines Centres programme and Paediatric Research Lead. She is a prominent public voice on the need to broaden Alzheimer's treatment approaches beyond amyloid, to expand UK clinical-trial enrolment, and to improve dementia diagnosis rates.

References

1. 1.Senior team – Alzheimer's Research UK — Confirms role as Director of Research, PhD in Developmental Neuroscience from King's College London, postdoctoral work at MRC NIMR and Francis Crick Institute, and prior roles at Cancer Research UK.
2. 2.UK Dementia Drug Discovery to Receive £45 Million Boost – Alzheimer's Research UK — Documents Dr Scales announcing the £45 million, five-year renewal of the Drug Discovery Alliance at the 2026 Annual Research Conference in Manchester.
3. 3.Global snapshot of Alzheimer's research offers new hope – Alzheimer's Research UK — Establishes Dr Scales's public advocacy positions: broadening treatment approaches beyond amyloid, and low UK trial enrolment as a key barrier for people with Alzheimer's.
4. 4.UK trial launches to transform Alzheimer's diagnosis with simple blood test – UCL News — Quotes Dr Scales at the launch of the ADAPT trial, part of the Blood Biomarker Challenge, in September 2025.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Mental health
• Dementia

Stated areas of expertise

• Dementia research strategy
• Alzheimer's drug discovery and development
• Clinical trial participation and access
• Dementia diagnosis
• Research funding and philanthropy
• Translational neuroscience

Notable achievements

• Announced the renewal of the Alzheimer's Research UK Drug Discovery Alliance for a further five years, backed by up to £45 million of new investment, at the charity's Annual Research Conference in Manchester in February 2026. Source ↗
• Championed the Blood Biomarker Challenge and the ADAPT trial, a major UK initiative to transform dementia diagnosis through accessible blood tests, quoted at launch in September 2025. Source ↗
• Represented Alzheimer's Research UK at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2025 in Toronto, publishing the charity's assessment of the landmark lecanemab and donanemab trial data. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “The earlier we can intervene with these experimental or new potential treatments, the greater their chances of success. So the science is currently moving fast, there is a pace of change, but we need the diagnosis in order to speed up, in order to help us to unlock this.”

  director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Doctors trial £100 blood test that could transform how NHS detects Alzheimer’s ↗

• “Evidence around Apoe3 contributing to Alzheimer's and dementia risk is significant, as this has been largely thought of as having a neutral effect on risk.”

  Alzheimer's Research UK · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Alzheimer’s therapies should target a particular gene, researchers say ↗

• “People won't have access to the next generation of Alzheimer's treatments”

  director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK · Dementia · 27 Aug 2026 · Slow Alzheimer’s diagnoses ‘mean UK patients missing out on experimental treatments’ ↗

Source references

1. Doctors trial £100 blood test that could transform how NHS detects Alzheimer’stheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Alzheimer’s therapies should target a particular gene, researchers saytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Slow Alzheimer’s diagnoses ‘mean UK patients missing out on experimental treatments’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-organisation/senior-team/
• Press office emailpress@alzheimersresearchuk.orgpublished here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sheonascales/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.