Tara Spires-Jones

Who Tara Spires-Jones is

Tara Spires-Jones is Professor of Neurodegeneration at the University of Edinburgh, where she became Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences on 1 August 2024, and co-leads the Synapses, Circuits, Cognition and Physiology division in the UK Dementia Research Institute. Her research focuses on the mechanisms and reversibility of synapse degeneration in Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative conditions, and she has pioneered high-resolution imaging techniques in human post-mortem brain. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers cited more than 25,000 times, and is founding editor of the translational neuroscience journal Brain Communications. Prior to moving to Scotland in 2013, she was Instructor then Assistant Professor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School; she completed her DPhil at the University of Oxford. She served as President of the British Neuroscience Association from 2023 to 2025, was elected a Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences in 2024, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2026.

References for this biography

1. 1.Prof Tara Spires-Jones | Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences — Role, research focus, career history, BNA presidency, founding editor of Brain Communications
2. 2.Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences Welcomes New Director — Confirms appointment as Director of CDBS from 1 August 2024
3. 3.Prof Tara Spires-Jones | UK DRI — Current title (FMedSci, FRSE), publication count, awards including Inge Grundke-Iqbal 2024 and Stuart Pickering Brown Prize 2026, RSE fellowship 2026
4. 4.Tara Spires-Jones – University of Edinburgh Research Explorer — Academy of Medical Sciences fellowship 2024, BNA presidency 2023–2025, Scottish Science Advisory Council membership 2016–2019, career timeline
5. 5.Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows 2026 | Edinburgh Neuroscience — Confirms election as Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2026
6. 6.Expert reaction to observational study of COVID-19 infection and abnormal brain proteins | Science Media Centre — Confirms press-quoted role as expert commentator on dementia-related health research
7. 7.Contact us | Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences — Organisational address (Hugh Robson Building, 15 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD), press email and phone

Notable achievements

• Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2026 in recognition of excellence in her field Source ↗
• Elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences in 2024 Source ↗
• Awarded the Alzheimer's Research UK 2026 Stuart Pickering Brown Prize for lifetime achievement in dementia research Source ↗
• Served as President of the British Neuroscience Association from 2023 to 2025 Source ↗
• Became Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences on 1 August 2024, taking over from David Wyllie Source ↗
• Awarded the 2024 Inge Grundke-Iqbal Award for Alzheimer's Research by the Alzheimer's Association for the most influential paper in the Alzheimer's field in the previous two years Source ↗
• Served as a member of the Scottish Science Advisory Council from 2016 to 2019 advising the Scottish Government on science policy Source ↗

What Tara Spires-Jones has said

• “The study was 'interesting and important' but did suffer from limitations, including Norway's relatively homogenous and genetically undiversified population, which would not reveal variations in Alzheimer's prevalence known to exist in people of different ethnicities.”

  Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh · Dementia · 30 Sept 2026 · Scientists shed new light on Alzheimer’s warning signs ↗

• “The human brain is so phenomenally complex that we really just have to see it in people”

  director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Science at the University of Edinburgh · Dementia · 30 Sept 2026 · I'm watching brain surgery to see if Alzheimer's can ever be cured ↗

• “The good news is, we have these two drugs that can help people. The bad news is, you don't get any better. You're still getting worse — you just get worse more slowly.”

  professor of neurodegeneration at the University of Edinburgh · Dementia · 29 Sept 2026 · Alzheimer’s treatment is advancing rapidly — and there’s one thing all of us can do to help ↗

• “Understanding the risk factors that made the brain vulnerable to Alzheimer's was 'essential for developing effective treatments and prevention strategies', adding that Apoe was one of the most important genetic risk factors.”

  professor of neurodegeneration at the University of Edinburgh · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Alzheimer’s therapies should target a particular gene, researchers say ↗

• “This data is very interesting, strong and accurate, and is an important extension to what we know. Treatment are currently not available on the NHS because they're so expensive and risky. But as these get better over the next few years it's important that we can find people with amyloid in their brain using an easy test.”

  professor of neurodegeneration and director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh · Dementia · 27 Aug 2026 · Study finds 10% of over-70s in UK could have Alzheimer’s-like changes in brain ↗

Where Tara Spires-Jones has been quoted

1. This actor was told he had Alzheimer's, now he's performing a one-man showbbc.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
2. Scientists shed new light on Alzheimer’s warning signsft.com · 30 Sept 2026
3. I'm watching brain surgery to see if Alzheimer's can ever be curedbbc.com · 30 Sept 2026
4. Alzheimer’s treatment is advancing rapidly — and there’s one thing all of us can do to helpvox.com · 29 Sept 2026
5. Alzheimer’s therapies should target a particular gene, researchers saytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
6. Study finds 10% of over-70s in UK could have Alzheimer’s-like changes in braintheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Early-onset Alzheimer's disease shows different warning signs from established risk factorsMedical Xpress
• Norwich City teams up with The Royal Foundation to support suicide preventionNorwich City Football Club
• One Year On: How The Royal Foundation is strengthening suicide prevention support in the UKRoyal Foundation

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://discovery-brain-sciences.ed.ac.uk/our-staff/research-groups/prof-tara-spires-jones
• Staff pagehttps://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/tara-sheher-spires-jones/
• Staff pagehttps://www.ukdri.ac.uk/team/tara-spires-jones
• ORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2530-0598published here ↗
• Press office emailCDBS@ed.ac.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone+44 (0)131 651 1145published here ↗

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