We are pleased to announce that MRC CoRE Director Professor Peter Magill will join the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) Parkinson’s Research Centre as one of its foundational Group Leaders.

In 2025, the UK DRI partnered with the charity Parkinson’s UK to launch a new £10 million research centre dedicated to better understanding the causes of Parkinson’s and to accelerating new and improved treatments for the condition. The UK DRI confirmed today the first three Group Leader appointments to the Parkinson’s Research Centre.

Peter commented “I am thrilled to be joining the Parkinson’s Research Centre and to have the opportunity to contribute to the delivery of its distinctive vision. I look forward to collaborating with new colleagues at the Centre and across the UK DRI as we work together with our charity and public partners to fully realise the benefits of transformative research and make a difference to the lives of people affected by Parkinson’s.”

Peter will hold his UK DRI Parkinson’s Research Centre position at the University of Oxford.

Many congratulations to MRC CoRE Leadership Team member Associate Professor Melanie Fleming on being awarded a prestigious Senior Non-Clinical Lectureship by the Stroke Association.

The Stroke Association Lectureship programme aims to address succession and sustainability in the careers of stroke researchers. Senior Lectureship awards provide secure and stable long-term funding for researchers to lead their own research programmes and establish their independent careers.

Melanie will start her 5-year Senior Lectureship in January 2026.

Melanie commented: “I am very grateful for this opportunity to build my research group, and to be able to work together with people with lived experience of stroke to develop a tailored sleep intervention for this condition.”

MRC CoRE Director Professor Peter Magill commented: “We are thrilled for Melanie. This award is richly deserved. Melanie is an outstanding researcher, and a valued colleague and collaborator. Her scientific vision brilliantly complements the MRC CoRE’s discovery and translational research portfolios.”

The MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Restorative Neural Dynamics (MRC CoRE RND) held its formal launch event on 4th November 2025 at the University of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History.

The event brought together Principle Investigators and members of their teams from across the MRC CoRE’s component research organisations (the University of Oxford, Cardiff University, Newcastle University, Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Imperial College London), alongside  industry and charity partners and senior representatives from the Medical Research Council.  It provided an opportunity to celebrate the inception of the MRC CoRE, strengthen connections across its diverse research and innovation community, and share its ambitious vision for the next 7-14 years. MRC CoRE Director Professor Peter Magill (University of Oxford) introduced the MRC CoRE’s Challenge. Professor Martin Tisdall (Great Ormond Street Hospital) then shared the story of Oran Knowlson, a young person living with a severe form of epilepsy whose groundbreaking treatment highlighted the potential of emerging neurotechnologies to improve quality of life, and the importance of integrating perspectives from patients and their carers into all research and innovation activities.

The day also showcased the MRC CoRE’s broad interdisciplinary research programme and its commitment to creating the conditions for cutting-edge collaborative research. Sessions explored how leading experts in neuroscience, clinical research, engineering and neurotechnology would work together to seize untapped opportunities to regulate and restore neural dynamics through transformative improvements to medical device-based therapy. Discussions also emphasised the shared commitment to fostering a positive research culture, embedding Patient and Public Involvement throughout the research process, and to building strong partnerships across the wider UK and international research and innovation ecosystem.

The launch marked the beginning of a shared endeavour to transform medical device-based therapies for brain disorders. Over the coming years, the MRC CoRE team will work to harness neural dynamics and next-generation neurotechnology, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

The MRC CoRE in Restorative Neural Dynamics welcomes applications to join its new cohort of Ph.D. students, for a start in October 2026.

We are offering 4-year PhD studentships with research projects aligned to empirical neuroscience, computational neuroscience, experimental medicine, and biomedical engineering.

We provide outstanding opportunities for interdisciplinary training and personalised career development within a supportive research culture.

For more information about the research projects on offer, as well as the application process, please see our Studentships page.

Closing date for applications is 12.00 midday UK time on Tuesday 2nd December 2025.