Our work to accelerate research

Research into childhood dementia is inadequate, fragmented and grossly underfunded. To accelerate the development of treatments and cures, it is critical that research activity and funding increase and that concurrent research on multiple disorders is undertaken.

Childhood dementia is a devastating group of disorders with a high level of unmet need. In contrast to adult-onset dementia, childhood dementia has received little recognition. This is due to the individual rare and ultra-rare conditions that cause childhood dementia being considered individually based on their pathology, rather than as a broader clinical phenotype as the adult dementias are.

Childhood Dementia Initiative leads a world-first approach to collectively address all of the conditions that cause childhood dementia. This approach provides opportunities for greater economies of scale, collaboration and funding for research. It represents a paradigm shift in how these children are viewed, cared for and treated and it's generating innovative new research and collaborations.

Childhood Dementia Knowledgebase

The Childhood Dementia Knowledgebase is a database containing all the essential information about the 70+ conditions that cause childhood dementia, gathered from the literature and with input from experts in the field. This is a free resource. Learn more about the Knowledgebase

Childhood Dementia Research Alliance

We are bringing together the world’s brilliant health and medical researchers to work collaboratively to develop new effective treatments. The alliance will keep researchers, clinicians, industry, patient representatives and anyone interested in childhood dementia research up to date on our progress, help us identify research priorities and increase opportunities for collaboration. 

Join the Research Alliance

Research funding partnerships

We advocate for investment into all types of childhood dementia research. We welcome genuine research partnerships and can provide consumer input into research proposals and/or link you up to other experts in the field to establish new collaborations. Please get in contact with our team if you are applying for funding for childhood dementia research, we would love to hear your ideas. You can find our Partnership Principles below.

Childhood Dementia Symposium

The Childhood Dementia Symposium brings researchers, clinicians, industry and patient representatives together to accelerate the availability of therapeutic options for children with dementia. The Symposiums held to date have galvanised focus on childhood dementia, fostered new and innovative collaborations and will have an enduring benefit for the acceleration of research in years to come. Learn more about the Symposium.