Steve Gentleman

Steve Gentleman is Professor of Neuropathology in the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London. Over the past 20 years he has run an active research team investigating the pathology of neurodegenerative disease and traumatic brain injury. In some of his early work he identified pathological changes in the brains of people who had died of a serious head injury which were very similar to those seen in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.This link, based on inflammatory mechanisms, is still the focus of research for his research team in collaboration with colleagues throughout the UK and USA. He also discovered that damage to the processes of nerve cells as a result of head injury was far more common than originally thought. In more recent years he has been part of a European consortium of neuropathologists who have been working to standardise the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. Using this expertise he provides diagnostic support for the Parkinson’s UK and Multiple Sclerosis Society Tissue Banks at Imperial and is a member of the Medical Research Council Brain Bank Network management committee.

In addition to his research interests Steve has key teaching roles in the faculty of Medicine. He is the leader for the Life Cycle and Regulatory Systems theme and the course leader for a number of subjects including neuroscience, head and neck anatomy and aspects of the Neuroscience BSc. In addition he is the Director of Education for the Department of Medicine.

Current funding

• National Institute on Aging (US)
• UK Multiple Sclerosis Society
• Parkinson's UK
• Alzheimer Society/BUPA

Key research areas

• Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, neurodegeneration, inflammation, brain banking