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Craig Ritchie

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Craig Ritchie
Born
Aberdeen, Scotland
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen
University College London (UCL)
Known forEuropean Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia (EPAD)
PREVENT Dementia Programme
Brain Health Scotland
Scientific career
FieldsPsychiatry, Neurodegeneration, Epidemiology, Brain Health
InstitutionsUniversity of St Andrews
Scottish Brain Sciences
University of Edinburgh (former)
Imperial College London (former)
WebsiteScottish Brain Sciences

Craig Ritchie is a Scottish professor of psychiatry. He is a clinical academic and researcher specialising in neurodegenerative diseases – in particularly the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Scottish Brain Sciences and serves as the Professor of Brain Health and Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of St Andrews.[1][2]

Ritchie promotes the "Brain Health Movement," which advocates for the detection of Alzheimer's disease in midlife, decades before the onset of dementia symptoms.[3] He previously held the Chair in Psychiatry of Ageing at the University of Edinburgh and served as the inaugural Director of Brain Health Scotland, a government-funded initiative to prevent dementia.[4]

Early life and education

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Craig Ritchie was born in Aberdeen, Scotland.[5] His mother, Elizabeth Ritchie, was a primary school teacher. His father, Professor William Ritchie, was a specialist in applied coastal geomorphology and vice-chancellor of Lancaster University. He has an older brother, Derek (b.1967) and a younger sister, Lynne (b.1978). He went to Aberdeen Grammar (1980–1986) before attending the University of Aberdeen, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) in 1991.[1][5]

Early career

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Between 1997 and 2000, Ritchie worked as a researcher in Melbourne, Australia, in a research centre run by Professor Colin Masters at the University of Melbourne - focusing on drug discovery and development for Alzheimer's disease.[6][7] He then returned to the United Kingdom in 2000, where he completed a PhD in Mental Health at University College London (UCL) between 2002-2006, funded through a Medical Research Council (MRC) Health Services Research Fellowship.[1][4] Prior to his PhD, he did an MSc in Epidemiology in 2002.[1]

Clinical and academic career

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In 2007, Ritchie was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Old Age Psychiatry at Imperial College London.[4] During this time, he also served as Honorary Consultant and Research and Development (R&D) Director at West London Mental Health Trust from 2010 to 2014 and Deputy Director of the London Northwest National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network.[6] He served as the co-director of the London (NW) Comprehensive local research network from 2010-2014, the Clinical Lead for Frailty Theme with the Chelsea and Westminster foundation trust from 2013-2014.[5]

In October 2014, Ritchie returned to Scotland to take up the Chair in Psychiatry of Ageing at the University of Edinburgh.[8] In 2015, he established the Centre for Dementia Prevention at the university.[4] He served as the elected Chair of the Scottish Dementia Research Consortium (SDRC) from 2017 to 2022.[1] He was also the Associate Director of the Edinburgh Wellcome Trust clinical research facility from 2016-2022. Currently, he holds the position of Professor of Brain Health and Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of St Andrews.[2]

Brain Health Scotland

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In March 2020, Ritchie became the inaugural Director of Brain Health Scotland, a government-sponsored programme led by Alzheimer Scotland.[4] The mission of Brain Health Scotland is to work with people of all ages to protect their brain health and reduce their risk of diseases that lead to dementia.[9] In his role, he advocated for a distinct "Brain Health Strategy" to complement existing dementia strategies, emphasising public health, risk reduction, and early detection across the life course rather than solely on late-stage care.[10]

Scottish Brain Sciences

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In 2022, Ritchie founded Scottish Brain Sciences, a company designed to accelerate the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for neurodegenerative disease through clinical trials and research.[4] The first Scottish Brain Sciences clinical research centre was opened in Edinburgh, and served people across Scotland. In May 2023, after working as a psychiatrist in the NHS for 33 years, he resigned from NHS Scotland. He cited frustration with the "infrastructure" available to deliver new Alzheimer's treatments.[11] He stated in The Herald that patients were being denied life-changing drugs due to "roadblocks in the system" and that symptomatic patients were facing wait times of up to 18 months.[12]

His resignation and comments regarding the NHS infrastructure were raised in the Scottish Parliament during First Minister's Questions, where MSP Claire Baker asked the First Minister for the Scottish Government's response to Ritchie's departure.[13] First minister Humza Yousaf replied that '[they] share his ambition to improve interventions and support people with dementia, and [he] takes [Ritchie's] criticisms very seriously'. Following his resignation from the NHS, Ritchie transitioned to the role of full-time CEO of Scottish Brain Sciences.[4] The company operates on a "triple helix" model, fostering collaboration between the life sciences sector, universities, and the health sector.[14]

The BBC has reported on Scottish Brain Sciences as a "pioneering" research centre that is developing new methods for early detection. In August 2023, BBC News covered the company's partnership with Roche Diagnostics, reporting that the centre aims to create a new blood test to identify Alzheimer's disease at an earlier stage. The article quoted Ritchie stating that this work would open the door to better-targeted interventions.[15]

In November 2025, Scotland's Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes joined for the opening of a new Scottish Brain Sciences clinical research centre at the ONE BioHub in Aberdeen.[16][17]

Research roles and projects

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Ritchie's research focuses on the combination of clinical trials and translational epidemiology.

  • European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia (EPAD): From 2015 to 2020, Ritchie led the EPAD Consortium, a €64 million Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) funded project.[18] The project established a longitudinal cohort of over 2,000 participants to create a "readiness" platform for clinical trials.[19]
  • PREVENT Dementia Programme: Ritchie is the Chief Investigator of the PREVENT study, a multi-centre prospective cohort study examining risk factors for dementia in midlife (ages 40–59).[20]

Interviews and media appearances

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Ritchie has given several appearances advocating for early testing and brain health.

The Sunday Times

  • May 2023, "Dementia expert quits 'failing' NHS Scotland"
    • interviewed by Helen Puttick (Scottish Health Correspondent) regarding his resignation from NHS Scotland, where he stated he was quitting a "failing" system that lacked the infrastructure to deliver the next generation of Alzheimer's treatments. He described the 18-month wait times for memory clinics as a "scandal" and expressed frustration that clinical practice lagged decades behind scientific progress.[11]
  • February 2024, 'Cure for Alzheimer's "can be found within ten years'"
    • interviewed by Kieran Andrews, where he predicted that a cure for Alzheimer's could be found within ten years. In this interview, he argued that dementia should become a rare condition, similar to how HIV is managed to prevent AIDS, by shifting medical focus to detecting and treating the disease in midlife before symptoms appear.[21]

The BBC

  • In 2015, he was interviewed by Dr Michael Mosley for the BBC Two programme Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, discussing lifestyle factors that reduce dementia risk.[22][8]
  • In 2024, he featured in the BBC Scotland documentary Sally Magnusson: Alzheimer's, a Cure and Me, where he advocated for testing amyloid levels in at-risk individuals before symptoms appear.[23] - "we can cure Alzheimer's before it becomes dementia"

Main publications

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  • Ritchie, C.W., et al. (2016). "Development of interventions for the secondary prevention of Alzheimer's dementia: the European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia (EPAD) project." The Lancet Psychiatry.[18]
  • Ritchie, C.W., et al. (2024). "The PREVENT dementia programme: baseline demographic, lifestyle, imaging and cognitive data from a midlife cohort study investigating risk factors for dementia." Brain Communications.[20]
  • Laurell, A.A.S., et al. (2025). "Hypothalamic volume, sleep, and APOE genotype in cognitively healthy adults." Alzheimer's & Dementia.[24]
  • Ritchie, C.W., Trepel, D., et al. (2025). "The impact of mild cognitive impairment on healthcare utilization and costs: A UK Biobank study." Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Leadership Team: Prof Craig Ritchie". Scottish Brain Sciences. 15 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Professor Craig Ritchie". University of St Andrews Research Portal.
  3. ^ "Inside the Impact Board: Why Dr. Craig Ritchie Is Optimistic About StartUp Health's Alzheimer's Moonshot Community". StartUp Health. 2024-07-30.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Craig Ritchie - Expert Advisory Panel". Alzheimer Europe.
  5. ^ a b c "Profile – Professor Craig Ritchie". Dementia Researcher. 2021-10-16.
  6. ^ a b "Prof Craig Ritchie Profile". Neurology Academy.
  7. ^ "Why Dr. Craig Ritchie Brings Optimism to StartUp Health's Alzheimer's Moonshot Impact Board". StartUp Health NOW Podcast. 2024-05-30.
  8. ^ a b "Paving the Way for Dementia Prevention". University of Edinburgh. 2024-09-09.
  9. ^ "Your Brain is Amazing. Let's Keep it That Way". Brain Health Scotland.
  10. ^ "A Strategy for Brain Health". Scottish Brain Sciences. 6 June 2023.
  11. ^ a b Puttick, Helen (2023-05-20). "Dementia expert quits 'failing' NHS Scotland". The Sunday Times.
  12. ^ Wilson, Caroline (2023-05-20). "Dementia expert Professor Craig Ritchie quits NHS job". The Herald.
  13. ^ "Meeting of the Parliament: 25 May 2023". Scottish Parliament TV. 2023-05-25.
  14. ^ Ritchie, Craig (2024-05-29). Can We Prevent and Cure Alzheimer's? (Video). Scottish Brain Sciences.
  15. ^ "Edinburgh firm developing early Alzheimer's test". BBC News. 2023-08-14.
  16. ^ "Deputy First Minister announces Scottish Brain Sciences as anchor tenant in ONE BioHub Aberdeen". Scottish Brain Sciences. 17 July 2024.
  17. ^ Pinching, John (2025-11-17). "Scottish Brain Sciences opens new Alzheimer's research centre in Aberdeen". PharmaTimes.
  18. ^ a b Ritchie CW, Molinuevo JL, Truyen L, Satlin A, Van der Geyten S, Lovestone S (2016). "Development of interventions for the secondary prevention of Alzheimer's dementia: the European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia (EPAD) project". The Lancet Psychiatry. 3 (2): 179–186. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00454-X. PMID 26683239.
  19. ^ Berry, Scott (Host); Ritchie, Craig (Guest) (2024-05-29). Prof Craig Ritchie: Looking Back at EPAD, Moving Forward in Alzheimer's Disease (Podcast). Berry Consultants.
  20. ^ a b Ritchie CW, Bridgeman K, Gregory S, et al. (2024). "The PREVENT dementia programme: baseline demographic, lifestyle, imaging and cognitive data from a midlife cohort study investigating risk factors for dementia". Brain Communications. 6 (3) fcae189. doi:10.1093/braincomms/fcae189. PMC 11166176. PMID 38863576.
  21. ^ Andrews, Kieran (2024-02-26). "Cure for Alzheimer's 'can be found within ten years'". The Sunday Times.
  22. ^ Mosley, Michael; Ritchie, Craig (2015-07-15). How can we all avoid dementia? (Television production). BBC Two.
  23. ^ Magnusson, Sally (2024-10-10). "Will I be diagnosed with Alzheimer's like my mother?". BBC News.
  24. ^ Laurell, Axel A. S.; Mak, Elijah; Dounavi, Maria-Eleni; Underwood, Benjamin R.; Dauvilliers, Yves; et al. (2025-05-12). "Hypothalamic volume, sleep, and APOE genotype in cognitively healthy adults". Alzheimer's & Dementia. 21 (5) e70244. doi:10.1002/alz.70244. PMC 12069023. PMID 40356022.
  25. ^ Ritchie C, Trepel D, Edwards S, Hahn-Pedersen JH, Chan MS, Bray BD, Clark A, Wichmann CA, Evans M (2025). "The impact of mild cognitive impairment on healthcare utilization and costs: A UK Biobank study". Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. 17 (2) e70065. doi:10.1002/dad2.70065. PMC 12159762. PMID 40510591.