SDRC Research Mapping 2025
Each year, the SDRC conducts a mapping exercise to determine Scotland’s contributions to brain health and dementia research. Here, we share the dataset that informed the completion of our mapping exercise for 2025.
The aims of the activity were to summarise:
1) The monetary value and number of grants awarded to Scotland-affiliated researchers, focussing on brain health and dementia studies commencing in 2025;
2) The number of research papers published in 2025 relating to brain health and dementia, authored by at least one researcher with a Scottish affiliation;
3) The number of researchers with a Scottish affiliation, who were awarded a grant or published an academic paper relating to brain health or dementia in 2025;
4) The number of internationally affiliated researchers who contributed to these studies in 2025.
Now in its eighth year, our mapping exercise for 2025 found the largest value for grants awarded since 2017 and the greatest number of publications we have ever recorded.
The dataset has several sheets showing the number and value of grant awards, the total amount of funding awarded (with comparisons to previous years), the amount of funding awarded relating to each SDRC research theme (with comparisons to previous years), number of publications, number of Scotland-based researchers / international collaborators, number of Scotland-based / international contributions to research articles / grant awards.
Funding sources were found by searching the UKRI Gateway to Research database using various terms relating to dementia and brain health, taking an inclusive approach in line with previous iterations of the report. Other databases were searched, including the NIHR, CSO, some European and US funding records, charity funders and the research portals for all Scottish universities. SDRC Executive Committee members were also contacted with a request to provide information on awarded grants. The mapping exercise focussed on projects commencing in 2025. Note: It was challenging to source industry / PhD studentship funding due to reporting differences. Hence, the value of awarded grants should be treated as a minimum sourced through the mapping methodology.
A search strategy relating to dementia, brain health and neurodegeneration, incorporating relevant terms with those applying to all Scottish universities, was developed. The EBSCOhost research platform was used, including the searching of 16 databases. The search returned 1,782 items with a publication date of 2025. Titles and articles were screened for relevance to dementia or brain health, and to determine if they were authored by at least one researcher working for a Scottish organisation.
Extraction of author names, affiliations, countries and article titles was initially conducted manually, but this was a monumental task, with over 7,000 rows of data in some sheets. AI (ChatGPT) was then used for data extraction, entry and spreadsheet management. Author names, affiliations and article titles were added as prompts, which were used to continually populate the working document.
The dataset is being shared for openness and to demonstrate the depth and breadth of dementia and brain health research in Scotland. We hope the information might stimulate further collaboration and knowledge exchange and ask that you please credit the source if sharing widely.
► Download: 2025 mapping dataset