Dr Abidemi Otaiku (Department of Brain Sciences and UK Dementia Research Institute) has been named a touchNEUROLOGY Future Leader 2026, selected by his peers as one of the neurologists shaping the future of research into sleep, dreaming and brain health.
To mark this recognition, touchNEUROLOGY interviewed Dr Otaiku about his research into how sleep and dreaming change during healthy ageing and neurodegenerative disease, and how these changes could serve as early markers of conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. They also discussed his personal motivation for pursuing neurology: the chance to bridge philosophical questions, such as consciousness and free will, with clinical practice.
Dr Otaiku also reflects on how his research on nightmares as early predictors of dementia and Parkinson’s, published through The Conversation, reached more than two million readers worldwide, underscoring the growing public interest in the science of sleep and brain health.