Dementia Researcher

Welcome to the Dementia Researcher podcast, the fortnightly show for early career researchers, working in all areas of discovery. Join our community, contribute and find show transcripts and links to further resources at: https://www.dementiaresearcher.nih.ac.uk Produced by Adam Smith at University College London, delivered by the National Institute for Health Research in partnership with Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society.

This week Professor Louise Serpell from University of Sussex talks to a great panel of early career researchers, discussing and sharing their highlights from this month’s British Neuroscience Association (BNA) Festival. With our largest ever panel of scientists, with backgrounds are as varied as the topics they discuss. Everything from misfolding proteins, the latest thoughts on amyloid, thought processing and much more. Our guests this week are: Dr Lilya Andrianova, Postdoctoral Research Associate from the University of Glasgow. Lilya is researching neural circuits in health and disease. Emily Beswick, PhD Student from The University of Edinburgh. Emily works in Clinical Trials in MND, wearable devices and extra-motor outcome measures. Sarah Gregory, PhD Student from The University of Edinburgh. Sarah is studying the HPA axis in midlife and it’s association with dementia. Silvia Anderle, PhD Student at University of Sussex. Silvia uses photon microscopy to investigate how different APOE alleles affect

Health research must be informative, accessible and relevant to the public, patients, clinicians, health professionals, researchers, policy makers and health service managers. NIHR Evidence presents high quality summaries of findings so that health and care research can be used by all members of society. In this podcast we discuss the new NIHR Evidence Dementia Collection. A collection of NIHR funded research summaries created in close collaboration with those who might use them, including clinicians, commissioners, patients and the public. In the host chair is Dr Emily Oliver, Lead Dementia Nurse for Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust and former NIHR Clinical Academic Fellow. Emily talks with one of the researchers whose work is included in the collection, Christina Victor, Professor of Gerontology and Public Health from Brunel University. They are joined by Ann Pascoe a dementia carer and founder / chair of Dementia Friendly Communities. The final guest comes from NIHR Evidence. Nick Spirit is Stakeholder E

This week we have a two-part special discussing last weeks Alzheimer's Research UK Conference - this is part two. In this show we focus on sharing the research and highlights from the four main days of the conference, 23rd to 26th March. Dr Yvonne Couch, ARUK Research Fellow from University of Oxford takes the chair and she is joined by four great guests: Beth Eyre, PhD Student from The University of Sheffield Dr Lucy Russell, Research Fellow, University College London Dr Aitana Sogorb Esteve, Research Fellow, University College London Michelle Naessens, Research Assistant, University of Cambridge _____________________________________________________________________ You can find out more about our panellists, and their work on our website: https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk A transcript of this podcast is also available here https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/podcast-aruk-conference-roundup For more information on ARUK visit: https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/research/ ______________

This week we have a two-part special discussing last weeks Alzheimer's Research UK Conference - this is part one. In this show we focus on sharing highlights from the ECR Day, held on Monday 22nd March. Dr Fiona Calvert, Science Communications Officer from Alzheimer's Research UK is joined by Dr Yvonne Couch, ARUK Research Fellow from University of Oxford, and PhD Students Mica Clarke from UCL and Katy Hole from University of Bath. _____________________________________________________________________ You can find out more about our panellists, and their work on our website: https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk A transcript of this podcast is also available here https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/podcast-aruk-conference-2021-ecr-day/ For more information on ARUK visit: https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/research/ _____________________________________________________________________ Like what you hear? Please review, like, and share our podcast - and don't forget to subscribe to ensure y

In this week’s show Dr Anna Volkmer takes the chair to talk with Shalom Henderson and Dr Siddharth Ramanan from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (CBU) at the University of Cambridge, discussing their research on Understanding Logopenic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (lvPPA). A little about lvPPA People with lvPPA have increasing trouble thinking of the words they want to say. As time goes on, people with lvPPA have more trouble getting the words out, and they eventually begin to speak slower and slower. The cause of lvPPA is unknown, we do know that in lvPPA there is a large build-up of amyloid and tau within brain cells, like in Alzheimer’s disease. As more and more proteins form in brain, the cells lose their ability to function and eventually die. This causes the affected parts of the brain, most often the left posterior temporal cortex and inferior parietal lobe, to shrink. Most people with lvPPA start to have symptoms in their 50s, although some people have shown signs earlier or later.

In today's show, Dr Prerana Sabnis is joined by three Dementia and Neuroscience MSc Students from University College London. Morgan Daniel, Aiko Robert and Vaiva Zarombaite, discussing what motivated them to this course, what they have been studying and what comes next. Completing an MSc can prepare you for further study at PhD level, or for those not attracted to academia, it can prepare you lots of great roles in the workplace. When thinking about dementia, an MSc is also a great way for someone who perhaps studies in a non-science related subject to acquire advanced subject knowledge and for everyone to try their hand at extended independent research during their dissertation. We hope after listening to this show you are motivated consider an MSc or further education yourself. One our website you will find a brand new directory of courses: https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/higher-education-courses/ One of the aims of Dementia Researcher is to encourage people to consider a career in dementia re

Your Supervisor will play a vital role in your PhD, supporting you from starting out to submission (and beyond). But what does ‘supervision’ actually mean in practice? What sort of support and assistance can you expect your supervisor to provide? In this podcast Adam Smith talks with three researchers about their relationships with their PhD Supervisors. Getting underneath what good looks like and how you can influence this. We also discuss what can go wrong, and what that relationship is broken, and strategies to deal that, and still ensure success. This week’s guests are: Dr Prerana Sabnis, Cognitive Neuropsychologist with an interest in language comprehension. Currently blogging for Dementia Researcher having completed her studies at University of Trento, Italy and Macquarie University, Australia. Dr Claire Lancaster, Research Fellow at University of Sussex working on early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease and lifespan risk reduction, with a particular focus on the ApoE gene. Dr Barbara Ann Bush, Ten

This week we welcome Dr Tamlyn Watermeyer, Research Fellow from Edinburgh University into the hosts chair to talk with a research team, who rapidly responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring how they adapted to research the impact of COVID-19 on dementia care, and what they have uncovered. People living with dementia has been some of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK more than a quarter of those who have died had dementia, and an even larger number have been affected societal changes taken to protect people and to keep them safe. Loneliness and isolation are worsening symptoms and this has prompted a response from care services and researchers, to understand how best to help and deliver interventions. At the beginning of 2020, the NIHR and other research funders were fantastic. Very quickly providing funding to support COVID-19 related research. That funding wasn’t only spent on developing treatments and a vaccination, but also on how the virus and the measures taken to keep people safe

Cohorts and the data collected from them through longitudinal research studies have made a significant impact on our understanding of disease. With funding from the Medical Research Council, Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) has been at the forefront of this work for the past 5 years, providing dementia researchers with free access to more than 3 million health records from over 40 cohort studies, and a powerful, secure analytics platform. In our first ever ‘live recording’ we invited the audience into our virtual studio to watch Dr Megan O’Hare host a discussion on DPUK. Listen to discover what DPUK is, how it works, how it is helping researchers and how you can use the service. Guests on the show are Cognitive Neuropsychologist, Dr Sarah Baumeister, Senior Data & Science Manager from DPUK and University of Oxford and multi-disciplinary researcher Dr Danielle Newby, also from the University of Oxford. With a background in epidemiology, pharmacology and machine learning. Danielle is currently using DPUK to explo

In this week’s show, we discuss how arts based methodologies and the knowledge and skills of an artist can be used within the field of health to create new understandings and promote wellbeing in people living with dementia. Our first guest is freelance Artist and Academic, Dr Megan Wyatt. Megan recently completed her PhD at Wrexham Glyndwr University, investigated how people living with dementia engage with and experience painting. We are also joined by Megan’s PhD Supervisor Dr Susan Liggett. Susan is the Associate Dean for the Research Faculty of Art Science and Technology at the University, and her research considers how visual arts can contribute to a better society. Both Megan and Susan are passionate about the benefits of Art in dementia, having both experienced the impact of the disease within close relatives. Together they co-authored a paper on “The Potential of Painting: Unlocking Disenfranchised Grief for People Living With Dementia” and are in the process of writing a chapter for the practical

Every week we publish blogs written by a fantastic group of regular contributors, and special guests from across the world. Researchers at all stages of their careers, working across all areas of science. Discussing their lives, their research and general careers topics. Their blogs are a fantastic source of information, advice and top-tips and we know from the feedback we receive, that they’re also great at helping you to know you’re not alone in the difficulties you face. Every blog is narrated by the author, so our Programme Director Adam Smith has taken a look back over this year’s blogs and collated a five-part podcast special. Today Adam introduces blogs from Dr Anna Volkmer, Dr Sam Moxon, Dr Emily Oliver, Beth Eyre, Dr Clarissa Giebel and Morgan Daniel. Covering: • Conversation analysis • Job hunting in a pandemic • Clinical Academic roles in nursing, do they exist and where can I find one • Introducing Beth Eyre and discovering science • Planning and hosting a virtual event • Managing your Imposte

Every week we publish blogs written by a fantastic group of regular contributors, and special guests from across the world. Researchers at all stages of their careers, working across all areas of science. Discussing their lives, their research and general careers topics. Their blogs are a fantastic source of information, advice and top-tips and we know from the feedback we receive, that they’re also great at helping you to know you’re not alone in the difficulties you face. Every blog is narrated by the author, so our Programme Director Adam Smith has taken a look back over this year’s blogs and collated a five-part podcast special. Today Adam introduces blogs from special guests and Race Against Dementia Fellows, Dr Claire Durrant. New regular contributor Bethany McLoughlin, Dr Katy Stubs from Alzheimer’s Research UK and Dementia UK Consultant Nurse, Dr Emily Oliver. Covering: • Reflecting on the first year as a Race Against Dementia Fellow • Bethany’s career to date • A few thoughts on peer review • Get

Every week we publish blogs written by a fantastic group of regular contributors, and special guests from across the world. Researchers at all stages of their careers, working across all areas of science. Discussing their lives, their research and general careers topics. Their blogs are a fantastic source of information, advice and top-tips and we know from the feedback we receive, that they’re also great at helping you to know you’re not alone in the difficulties you face. Every blog is narrated by the author, so our Programme Director Adam Smith has taken a look back over this year’s blogs and collated a five-part podcast special. Today Adam introduces blogs from himself, Dr Clarissa Giebel, Morgan Daniel and Dr Emily Oliver. Covering: • Should you do a Masters • Taking research outside its bubble • My Master’s degree so far • Ethics committee, an insight into the other side You can find out more about our bloggers, and their work on our website. There you will also find the originals of these blogs, a

Every week we publish blogs written by a fantastic group of regular contributors, and special guests from across the world. Researchers at all stages of their careers, working across all areas of science. Discussing their lives, their research and general careers topics. Their blogs are a fantastic source of information, advice and top-tips and we know from the feedback we receive, that they’re also great at helping you to know you’re not alone in the difficulties you face. Every blog is narrated by the author, so our Programme Director Adam Smith has taken a look back over this year’s blogs and collated a five-part podcast special. Today Adam introduces blogs from Morgan Daniel, Dr Emily Oliver, Dr Clarissa Giebel, Dr Anna Volkmer and one of his own. Covering: • Sharing my MSc Journey • World Alzheimer’s Day • Meet Dr Emily Oliver • London Calling • Using routine data for dementia research • The measure of COVID-19 on loneliness You can find out more about our bloggers, and their work on our website. Th

Every week we publish blogs written by a fantastic group of regular contributors, and special guests from across the world. Researchers at all stages of their careers, working across all areas of science. Discussing their lives, their research and general careers topics. Their blogs are a fantastic source of information, advice and top-tips and we know from the feedback we receive, that they’re also great at helping you to know you’re not alone in the difficulties you face. Every blog is narrated by the author, so our Programme Director Adam Smith has taken a look back over this year’s blogs and collated a five-part podcast special. Today Adam introduces blogs from Dr Anna Volkmer, Dr Emily Oliver, Dr Clarissa Giebel, Michelle Naessens and one of his own. Covering: • Doing a virtual viva and completing those darned amendments • The ‘insider’ researcher debate in qualitative research • Waving a flag for better social care in dementia • Brexit a nose slowly strangling academic research in the UK • The Post

As we prepare to welcome 2021 and say good riddance to 2020, we look back on some of the great podcasts we recorded over the last year, in this round-up of some of our favourite moments. A transcript of this podcast is available here on our website - https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/podcast-2020-roundup-christmas-special Over the past year we’ve recorded 38 podcasts with 80 dementia researchers and expert panellists. Those podcasts have attracted over 25,000 plays from all over the world, in over 50 countries. The shift to remote recording has meant that that the audio quality isn't always as great as we would like. However, the pandemic has made the world a little smaller, and with video conferencing calls becoming the norm, it has allowed us to have more guests from across the world. We have covered a wide range of topics, from careers advice and support topics to basic science to care research, and the year isn't over yet! From the 28th December to 1st January, we will be releasing a new pod

In our last show we spoke with four dementia researchers who were at very first stages of their PhD studies. This week, is the sequel, we close the loop with three people who recently completed their PhDs and a guest from last week. We learn what got them through, what they would do differently, and what advise they have for those in their first year of a PhD. Hosted by Adam Smith with guests: Chloe Tulip, from Swansea University, researching sleep and dementia. Dr Anna Volkmer, Speech & Language Therapy Researcher, from University College London Dr Chris Hardy, Senior Research Fellow from University College London Dr James Fletcher, Teaching Fellow from King’s College London _____________________________________________________________________ This show is essential listening for anyone who is about to start a dementia or other science related PhD or for those within the first year. With practical advise and top tips, our guests share what they have learned, and highlight other tools that can help. If

In this week’s show we’re chatting about those very early stages of a PhD. Those first few months, when you have taken the leap from following a Masters / Grad school fairly rigid format, to the new and often uncertain place of PhD Study. Adam Smith hosts the show, and is joined by four PhD Students who are all in their first year. They discuss the excitement of starting, transition to PhD learning, supervisors, pressure and mental health, good work habits and much more. If you’re in the first year, we are sure there will be aspects you recognise from this discussion, and the reassurance that you are not alone – with a few tips along the way. This week’s guests are: Chloe Tulip, from Swansea University, researching sleep and dementia. Tiffeny James, from University College London, investigating equity in service provision for people with dementia and their families Brendan Commane from the Royal College of Art, studying care home environments and art. Felicity Slocombe from Loughborough University st

In this week show, Adam Smith is joined by an extended panel of early career dementia researchers, to discuss their highlights from the AAIC Neuroscience Next Conference. AAIC Neuroscience Next organised by the Alzheimer’s Association was a global, no-cost virtual conference taking place on the 9-10th November 2020. It showcased the work of students and early career investigators in cognitive, computational, behavioural, and other areas of neuroscience research. In addition to the scientific presentations, attendees were given access to information on funding and career workshops and provided with networking opportunities. The panellists for this show are (for the first time) all from outside the UK. We were delighted to be joined by: Lindsay Welikovitch a PhD Student from McGill University, Canada (soon to be Dr having recently successfully defended her thesis). Courtney Kloske, PhD Student from the University of Kentucky, USA. Vee Balendra a Medical Student from St James School of Medicine, USA. Dr