Dementia Researcher Blogs

Hannah Hussain narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. For today’s blog Hannah provides provide a guide on how to go about your first literature review. It may sound super daunting. But don't worry, Hannah is 2 years into her PhD, and 4 years into her research career, and she know's a thing or two! In this blog Hannah shares the tools and talks to the focused approach, your literature r...

Dr Sam Moxon , narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and Sam thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about something that he has recently started to experience. It’s very much one of those “this is an issue I have and, by talking about it, maybe anyone else affected will find some comfort or useful advice” sort of blogs, for Sam, this is the ch...

Adam Smith narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. It's Mental Health Awareness Week and in this blog Adam discusses his own problems with anxiety, how he is coping and explores where they stem from and why talking about Mental Illness and Mental Health is important, not just to help you, but also to reduce the stigma associated with it.  The ISTAART / UCL survey of Early Career Dementi...

Dr Clarissa Giebel narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. It’s Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, followed by Dementia Action Week next week. So what better time to focus on the mental health of carers for people with dementia and older adults? But who cares for the carers? Clarissa reflects on the challenges for carers and the latest statistics and research. Find the original tex...

Dr Yvonne Couch , narrates her blog written for the Dementia Researcher website. This is going to be an advice column for those of you currently applying or considering applying for fellowships. Pre-warning, Yvonne was having a bad day whilst writing this so it’s going to be grumpy. There’s a springboard award which she was considering writing this week. So writing this blog probably wasn't the be...

Dr Kamar Ameen-Ali narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. In biomedical research there has historically been a tendency towards sole inclusion of males, particularly in preclinical animal studies. The reason has often centred on the potential variability of females relating to fluctuations in hormones which could confound the data. But could this bias towards studying males account for...

Beth Eyre  narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. By the time this blog is published, Beth will have finished all of her PhD experiments. That’s right, no more countless hours in a dark room. But as she gets closer to the end, Beth is beginning to think about all the opportunities she has been able to seize. So, in this blog to she share with you all some potential opportunities that a...

Nathan Stephens narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. Have you ever been questioned by a supervisor, colleague, or member of the public about what a certain term actually means? For Nathan Stephens, this word was value. Value quickly became the focal word that the PhD research questions, aims, and methodology grew from. ‘Social Value’ is the primary concept of value that will be used...

Masha Burelo narrates her blog written for the Dementia Researcher website. Just like drinking coffee to feel awake, many substances can affect the dynamics of our circadian cycle. Cannabinoids are assumed to enhance sleep due to the somnolence caused by certain doses, but can they improve sleep? Masha explores in her latest blog. Find the original text, and narration here on our website. https://...

Clíona Farrell narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. Down syndrome is caused by having a third copy of chromosome 21, and each year on the 21st of March (the 21st day of the third month) World Down syndrome Day is celebrated worldwide. People with Down syndrome are particularly susceptible to COVID-19, so this year the Down syndrome research community came together online. With partic...

Hannah Hussain narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. As we’re in the middle of the holy month of Ramadhan, this got Hannah to thinking... was there a deeper, scientific reason behind fasting. Perhaps a reason that could not be explained at the time. Whether you are Muslim or not, the benefits of intermittent fasting are evident through new and ongoing research. Some of the most renown...

Dr Anna Volkmer , narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. As a researcher and a clinician, it is part of Anna's mission (so to speak) to spread awareness of some of the lesser known aspects of dementia. In her case it is the language difficulties, known as ‘aphasia’, and speech difficulties, known as ‘apraxia’ or ‘dysarthria’. Having this kind of impact is slow work. But earlier this mo...

Dr Yvonne Couch , narrates her blog written for the Dementia Researcher website. This time Yvonne goes through the ins and outs of a good scientific presentation. What to do and what not to do. Yvonne asks that you bear in mind that she not an expert presenter. Excitable yes, expert no. But I she does know what doesn’t work and that’s important. Yvonne goes through the rough outline you might take...

Dr Sam Moxon , narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. What’s that you say? An IN PERSON conference? Sign me up!!! You may have noticed in recent months that more and more conferences are promising an in person experience this year. For Sam, this is extremely exciting. He loves conferences and has really missed seeing his friends, colleagues and collaborators (people can be all three!)....

Beth Eyre  narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. When Beth first began her PhD, she heard the word ‘networking’ all the time, it was thrown about in all of my introductory sessions and training reports but she actually had no idea what it really was, or most importantly what it entailed. So, in this blog Beth writes about some of the things she has learned about networking and some th...

Hannah Hussain narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. All pet owners know that the bond that they have with their furry friend is hard to explain. And with nearly 50% of the general UK adult population being pet owners – I’m sure quite a lot of you can probably relate. They boost our serotonin and they are just our everything! We know how much they can do for people, providing that unc...

Nathan Stephens narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. In this blog Nathan discusses brings forward a debate in the area of evaluating complex interventions. Traditional linear outcome orientated methods of evaluation rooted in positivistic assumptions, such as many standalone RCTs, while providing high levels of rigour, fail to capture emergent outcomes which are the “hallmark of comp...

Marianne Cranwell narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. In her first blog for Dementia Researcher, Marianne shares the tale of her unexpected emotional journey. During her PhD project with carers of people living with dementia, she learned how it felt to do qualitative research with people who are living through some of their most difficult moments - she explores how this made her fee...

Dr Kamar Ameen-Ali narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. Over recent years academic institutions have increasingly sought to establish policies to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives amongst students and university staff. On paper, this sounds like a progressive move towards balancing inequalities which people from under-represented groups face, but how effect...

Leanne Greene narrates the blog written by herself and colleague Alex Gude written for the Dementia Researcher website. Current NIHR guidance advocates that research should strive to improve the inclusion of individuals with dementia, including those who lack capacity (i.e. the ability to make one’s own decisions). Despite this guidance, D-PACT is one of few studies actively including adults who l...

Dr Yvonne Couch , narrates her blog written for the Dementia Researcher website. Don’t panic. The title was not a confession. Yvonne isn't quitting. At least not yet. But she has been thinking about the motivation to quit a lot lately and in this blog Yvonne shares what she has discovered. First some credit, much of the info in this has been lifted from the amazing A Slight Change of Plans podcast...

Masha Burelo narrates her blog written for the Dementia Researcher website. Masha Burelo, PhD Student from University of Aberdeen is back with her third blog in the 'from the plant to the lab series'. Masha is now focussed on dementia research, but her pervious work on cannabinoids, is shared through this series and today she writes about some of the risks... Nowadays, the main source of cannabino...

Dr Sam Moxon , narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. Sam has previously shared his challenges of living with ulcerative pancolitis, sadly this recently landed him in hospital as an inpatient, and in this blog he shares experiences from his stay - we are sure you join us in wishing him a speedy recovery. Find the original text, and narration here on our website. https://www.dementiares...

Dr Anna Volkmer , narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. Anna questions how you sustain the Academic element of being a 'Clinical Academic', and how many hours per week justtifies keepin the title? And is it possible to be a commited academic whilst also being a dedicated clinician? A solid bout of imposter syndrome coming through whilst waiting on Fellowship application decisions... F...

Last week we attended the Alzheimer's Research UK Conference in Brighton. We took time out from the programme to talk with early career dementia researchers to ask them about their work, the challenges they have faced and how they overcame them, and to share a highlight from the conference. In this short interview we talk with Dr Emmanuelle Vire, Associate Professor in the University College Londo...