Dementia Researcher Blogs

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Dementia Researcher blogs are written and then narrated by the authors. Through this podcast channel, we share the narrations, so you can listen back where ever you get your podcasts, as well as on our website - careers, research and your science. Brought to you by www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk - everything you need, all in one place.

6d ago

Jacqui Kerr - Returning to My Roots: Visiting a Memory Café

Jacqui Kerr narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. Jacqui manages a research network. Most days that means teams, partnerships and delivery pathways. Then she drove north to a memory café in a rural Scottish town, sat down with a cuppa, and found herself back in the job she trained for in 2000. She had come to talk about research opportunities. What she got instead was a roomful of people asking how to take part, what would be expected of them, and whether living miles from a study site would count them out. Nobody was put off. She writes about what that afternoon put back into the work. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-returning-to-my-roots-visiting-a-memory-cafe/ Jacqueline Kerr is the Network Manager for the Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network in Scotland. With a background in research management and public engagement, she is dedicated to supporting clinical trials and improving access to research across the country. Jacqueline works closely with clinicians, researchers, and the public to raise awareness of dementia studies and encourage participation. Leave us a Tip https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunityhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
Sep 7

Rahul Sidhu - My Grandad’s Story: Why I Became a Neuroscientist

Rahul Sidhu narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. Rahul is a regular Dementia Researcher blogger, usually writing about life as a PhD student and his work on heart disease and dementia. This time he goes back further, to his grandad, who lived with vascular dementia through Rahul's teenage years and died in 2019. Rahul describes the man his grandad was before dementia, a doctor who survived Partition and rebuilt his life in England, then walks through how the disease changed him, the family's decision to move him into a nursing home, and the stigma around dementia that he says still exists in many South Asian communities including his own. Worth reading whenever the day-to-day of research starts to feel disconnected from why you started it. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-my-grandads-story-why-i-became-a-neuroscientist/ -- Rahul Sidhu is a PhD student at The University of Sheffield, focusing on the effects of heart disease on dementia in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease. His research aims to uncover how cardiovascular health influences neurodegenerative conditions, potentially leading to novel therapeutic strategies. Find Rahul on LinkedIn -- Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support. -- Leave us a Tip https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunityhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
Sep 3

Dr Yvonne Couch - Brain Drain: The Controversy Around Glymphatics

Dr Yvonne Couch narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. Yvonne got pulled into an accidental group chat argument with colleagues about whether the brain's glymphatic system actually exists, and it escalated into a full blown journal club debate. In this blog she walks through the case for it: how the lymphatic system works everywhere else in the body, why the brain's tightly packed vasculature makes a proper lymphatic network hard to picture, and how a 2012 paper from Maiken Nedergaard's group tied two older observations together into the modern glymphatic hypothesis. She then sets out where the critics push back, from the discovery of cerebral amyloid angiopathy patterns that do not fit a directional flow, to modelling that questions whether arterial pulsation can move enough fluid, to the 2015 discovery of actual lymphatic vessels in the meninges. Worth reading if you have ever nodded along to "the brain flushes itself while you sleep" without knowing quite how contested that sentence is. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-brain-drain-the-controversy-around-glymphatics/ -- Dr Yvonne Couch is a Research Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Oxford. Yvonne studies the role of extracellular vesicles and their role in changing the function of the vasculature after stroke, aiming to discover why the prevalence of dementia after stroke is three times higher than the average. It is her passion for problem solving and love of science that drives her, in advancing our knowledge of disease. Yvonne writes about her work, academic life, and careers as she takes a new road into independent research. -- Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support. -- Leave us a Tip https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunityhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
Sep 2

Dr Emma Law - pTau217 Blood Test for Alzheimer's: What the FDA Clearance Means

Dr Emma Law narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. The FDA has cleared Roche's Elecsys pTau217 blood test to help identify amyloid pathology in people aged 55 and over who are already showing signs of cognitive decline. Most of the attention has gone to what that means for diagnosis and for access to new treatments. In this blog, Emma takes a different angle, asking what it changes for the people who design and deliver dementia studies. Her view is that a clearance like this reshapes the economics of recruitment, opens up questions about the earliest stages of disease that were previously too expensive to ask, and moves some of the most important work towards understanding how biomarkers get used in practice rather than towards discovering new ones. She is also clear that imaging is not being replaced, and that the researchers who do best over the next decade will be the ones who know how to combine the two. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/ptau217-blood-test-what-fda-clearance-means/ -- Dr Emma Law is Strategic Manager for the The Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network in Scotland. Emma has 13 years experience as a Clinical Trails Network Manager and over 35 years experience as a Nurse, many of which were spent in the delivery of Clinical Research Trials. Emma completed her PhD and is passionate about giving people living with dementia and their carers access to participate in research. -- Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support. -- Leave us a Tip https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunityhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
Aug 26

Dr Ajantha Abey - More Research Habits I Wish I'd Started Earlier in My PhD

Dr Ajantha Abey narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. In part one, Ajantha covered the practical lab-hacks: experiment numbering, file naming, reference managers and spreadsheets. This time he moves up a level, to the habits that sit around the experiments rather than inside them. He makes the case for recording why you made a decision and not just what you did, keeping every half-formed idea in one running list, building relationships with colleagues long before you need a protocol or a reference, going to small local meetings from the very start, saying yes to teaching, outreach and committee work, and paying attention to what comes after the PhD while there is still time to explore it. None of it is glamorous, and Ajantha is the first to say so. But the argument he makes is that a PhD is a marathon, and the systems you set up in year one are the ones that stop your future self getting lost. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-more-research-habits-i-wish-id-started-earlier-in-my-phd/ -- Dr Ajantha Abey is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Kavli Institute at University of Oxford. He is interested in the cellular mechanisms of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other diseases of the ageing brain. Previously, having previoulsy explored neuropathology in dogs with dementia and potential stem cell replacement therapies. He now uses induced pluripotent stem cell derived neurons to try and model selective neuronal vulnerability: the phenomenon where some cells die but others remain resilient to neurodegenerative diseases. -- Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support. -- Leave us a Tip https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunityhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
Aug 26

Dr Connor Richardson - We're Still Not Counting LGBT People in Dementia Research

Dr Connor Richardson narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher. Connor works in dementia epidemiology, so when he wondered whether LGBT people face a higher risk of dementia, he assumed the answer was sitting in a paper somewhere waiting to be looked up. It mostly isn't. There is one large study with a marginal signal, a second with an outcome that may not measure what we want it to, and a third that finds nothing at all. Connor walks through what each one can and cannot tell us, then arrives at the reason they disagree, which turns out to have less to do with LGBT people and more to do with the questions our cohorts were never designed to ask. Worth reading if you have ever assumed a variable would be there when you went looking for it. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-were-still-not-counting-lgbt-people-in-dementia-research/ -- Dr Connor Richardson is a Neuro-epidemiology Research Associate at The University of Edinburgh. His research interests lie in using advanced statistical modelling and machine learning to measure dementia risk. Connor blogs about his research, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and sometimes his Pomapoo’s. -- Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support. -- Leave us a Tip https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunityhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
Aug 24

Professor Louise Serpell - Getting a Grant Funded: A View from the Panel

Professor Louise Serpell narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. What does a grant panel member actually notice when they open your application? This blog walks through a grant from the reviewer's side of the desk, covering the short summary, the lay summary, the case for support, and the often underexplained art of justifying your costings. It also covers what happens once a decision is close: responding to reviewers' comments and getting through the interview. Practical, panel-tested advice for anyone about to submit. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-getting-a-grant-funded-a-view-from-the-panel/ -- Professor Louise Serpell is an Emerita Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Sussex. Her research focuses on how proteins misfold and form amyloid structures linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, using approaches from structural biology and molecular biophysics. Louise completed her DPhil at the University of Oxford and later established her own research group in the UK. Alongside her research career, she has been active in mentoring, public engagement, and supporting early career researchers. Find Louise on LinkedIn -- Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk This podcast is brought to you from University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support. -- Leave us a Tip https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunityhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
Aug 20

Beccy Owen - Giving Your First Seminar: What I Learned

Beccy Owen narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. What if the thing you've been dreading since day one of your PhD turns out to be the best week of work you do all year? A seminar isn't an exam, and the audience isn't waiting to catch you out. In this blog, Beccy talks through what actually made the difference: pulling a year of scattered experiments into one place, working out the story before opening PowerPoint, stripping the text off her slides, and practising until she was sick of the sound of her own voice. There's also a decent argument here that questions at the end are the best part. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-giving-your-first-seminar/ -- Beccy Owen is a PhD Researcher at the University of Warwick, exploring how tau pathology disrupts neuronal ion channels and brain network activity in Alzheimer’s disease. As part of the Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Programme, her work uses electrophysiology to better understand the molecular drivers of neurodegeneration. Originally from the Welsh countryside, Beccy’s passion for dementia research was shaped during her postgraduate studies and through personal experience with a family member living with the condition. She will be sharing her journey, insights, and lessons learned throughout her PhD here on the blog. Find Becky on LinkedIn -- Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support. -- Leave us a Tip https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunityhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher

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A biweekly podcast for early career researchers, bringing together fantastic guests to discuss their research, careers + much more. Dedicated to sharing the science, encouraging collaborations, attracting more people to the field of Alzheimer's and other dementias research, and supporting those already here to succeed. Brought to you by https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk at University College London, in association with Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia - everything you need, all in one place. supporting early career researchers across the world Register today to recieve weekly bulletins, with news, funding opportunities, jobs, and events.

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