Dementia Researcher Blogs

Dr Clarissa Giebel - From remote to face-to-face international research understanding the mental health needs of older adults in Colombia

Dr Clarissa Giebel narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.
After nearly two years of remote working with Colombian collaborators in Medellin, Clarissa was finally able to set foot into the country and understand the local complexities that affect older adults. In this blog Clarissa talks about her visit and touches on what she discovered, and why remote working sometimes just can't provide the insights you get from being there in person, face-to-face.
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-from-remote-to-face-to-face-international-research-in-colombia/
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Dr Clarissa Giebel is a Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool and NIHR ARC North West Coast. Clarissa has been working in dementia care research for over 10 years focusing her research on helping people with dementia to live at home independently and well for longer, addressing inequalities that people with dementia and carers can face. Outside of her day work, Clarissa has also organised a local dementia network - the Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum, and has recently started her own podcast called the Ageing Scientist.
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If you would like to write your own blog drop us a line, we're always on the look out for new contributors to write about their research, careers + more dementiaresearcher@nihr.ac.uk

Dr Yvonne Couch - The Great Academic Resignation

Dr Yvonne Couch, narrates her blog written for the Dementia Researcher website.
Search ‘Academic quit lit’ and you’ll find tales of disillusionment, pages of personal accounts posted on blogs, social media, or websites. Stories of precarious careers, bureaucracy, barriers, and pain of departing. In this blog Yvonne, talks about the great academic resignation which seems to be occurring. Trying to figure out why and where it’s happening and think about things that might be important to change going forward.
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-the-great-academic-resignation/
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Dr Yvonne Couch is an Alzheimer's Research UK Fellow 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 has joined the team of staff bloggers at Dementia Researcher, and will be writing about her work and life as she takes a new road into independent research.
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Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk

Dr Aida Suarez-Gonzalez - How to prepare a search strategy for your systematic review

Dr Aida Suárez-Gonzalez narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.
Systematic reviews are powerful ways to assess the state of knowledge on a particular research topic. They appraise and collate all relevant empirical evidence and their impact can be enormous: from informing clinical decision-making to global policy. That is why it is critical that we conduct them with rigour.
In this blog Aida provides a brief starter guide with 5 steps and practical tips to ease the way for those of you embarking on your first systematic review - essential reading for PhD and Masters Students.
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-how-to-prepare-a-search-strategy-for-your-systematic-review/
We're always on the look out for new contributors, if you would like to write and narrate your own blog - drop us a line to dementiaresearcher@nihr.ac.uk
Don't forget to also listen to our fortnightly - published fortnightly, just look for Dementia Researcher in your podcast app.
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Dr Aida Suarez-Gonzalez is a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Senior Research Fellow at the Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology at Queen Square. With many years clinical experience working in Spain, Aida now investigating non-pharmacological interventions, services and assistive technologies to support people living well with dementia.
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This podcast is brought to you from University College London in association with the National Institute for Health Research, Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society, who we thank for their ongoing support. Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line dementiaresearcher@ucl.ac.uk  

Dr Kamar Ameen-Ali - How academic misconduct affects ECRs

Dr Kamar Ameen-Ali narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.
Dementia research has been in the news again. Sadly, there is no promising new drug on the horizon, and no new breakthrough in our understanding of the brain diseases, like Alzheimer’s, which lead to dementia. Instead, we find ourselves shocked by an investigation into what has become a high-profile case of potential academic misconduct in our field. This case has been widely reported in the press, but what hasn't been discussed is how early career researchers (ECRs) are affected by academic misconduct. In this blog, Kamar discusses how the structure of academia makes ECRs particularly vulnerable to the effects of academic misconduct.
 
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-how-academic-misconduct-affects-ecrs/
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Dr Kamar Ameen-Ali is a Lecturer in Biomedical Science at Teesside University & Affiliate Researcher at Glasgow University. In addition to teaching, Kamar is exploring how neuroinflammation following traumatic brain injury contributes to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases that lead to dementia. Having first pursued a career as an NHS Psychologist, Kamar went back to University in Durham to look at rodent behavioural tasks to completed her PhD, and then worked as a regional Programme Manager for NC3Rs.
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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 in association with Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society, who we thank for their ongoing support.

Dr Anna Volkmer - Study Pre-registration: Say it, do it, share it

Dr Anna Volkmer, narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.
Have you ever pre-registered your study? When you preregister your research, you're simply specifying your research plan in advance of your study and submitting it to a registry. 
Preregistration separates hypothesis-generating  (exploratory) from hypothesis-testing (confirmatory) research. Both are important. But the same data cannot be used to generate and test a hypothesis, which can happen unintentionally and reduce the credibility of your results. Addressing this problem through planning improves the quality and transparency of your research. This helps you clearly report your study and helps others who may wish to build on it. In this blog Anna discusses the process and benefits of pre-registering your study.
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-pre-registration-say-it-do-it-share-it/
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Dr Anna Volkmer is a Speech and Language Therapist and researcher in Language and Cognition, Department of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London. Anna is researching Speech and language therapy interventions in language led dementia and was once voted scariest speech and language therapist (even her children agree).
If you would like to write for us, or join out team of regular contributors, drop us a line - dementiaresearcher@nihr.ac.uk

Nathan Stephens - Positionality and reflexivity, and why it’s not just for qualitative research

Nathan Stephens narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher.
A formality for those working towards a masters or PhD and conducting qualitive research is to acknowledge and articulate their subjectivity and reflexivity. In this post Nathan tries to get his head around these two complex sounding and entangle concepts, and hopefully provide some insight for others who like him, who are currently constructing positionality and reflexivity statements.
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-positionality-and-reflexivity-and-why-its-not-just-for-qualitative-research/
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Nathan Stephens is a PhD Student and unpaid carer, working on his PhD at University of Worcester, studying the Worcestershire Meeting Centres Community Support Programme. Inspired by caring for both grandparents and personal experience of dementia, Nathan has gone from a BSc in Sports & Physical Education, an MSc in Public Health, and now working on his PhD.
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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 in association with Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society, who we thank for their ongoing support.

Beth Eyre - A guide to moving abroad as a PhD student

Beth Eyre narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.
Some of you, who follow my social media, will already be aware that I’ve just moved from the UK to the USA for a 6-month research placement at the University of Pittsburgh. Moving abroad as a PhD student can be very overwhelming, especially as no one really tells you what to do or what to expect particularly regarding the actual moving process! So, in this blog Beth provides some helpful and practical tips on the process.
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-a-guide-to-moving-abroad-as-a-phd-student/
We're always on the look out for new contributors, if you would like to write and narrate your own blog - drop us a line to dementiaresearcher@nihr.ac.uk
Don't forget to also listen to our fortnightly - published fortnightly, just look for Dementia Researcher in your podcast app.
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Beth Eyre is a PhD Student at The University of Sheffield, researching Neurovascular and cognitive function in preclinical models of Alzheimer’s disease. Beth has a background in psychology, where she gained her degree from the University of Leeds. Inside and outside the lab, Beth loves sharing her science and we are delighted to have her contributing as a regular blogger with Dementia Researcher, sharing her work and discussing her career. 
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This podcast is brought to you from University College London in association with the National Institute for Health Research, Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society, who we thank for their ongoing support. Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line dementiaresearcher@ucl.ac.uk  

Dr Clarissa Giebel - Making an impact: A week in Westminster with the Royal Society

Dr Clarissa Giebel narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.
Each year 30 research scientists are paired with UK parliamentarians and civil servants. They learn about each other’s work by spending time together in Westminster and the researcher’s institutions. Those taking part gain an insight into how research findings can help inform policy making, and come away with a better understanding of how they can get involved. Clarissa was one of the lucky few and in this blog she shares her experience.
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-making-an-impact-a-week-in-westminster-with-the-royal-society/
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Dr Clarissa Giebel is a Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool and NIHR ARC North West Coast. Clarissa has been working in dementia care research for over 10 years focusing her research on helping people with dementia to live at home independently and well for longer, addressing inequalities that people with dementia and carers can face. Outside of her day work, Clarissa has also organised a local dementia network - the Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum, and has recently started her own podcast called the Ageing Scientist.
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If you would like to write your own blog drop us a line, we're always on the look out for new contributors to write about their research, careers + more dementiaresearcher@nihr.ac.uk

Hannah Hussain - Stepping outside of academia

Hannah Hussain narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.
PhDs are just for academics, right? Wrong! While having a PhD is almost always a must for progressing along the academic career trajectory, this is not their only purpose! The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) published a report in 2020 on career ambitions of PhD students and found that although 2/3rds of PhD students want a career in academic research, only 30% stay in academia 3 years on. So, career paths are ever changing, there is no linear trajectory for a lot of us, and it’s well worth considering what is out there for you beyond academia too. But how do you go about this, where do you look and what are you even looking for? In today’s blog Hannah tries to answer that question.
Find the original text, and narration here on our website.
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-stepping-outside-of-academia/
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Hannah Hussain is a PhD Student in Health Economics at The University of Sheffield. As a proud third generation  migrant and British-Asian, her career path has been linear and ever evolving, originally qualifying as a Pharmacist in Nottingham, then Health Economics in Birmingham. Her studies have opened a world into Psychology, Mental Health and other areas of health, and with that and personal influences she found her passion for dementia.
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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 in association with Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society, who we thank for their ongoing support.
Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line dementiaresearcher@ucl.ac.uk