Alzheimer’s Society wants to play a part in supporting Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to reach their career goals (all researchers, and not just the ones they fund).
On the 18th / 19th June Alzheimer’s Society held its annual ECR Retreat at the Voco hotel, Solihull. The retreat is designed to be a networking opportunity and skills development event, offering an opportunity to meet fellow ECRs, gain peer-to-peer advice and learn practical skills that will aid you in your career progression.
Below is a small selection of session recordings from the event, with researchers presenting their work, expert panels talking about careers and grant writing and a key note exploring potential new ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s Disease.
Recorded at the Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat on the 19th June 2024.
In this panel discussion / question and answer session, Katherine Gray, Alzheimer's Society Head of Research chairs a discussion with Professor Heather Mortiboys, Professor Nathan Davies, Dr Jeffrey Davies, Professor Andrey Abramov and John Major.
Panellists provide tips and insights into the grant application process, providing their perspectives as grant reviewers and funding board members. They also provide advice on how to approach grant application writing. The panellists, who are leading researchers and volunteers on grant advisory boards, discuss the key components of a successful grant application, common mistakes, and how to demonstrate the potential impact of research. They also provide advice on resubmitting applications after initial rejection and how to effectively manage career breaks. Together they emphasise the importance of clear hypotheses, realistic expectations, proper costing, and team science. They also highlight the need for perseverance and flexibility in the application process.
00:00 Introductions
03:49 Key components to a successful grant application
07:09 Common mistakes you see on grant applications
10:10 How can ECRs demonstrate potential impact
14:45 Advise for those resubmitting an application
19:20 How do you expect grant applications to change as careers develop
27:12 Deciding to focus on Fellowships or other grants
32:26 How do funders manage diversity of thought
38:16 Managing career breaks
41:45 Funding priorities and grant options
43:41 Roundup
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Professor Heather Mortiboys joined the Neuroscience department at the University of Sheffield in 2006 to set up mitochondrial investigations in models of Parkinson’s Disease working as a postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Oliver Bandmann. She started her own lab when she became a Parkinson’s UK Senior Research Fellow in September 2013 based within the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN).
Professor Nathan Davies is Director of the Centre for Ageing Population Studies at University College London (soon moving to Queen Mary University of London), an award winning and internationally renowned unit of over 50 clinicians and scientists. Nathan was appointed as a member of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Commissioning Funding Panel and a member of the Marie Curie Research Funding Committee in 2021. In 2023 he was appointed a member of the NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research Funding Committee and a member of the NIHR Three School's Dementia Programme Commissioning Panel.
Dr Jeff Davies is Associate Professor of Molecular Neurobiology at Swansea University Medical School. His research laboratory, based at the Institute for Life Sciences, is interested in how alterations in metabolic status effect brain function. Jeff’s interests involve understanding how these circulating hormones may modulate neural stem cell (NSC) plasticity in adults to promote the generation of new nerve cells in the adult brain to promote memory function.
Professor Andrey Abramov obtained a PhD in biophysics in Tashkent State University (Uzbekistan). He joined the laboratory of Professor Michael Duchen at the Department of Physiology, UCL for postdoctoral training. Interaction of the calcium signalling, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondria have been a major research interest from the PhD projects and have been intensively developed in postdoctoral studies. After obtaining the Parkinson’s UK Senior Research Fellowship in 2008, Andrey established laboratory at the Department of Molecular Neuroscience UCL Institute of Neurology.
John Major, long-standing Research Network volunteer for Alzheimer’s Society. He supports early career researchers providing input to their work, and sits on the Alzheimer's Society grant review panel.
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The Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat is a networking opportunity and skills development event, offering an opportunity to meet fellow ECRs, gain peer-to-peer advice and learn practical skills that will aid you in your career progression. Find out more about Alzheimer's Society and their work to support researchers: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-professionals
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Dementia Researcher works alongside events organisers to share their work. If you're organising a dementia research event and would like us to record or share your talks, to get them open access and to reach a wider audience, get in touch:
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk
Follow us on social media:
https://twitter.com/dem_researcher
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
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YouTube Video UExlVUkxR0hCNEV2U1B4dDNJUklSc2cya20tOFJKYWNwVS41MzJCQjBCNDIyRkJDN0VD
Grant Writing - Tips from Grant Awardees & Grant Reviewers
09/07/2024 1:17 am
Recorded at the Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat on the 18th June 2024.
In this talk Professor Baroness Susan Greenfield from Neuroscientist from University of Oxford and CEO of Neuro-Bio Ltd delivers a keynote presentation.
Professor Baroness Susan Greenfield discussed her research into Alzheimer's disease, focusing on a peptide called T 14. She explained that T 14 promotes cell growth and renewal, but can become toxic in mature cells, leading to neurodegeneration. Professor Greenfield suggests that T 14 could be an early marker for Alzheimer's, as it is found in high levels in the early stages of the disease. She also proposed a two-step diagnostic process, involving a home test and a more quantitative readout at the doctor's office. Her team is developing a drug that could potentially halt the progression of Alzheimer's by blocking T 14. She also mentioned the potential of using T 14 as a treatment for other conditions, such as cancer and skin disorders.
00:00 Introduction
01:50 Why has it taken so long to develop treatments
06:55 Vulnerable Neurons
16:30 A molecular Jekyll and Hyde
21:00 The process of neurodegeneration
23:54 T14 as a diagnostic biomarker
31:42 Blocking T14 as a treatment for dementia
36:32 Audience Q&A
47:00 Goodbyes
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Professor Baroness Greenfield's research is focused on brain physiology, particularly on the brain mechanisms of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. She is also known for her role in popularising science. She has written several books about the brain, regularly gives public lectures, and appears on radio and television.
Since 1976, Professor Greenfield has published approximately 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including studies on brain mechanisms involved in addiction and reward, relating to dopamine systems and other neurochemicals. She investigated the brain mechanisms underlying attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as the impact of environmental enrichment.
In 1994, she was the first woman to give the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, then sponsored by the BBC. Her lectures were titled "Journey to the centre of the brain". She was appointed Director of the Royal Institution in 1998.
Professor Greenfield's two main positions at Oxford were Tutorial Fellow in Medicine at Lincoln College Oxford, and Professor of Synaptic Pharmacology. Between 1995 and 1999, she gave public lectures as Gresham Professor of Physic in London. Greenfield was Adelaide's Thinker in Residence for 2004 and 2005.
In 2013 she co-founded the biotech company Neuro-Bio Ltd which develops diagnostic tests and therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease. The company has found that the C terminus of acetylcholinesterase can be cleaved and that the resulting peptide can kill neurons; the company has also found that a cyclic peptide analogue could prevent that neuronal death. The company raised around $4 million in 2017.
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The Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat is a networking opportunity and skills development event, offering an opportunity to meet fellow ECRs, gain peer-to-peer advice and learn practical skills that will aid you in your career progression. Find out more about Alzheimer's Society and their work to support researchers: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-professionals
-
Dementia Researcher works alongside events organisers to share their work. If you're organising a dementia research event and would like us to record or share your talks, to get them open access and to reach a wider audience, get in touch:
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk
Follow us on Social Media:
https://twitter.com/dem_researcher
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
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YouTube Video UExlVUkxR0hCNEV2U1B4dDNJUklSc2cya20tOFJKYWNwVS41MjE1MkI0OTQ2QzJGNzNG
The Changing Outlook for Alzheimer's - Professor Baroness Susan Greenfield
09/07/2024 1:17 am
Recorded at the Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat on the 18th June 2024.
In this talk Dr Sophie Morse, Emerging Leader and Research Fellow from Imperial College London discusses her research exploring innovative ultrasound technology to support delivery of new Alzheimer's treatments.
Sophie explains how Ultrasound can be used for imaging and therapeutic purposes, with the latter involving lower frequencies and focused sound waves. She discusses two main applications of ultrasound in Alzheimer's treatment. The first is using focused ultrasound technology to deliver drugs to the brain by temporarily opening the blood-brain barrier. This method is currently in clinical trials and has shown promising results in safety and efficacy. The second application is using ultrasound to stimulate the brain's immune response and interact with Glia, potentially helping to tackle different stages of Alzheimer's disease. Sophie also opens a discussion on ongoing research into using ultrasound to modulate inflammation in brain cells.
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Dr Sophie V Morse started her own group in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial in 2022 as an Imperial College Research Fellow and is looking for keen undergraduate, master, PhD students and postdocs to join her lab.
Her group looks at how therapeutic ultrasound can non-invasively stimulate cells in our brain, particularly glial cells (that support our neurons) and immune cells, to find new ways to treat Alzheimer's disease, brain tumours and even slow down ageing.
She graduated with a Masters in Engineering from Imperial College in 2015 (Bioengineering) and joined the CDT in Medical Imaging for her MRes (King's College) and then PhD as part of the Noninvasive Surgery & Biopsy Laboratory. She has developed ways to improve the delivery of drugs to the brain using focused ultrasound and microbubbles. This is a local, reversible and noninvasive technique which can help in the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.
She received an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship in 2020 to deliver a novel drug to the brain with focused ultrasound for Alzheimer's disease and then joined the Department of Brain Sciences working on novel metabolic treatments for brain tumours (funded by the Brain Tumour Charity). In 2022 she was awarded an Imperial College Research Fellowship to start her own research group. She has since become a European Talent Academy Fellow and an Emerging Leader in the Dementia Research Institute at Imperial College (2023).
AWARDS
2023 - Engineering and Technology Lecture Award - British Science Festival
2023 - Italy Made Me Award
2022 - Top 50 Women in Engineering (WE50) Award - Inventors and Innovators
2021 - Young Investigator Award from European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
2021 - William James Award from Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET)
2021 - Best published paper prize from European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
2020 - Young Investigator Award from British Medical Ultrasound Society
2019 - Gold Medal in Engineering and Westminster Award (overall winner) at STEM for Britain in the UK Parliament.
2019 - Won competition on Image-guided therapy at EU Symposium on Ultrasound Contrast Imaging in Rotterdam, Netherlands
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The Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat is a networking opportunity and skills development event, offering an opportunity to meet fellow ECRs, gain peer-to-peer advice and learn practical skills that will aid you in your career progression. Find out more about Alzheimer's Society and their work to support researchers: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-professionals
-
Dementia Researcher works alongside events organisers to share their work. If you're organising a dementia research event and would like us to record or share your talks, to get them open access and to reach a wider audience, get in touch:
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk
Follow us on Social Media:
https://twitter.com/dem_researcher
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
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YouTube Video UExlVUkxR0hCNEV2U1B4dDNJUklSc2cya20tOFJKYWNwVS4wMTcyMDhGQUE4NTIzM0Y5
Therapeutic Ultrasound to Modulate Glia with Dr Sophie Morse
09/07/2024 1:17 am
Recorded at the Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat on the 19th June 2024.
In these talks we hear from Dr Alice Witt, Research & Policy Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health (TGI) and Dr Jessica Gong, an honorary Senior Fellow in the Women’s Health Program at The George Institute for Global Health. Jess is also a Research Fellow in data science and epidemiology at University College London.
Alice and Jessica discuss the Message Project, a policy initiative aimed at improving how biomedical health and care research in the UK accounts for sex and gender. The project focuses on changing practices for data collection, ensuring appropriate sex and gender desegregation when data are analysed and reported. Witt highlighted the importance of considering the impact of sex and gender dimensions throughout the research cycle. Gong presented studies on sex and gender differences in dementia risk and risk factors, showing that women have a higher risk of dementia than men, and that risk factors can work differently for men and women. They concluded by urging researchers to consider sex and gender in their studies and to report results separately for males and females.
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Dr Alice Witt is a Research & Policy Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health (TGI), based in the UK office. Alice joined TGI in early 2023 to work on the MESSAGE (Medical Science Sex and Gender Equity) project, an initiative to develop a UK-based policy for integrating sex and gender considerations into biomedical research.
A social scientist by background, Alice’s research interests sit at the intersection between gender and health. Prior to joining TGI, she worked at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where her research focused on the influence of social norms on family planning programmes and prevention of gender-based violence. She is particularly interested in how institutional norms and policies can shape women’s health and healthcare, and is passionate about translating research in this area into real-world impact.
Alice holds an MA in Social Anthropology of Development from SOAS, University of London, and a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford.
Dr Jessica Gong is an honorary Senior Fellow in the Women’s Health Program at The George Institute for Global Health, UK, in partnership with Imperial College London. She is also a Research Fellow in data science and epidemiology at University College London.
Jessica completed her PhD at The George Institute for Global Health, focusing on understanding the sex differences in dementia and cognitive decline. After the completion of her PhD, Jessica continues her research in characterising the molecular signatures of the exposome, including environmental, social, and biomedical factors, to better understand the mechanisms involved in dementia and brain-related outcomes, using high-dimensional and large-scale datasets. Jessica’s broad research interests include brain health, equity in health data, omics, and causal inference.
Jessica has previously worked as a data consultant for the World Health Organization during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Western Pacific region. Jessica also worked on research projects in brain health, neuroscience, and health equity at various research institutes around the world, including the Karolinska Institutet, Columbia University, World Health Organization Europe, and the University of Melbourne. Jessica has an MSc in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BSc in neuroscience from the University of Melbourne
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The Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat is a networking opportunity and skills development event, offering an opportunity to meet fellow ECRs, gain peer-to-peer advice and learn practical skills that will aid you in your career progression. Find out more about Alzheimer's Society and their work to support researchers: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-professionals
-
Dementia Researcher works alongside events organisers to share their work. If you're organising a dementia research event and would like us to record or share your talks, to get them open access and to reach a wider audience, get in touch:
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk
Follow us on Social Media:
https://twitter.com/dem_researcher
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
1
YouTube Video UExlVUkxR0hCNEV2U1B4dDNJUklSc2cya20tOFJKYWNwVS41NkI0NEY2RDEwNTU3Q0M2
Exploring Gender in Research with Dr Alice Witt and Dr Jess Gong
09/07/2024 1:17 am
Recorded at the Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat on the 19th June 2024.
In this panel discussion / question and answer session, Sian Gregory, Alzheimer's Society Research Grants Manager chairs a discussion with Dr Johanna Jackson, Dr Leeanne McGurk, Dr Sarah Ryan, Dr Kamen Tsvetanov and Dr Hugo Ribeiro Fernandes – all Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leaders.
The panellists share their career journeys, achievements, and offer advice to aspiring researchers. They discuss the importance of asking questions, sharing work, and being persistent in the face of rejection. They also highlight the value of mentorship, time management, and clear communication in team projects. The panellists advise on transitioning to independence, suggesting it often happens organically and is influenced by funding opportunities. They also provide tips for writing lay summaries, such as starting early, focusing on the big picture, and using online tools to check the reading age.
00:00 Introductions and meet the panel
08:22 The panels major achievements
13:17 Advise the panel got early in their careers
16:50 How to manage workloads and new ideas
19:52 Navigating your supervisors
24:54 Tips for working well as a team
28:55 Deciding when to become independent
33:33 Tips for producing a lay summary
37:37 Roundup and Goodbyes
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Dr Jo Jackson is an Advanced Research Fellow, Alzheimer's Society Dementia Research Leader, the first recipient of the Alzheimer's Society's Carol Jennings Fellowship and a UK Dementia Research Institute Emerging Leader working at Imperial College London. Her group takes a multi-‘omic and imaging approach to provide a mechanistic insight into the vulnerability of synaptic components in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This enables her group to identify and test molecular targets to achieve the vision of therapeutically targeting the synapse in AD.
Dr Leeanne McGurk is a Principle Investigator and Alzheimer's Society Dementia Research Leader at University of Dundee. Her research focuses on understanding the role that PARylation plays in either promoting or preventing aging of the brain. An emerging model is that PARylation is important for regulating the localization and solubility of proteins known to cause neurodegenerative disease.
Dr Sarah Ryan is an Alzheimer's Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow at The University of Manchester. Sarah’s work is focussed on frontotemporal dementia, using cells grown in a dish to mimic what happens inside the brain of someone with FTD, and try to understand how a faulty gene stops brain cells from working properly.
Dr Kamen Tsvetanov is a Alzheimer's Society Dementia Research Leader at University of Cabridge. The central goal of his research is to obtain a better understanding of the complex relationship between human brain dynamics and cognition in healthy ageing and age-degenerative diseases. He approaches this goal using a variety of methods – examining human neural dynamics at the neurophysiological, haemodynamic, and neurotransmitter levels with data-driven and generative modelling of magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological recordings. During his PhD at the University of Birmingham, UK, he used well established cognitive paradigms and multimodal MRI techniques (structural MRI, fMRI, and single-voxel MR spectroscopy) to characterise age-related changes in large-scale brain networks and how these changes in functional and metabolic plasticity contribute to behavioural impairments in older adults. Before moving to United Kingdom, he received a dual undergraduate degree in Medical Technology at the University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg, Giessen, Germany, including a practical year at the Clinic for Radiology, Phillips-University Marburg, Germany.
Dr Hugo Ribeiro Fernandes is an Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow at University of Oxford. He is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying selective neuronal vulnerability in dementia and neurodegeneration. His goal is to identify novel disease targets that could lead to effective therapeutic interventions to improve patients' quality of life.
--
The Alzheimer's Society ECR Retreat is a networking opportunity and skills development event, offering an opportunity to meet fellow ECRs, gain peer-to-peer advice and learn practical skills that will aid you in your career progression. Find out more about Alzheimer's Society and their work to support researchers: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-professionals
-
Dementia Researcher works alongside events organisers to share their work. If you're organising a dementia research event and would like us to record or share your talks, to get them open access and to reach a wider audience, get in touch:
https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk
Follow us on social media:
https://twitter.com/dem_researcher
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
3
YouTube Video UExlVUkxR0hCNEV2U1B4dDNJUklSc2cya20tOFJKYWNwVS4yODlGNEE0NkRGMEEzMEQy
Finding Independence - Advise from Research Leaders
09/07/2024 1:17 am
Speaker Profiles
Dr Jessica Gong – Women’s Health Program at The George Institute for Global Health & University College London.
Jessica completed her PhD at The George Institute for Global Health, focusing on understanding the sex differences in dementia and cognitive decline. After the completion of her PhD, Jessica continues her research in characterising the molecular signatures of the exposome, including environmental, social, and biomedical factors, to better understand the mechanisms involved in dementia and brain-related outcomes, using high-dimensional and large-scale datasets. Her broad research interests include brain health, equity in health data, omics, and causal inference. Jessica has previously worked as a data consultant for the World Health Organization during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Western Pacific region. She also worked on research projects in brain health, neuroscience, and health equity at various research institutes around the world, including the Karolinska Institutet, Columbia University, World Health Organization Europe, and the University of Melbourne.
Dr Alice Witt – The George Institute for Global Health (TGI)
Alice joined TGI in early 2023 to work on the MESSAGE (Medical Science Sex and Gender Equity) project, an initiative to develop a UK-based policy for integrating sex and gender considerations into biomedical research. A social scientist by background, her research interests sit at the intersection between gender and health. Prior to joining TGI, she worked at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where her research focused on the influence of social norms on family planning programmes and prevention of gender-based violence. Alice is particularly interested in how institutional norms and policies can shape women’s health and healthcare, and is passionate about translating research in this area into real-world impact.
Dr Sophie V Morse – UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London
Sophie started her own group in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial in 2022 as an Imperial College Research Fellow and is looking for keen undergraduate, master, PhD students and postdocs to join her lab. Her group looks at how therapeutic ultrasound can non-invasively stimulate cells in our brain, particularly glial cells (that support our neurons) and immune cells, to find new ways to treat Alzheimer’s disease, brain tumours and even slow down ageing. She graduated with a Masters in Engineering from Imperial College in 2015 (Bioengineering) and joined the CDT in Medical Imaging for her MRes (King’s College) and then PhD as part of the Noninvasive Surgery & Biopsy Laboratory. Sophie has developed ways to improve the delivery of drugs to the brain using focused ultrasound and microbubbles. This is a local, reversible and noninvasive technique which can help in the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.
Professor Baroness Greenfield – Neuro-Bio Ltd / University of Oxford
Baroness Greenfields research is focused on brain physiology, particularly on the brain mechanisms of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, she is also known for her role in popularising science. She has written several books about the brain, regularly gives public lectures, and appears on radio and television. Since 1976, Professor Greenfield has published approximately 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including studies on brain mechanisms involved in addiction and reward, relating to dopamine systems and other neurochemicals. In 2013 she co-founded the biotech company Neuro-Bio Ltd which develops diagnostic tests and therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease. The company has found that the C terminus of acetylcholinesterase can be cleaved and that the resulting peptide can kill neurons; the company has also found that a cyclic peptide analogue could prevent that neuronal death. The company raised around $4 million in 2017.
Dr Jo Jackson – UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London
Jo is an Advanced Research Fellow, Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader and the first recipient of the Alzheimer’s Society’s Carol Jennings Fellowship. Her group takes a multi-‘omic and imaging approach to provide a mechanistic insight into the vulnerability of synaptic components in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This enables her group to identify and test molecular targets to achieve the vision of therapeutically targeting the synapse in AD.
Dr Leeanne McGurk – University of Dundee
Leanne is a Principle Investigator and Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader. Her research focuses on understanding the role that PARylation plays in either promoting or preventing aging of the brain. An emerging model is that PARylation is important for regulating the localization and solubility of proteins known to cause neurodegenerative disease.
Dr Sarah Ryan – The University of Manchester
Sarah is an Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow. Her work is focussed on frontotemporal dementia, using cells grown in a dish to mimic what happens inside the brain of someone with FTD, and try to understand how a faulty gene stops brain cells from working properly.
Dr Kamen Tsvetanov – University of Oxford.
Kamen is as Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader. The central goal of his research is to obtain a better understanding of the complex relationship between human brain dynamics and cognition in healthy ageing and age-degenerative diseases. He approaches this goal using a variety of methods – examining human neural dynamics at the neurophysiological, haemodynamic, and neurotransmitter levels with data-driven and generative modelling of magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological recordings. During his PhD at the University of Birmingham, UK, he used well established cognitive paradigms and multimodal MRI techniques (structural MRI, fMRI, and single-voxel MR spectroscopy) to characterise age-related changes in large-scale brain networks and how these changes in functional and metabolic plasticity contribute to behavioural impairments in older adults.
Dr Hugo Ribeiro Fernandes – University of Oxford
Hugo is an Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow. He is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying selective neuronal vulnerability in dementia and neurodegeneration. His goal is to identify novel disease targets that could lead to effective therapeutic interventions to improve patients’ quality of life.
Professor Heather Mortiboys – The University of Sheffield.
Heather joined joined the Neuroscience department at the University of Sheffield in 2006 to set up mitochondrial investigations in models of Parkinson’s Disease working as a postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Oliver Bandmann. She started her own lab when she became a Parkinson’s UK Senior Research Fellow in September 2013 based within the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN).
Professor Nathan Davies – University College London (soon moving to Queen Mary University of London)
Nathan is Director of the Centre for Ageing Population Studies, an award winning and internationally renowned unit of over 50 clinicians and scientists. He was appointed as a member of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Commissioning Funding Panel and a member of the Marie Curie Research Funding Committee in 2021. In 2023 he was appointed a member of the NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research Funding Committee and a member of the NIHR Three School’s Dementia Programme Commissioning Panel.
Dr Jeffrey Davies – Swansea University Medical School
Jeff is an Associate Professor of Molecular Neurobiology. His research laboratory, based at the Institute for Life Sciences, is interested in how alterations in metabolic status effect brain function. His interests involve understanding how these circulating hormones may modulate neural stem cell (NSC) plasticity in adults to promote the generation of new nerve cells in the adult brain to promote memory function.
Professor Andrey Abramov – University College London
Andrey obtained a PhD in biophysics in Tashkent State University (Uzbekistan). He joined the laboratory of Professor Michael Duchen at the Department of Physiology, UCL for postdoctoral training. Interaction of the calcium signalling, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondria have been a major research interest from the PhD projects and have been intensively developed in postdoctoral studies. After obtaining the Parkinson’s UK Senior Research Fellowship in 2008, Andrey established laboratory at the Department of Molecular Neuroscience UCL Institute of Neurology.
John Major – Alzheimer’s Society
John is a long-standing Research Network volunteer for Alzheimer’s Society. He supports early career researchers providing input to their work, and sits on the Alzheimer’s Society grant review panel.
For more information on Alzheimer’s Society and its support for early career researchers visit – https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/
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Dr Yvonne Couch
Ajantha Abey
Dementia Researcher