Dementia Researcher Blogs

Dr Becky Carlyle narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.In this blog, Becky reflects on creating a new lecture course for second year biomedical scientists, built around the molecular basis of neurodegenerative disease and dementia. She explains how teaching current research, from diagnosis and biomarkers to proteins, RNA, models, trials and uncertainty, helped students connect scientific discovery with the real challenges of dementia. The blog also offers practical advice for anyone thinking of building a course of their own, including teaching what you know, checking what students have already covered, giving clear handouts, designing fair exam questions, and remembering that students often treat a lecturer’s words as ground truth.https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-how-i-started-my-own-lecture-course/--Dr Becky Carlyle is an Alzheimer's Research UK Senior Research Fellow at University of Oxford, and has previously worked in the USA. Becky writes about her experiences of starting up a research lab and progressing into a more senior research role. Becky's research uses mass-spectrometry to quantify thousands of proteins in the brains and biofluids of people with dementia. Her lab is working on various projects, including work to compare brain tissue from people with dementia from Alzheimer’s Disease, to tissue from people who have similar levels of Alzheimer’s Disease pathology but no memory problems. Becky is also a mum, she runs, drinks herbal tea's and reads lots of books.--Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.ukThis 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 Tiphttps://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/supportFollow 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.socialDownload and Register with our Community App:https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher

Rahul Sidhu narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher.Rahul explores the relationship between sleep and dementia, asking whether a few poor nights should really worry us. Drawing on research into the glymphatic system, amyloid beta, tau and long term studies of sleep duration, the blog explains why sleep is increasingly seen as an important part of brain health. It also offers reassurance. Occasional restless nights are unlikely to have a meaningful impact on dementia risk, but persistent sleep disruption over months or years, including conditions such as sleep apnea, deserves attention.The blog ends with a gentle nudge to tired researchers that rest is not wasted time.https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-sleep-and-dementia-should-we-worry/--​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.ukThis 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 Tiphttps://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/supportFollow 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.socialDownload and Register with our Community App:https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher

Professor Louise Serpell narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.Amyloid is one of the most used words in Alzheimer's research, and Louise thinks we have got into the habit of using it too loosely.Amyloid is not a single thing. It is a structure, a way that many different proteins fold and assemble into fibrils, and the officially recognised list of amyloid precursor proteins now runs to 42 and keeps growing. Tau forms amyloid. Insulin can. So can the antibodies that deposit in the heart and skin. Bacteria even build functional amyloid to stick themselves to surfaces. So when researchers say "amyloid" but mean the amyloid-beta protein and the plaques found in Alzheimer's brains, Louise argues we are blurring something that ought to stay sharp. In this blog she makes the case for precision, drawing on the amyloid nomenclature committee's own definitions and a memorable bit of advice she picked up as a PhD student.Her plea is simple: say amyloid-beta when that is what you mean, because the alternative risks confusing the public, funders, drug developers, and eventually ourselves.https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-whats-in-a-name-amyloid-amyloid-beta-beta-amyloid-amy-lloyd/--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.ukThis 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 Tiphttps://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/supportFollow 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.socialDownload and Register with our Community App:https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher

Dr Toby Williamson narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher.In this blog, Toby explores how values shape dementia research, even when we tell ourselves research is neutral. He looks at the tension between biomedical and social models of disability, the limits of evidence-based practice when the evidence base is thin or contested, and the case for values-based practice as a complement to EBP. Drawing on his PhD at the Geller Institute for Ageing and Memory (completed at 62), he reflects on what counts as evidence, what gets funded, and what gets overlooked. He closes with an invitation: as the new editor of the Journal of Dementia Care, he wants to hear from early-career researchers who want to publish their work in front of practitioners.https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-finding-values-in-research-and-dementia/--Dr Toby Williamson is Editor of the Journal of Dementia Care and an independent health and social care consultant. He has over 30 years’ experience in adult and older people’s mental health, dementia and mental capacity, with a particular interest in values, rights, lived experience and inclusion. He is a published author and co authored The Dementia Manifesto.Leave us a Tiphttps://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/supportFollow 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.socialDownload and Register with our Community App:https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher