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Dr Nicolas Farina

Dr Nicolas Farina (PhD, MSc, BSc)

Research Fellow (B) in Dementia
E: N.Farina@sussex.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1273 678995
Location: Room 101, Trafford Centre, BN1 9RY

Areas of expertise: Dementia
Research areas: Dementia; quality of life; stigma; global health; physical activity

Biography

Dr Nicolas Farina studied Psychology and Neuroscience at Keele University, before completing a master’s degree in Neuropsychology at the University of Bristol. Having established an interest in dementia, he went onto to complete his PhD ('Lifestyle factors and Alzheimer-type dementia: The link between exercise and cognitive change') at the University of Sussex under the supervision of Prof Jenny Rusted and Dr Naji Tabet. Dr Farina joined BSMS in 2014 as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Dementia Studies, working with Prof Sube Banerjee.

Research

Dr Farina is based at the Centre for Dementia Studies at BSMS. He has a wide range of research interests surrounding the promotion of outcomes in people with dementia. In particular, he is interested in promoting quality of life in people with dementia through lifestyle factors such as physical activity. Dr Farina is an advocate for raising awareness about dementia internationally, and has developed a research theme surrounding better understanding attitudes towards dementia and how we can combat stigma.

Dr Farina is currently a researcher on the STRiDE project, which will contribute to improving dementia care, treatment & support systems so that people living with dementia are able to live well, whilst also ensuring that family & other carers do not shoulder excessive costs. Dr Farina is the co-ordinator for the work package that seeks to generate novel data on the prevalence and impact of dementia in South Africa and Indonesia. He is also working with Dr Sara Evans-Lacko on the anti-stigma work package.

Dr Farina was previously the project manager for the MODEM cohort study (MODEM project), and has been responsible for setting up and operationalising data collection for a number of large grant projects at the Centre for Dementia Studies, including the Time for Dementia project and DETERMIND.

Teaching

Dr Farina is currently supervising two PhD students:

Yvonne Feeney (BSMS)- Factors influencing the development of empathy towards people with dementia in undergraduate healthcare professionals.
Roxanne Jacobs (University of Cape Town)- Elder abuse in South Africa: Measurement, prevalence and risk.

Dr Farina teaches on both undergraduate and postgraduate modules, including “Understanding Dementia”, “Advance Research Methods”, and “Exercise and Physical Activity Interventions”.

Previously, Dr Farina has supervised a number of individual research projects and MSc dissertation projects. He also supervised Laura Hughes in her PhD, 'Development and evaluation of a methodology for the routine measurement of quality of life in care homes'.

Selected publications

Leroi, I., Chaudhry, N., Daniel, A., Dunne, R., Eman, S., Farina, N., Haidry, S., Husain, N., Jafri, H., Khan, Q., Kiran, T., Mani, A., Memon, R., Rana, M., Sheikh, S., Tofique, S., on behalf of the Pakistan Dementia Research Stakeholder Group (PDRSG) (2019). A roadmap to develop dementia research capacity and capability in Pakistan: A model for low and middle-income countries. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.

Farina, N., Zaidi, A., Willis, R., & Balouch, S. (2019) Attitudes, Knowledge and Beliefs about Dementia: Focus Group Discussions with Pakistani Adults in Karachi and Lahore. Aging and Society. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X19000862

Farina, N., Hughes, L.J., Griffiths, A.W., & Parveen, S. (2019). Adolescents’ experiences and perceptions of dementia. Aging & Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2019.1613343

Farina, N., Sherlock, G., Thomas, S., Lowry, R.G, & Banerjee, S. (2019). Acceptability and feasibility of wearing activity monitors in community-dwelling older adults with dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5064

Farina, N., Page, T.E., Daley, S., Brown, A., Bowling, A., Basset, T., Livingston, G., Knapp, M, Murray, J., Banerjee, S. (2017). Factors associated with the quality of life of family carers of people with dementia: a systematic review. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 13(5), 572-581. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2016.12.010

Farina, N., Llewellyn, D., Isaac, M.G.E.K.N., & Tabet, N. (2017) Vitamin E for Alzheimer's dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Art. No.: CD002854. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002854.pub4.

Farina, N., Rusted, J., & Tabet, N. (2014). The effect of exercise interventions on cognitive outcome in Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review. International Psychogeriatrics, 26(1), 9-18.