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Brighton & Sussex Medical School

Dementia Research Conference 2022 

BSMS > Research > Neuroscience > Centre for Dementia Studies > Dementia Research Conference 2022

Dementia Research Conference 2022

About this event

This two-day Zoom event took place on 23-24 February 2022. It was hosted by Professor Naji Tabet, Director of the Centre for Dementia Studies. 

This was the second Dementia Research Conference from BSMS and the Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust. For 2022, the conference hosted talks from a range of experts in dementia and brain research across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Day 1: morning session

Professor Naji Tabet
Professor in Dementia and Old Age Psychiatry and Director of the Centre for Dementia Studies (CDS)

Professor Tabet also leads the Dementia Theme at the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) KSS, and the CDS research is closely aligned with ARC KSS Dementia Sub-themes. Prof Tabet is also the Dementia Speciality Co-Lead for NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) KSS. A major interest for the Centre for Dementia and its research staff is the investigation of quality of life and non-pharmacological interventions in the field of dementia. Prof Tabet has also been the Principal and UK Chief Investigator on over 35 Phase II-IV therapeutic and diagnostic clinical trials in dementia. The CDS involvement in clinical randomised trials is carried out through the Dementia Research Unit at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, supported by a dedicated clinical research team working with Prof Tabet.

Welcome and introduction

Professor Hugo Critchley
Head of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Professor Hugo Critchley trained in Physiology and Medicine in the University of Liverpool and received his doctorate in Psychological Studies at the University of Oxford. He undertook specialist training in psychiatry at the KCL Institute of Psychiatry and UCL Institute of Neurology, in parallel with research fellowships. Before his appointment in BSMS, he was a principal investigator at the Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, and group leader at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Time for Dementia: The experience of families

Dr Stephanie Daley
Senior Lecturer in Older People’s Mental Health & Education at Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Dr Stephanie Daley is the evaluation lead for the Time for Dementia programme. Stephanie undertook her PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London on the applicability of the concept and practice of recovery for older people with mental health problems, including dementia. Stephanie has over 20 years’ experience as an Occupational Therapist, most recently as the Professional Lead for Occupational Therapy for the Mental Health of Older Adults and Dementia CAG at the South London & Maudsley NHS Trust. Stephanie has also worked as an Organisational Consultant and has run the Leadership and Change module for the Advanced Care of Dementia at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London since 2011.

Innovative ways of working with people with dementia and carers

Julia Fountain
Dementia Research Consultation Group

Julia Fountain coordinates the Dementia Research Consultation Group at Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust. They are a group of people with experience of living with dementia. Some of them have a diagnosis of dementia, and some have experience through caring for a partner or family member who has dementia.

 

Improving life with dementia through the ears and the eyes

Professor Iracema Leroi
Associate Professor of Geriatric Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin and the Global Brain Health Institute

Professor Iracema Leroi is an Associate Professor in Geriatric Psychiatry at Trinity College, Dublin, where she is a member of the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), a joint venture between Trinity College and the University of California, San Francisco. She is also a Consultant Psychiatrist at St. James’s Hospital, also in Dublin. She brings her clinical and research experience in dementia and older adult psychiatry to the GBHI, particularly the neuropsychiatry of neurodegenerative movement disorders such as Parkinson’s.

Alcohol and cognitive impairment

Professor Rafey Faruqui
Chair of South East England Division of Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych)

Professor Rafey Faruqui took up his elected post as Chair of South-east England Division of Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) in June 2021. He is keen to use his new appointment in influencing the creation of wider clinical training opportunities for psychiatric trainees and medical students in South-east England. He will be leading a working group of Medical Royal Colleges and ABN for the revision of national guidance on Alcohol-Related Brain Damage (ARBD).

Language change as a marker of early-onset Dementia

Professor Peter Garrard
Professor of Neurology, Honorary Consultant Neurologist at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Professor Peter Garrard took up his current position at St George's in March 2010, after six years as a Senior Lecturer in Neurology at UCL, and two as Reader at the University of Southampton's School of Medicine. Since moving to St George's he has established a specialist service for the assessment, diagnosis and management of people with atypical dementia syndromes.

Communication disorders in dementia: speech and language therapy practice and research

Dr Anna Volkmer
Senior Speech and Language Therapist/Lecturer, UCL

Dr Anna Volkmer graduated from UCL as a speech and language therapist in 2002. Since then, she has worked with adults with acquired neurological conditions, specialising in dementia in 2008. She completed her MSc from Flinders University, South Australia in 2009 and her NIHR funded Doctoral Research Fellowship with a PhD from UCL in 2020. Anna is now employed as a senior research fellow and lecturer at UCL and a senior speech and language therapist at UCLH. Her research focuses on developing interventions for people with dementia and their family members.

Practices, attitudes and outcomes of patients with memory problems but with no dementia diagnosis following memory clinic assessment

Dr Rebecca Atkinson
NIHR Research Fellow ARC KSS, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Rebecca Atkinson is an NIHR Research Fellow on the ARC KSS Living well with Dementia theme. Before joining the ARC KSS, she completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Sussex. Her thesis explored the effect of carrying a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (the APOE-ɛ4 allele) and the impact of cognitive and leisure activities on healthy cognitive ageing across the lifespan. Rebecca also worked as a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, teaching research methods and statistics using. Rebecca has a wide range of research interests, centred on how to promote quality of life and functional independence in people with dementia. 

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Day 1: afternoon session

Why we need a culture of research

Dr Claire Woolcock
Interim Chief Medical Officer, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Claire Woolcock joined Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust as Medical Director for Transformation in March 2020, working clinically also initially at Langley Green Hospital before moving to the MDIST supporting patients who have been admitted to private providers outside of Sussex.  She took up the role of interim Chief Medical Officer in January 2022.

The role of technology in dementia care

Professor Ramin Nilforooshan
Consultant Psychiatrist and Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey

Professor Ramin Nilforooshan is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS FT and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey. He is the Director for Research & Development in his organisation; a role which involves the safety and accuracy of clinical trials. He is the Principal Investigator and Chief Investigator for a number of national and international clinical trials and has considerable experience running clinical trials. His main research is on using IoT (Internet of Things) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology for dementia care.

*This presentation was not recorded at the request of the speaker. 

Improving quality of life for people affected by dementia through research

Sophie Roberts
Senior Research Officer, Alzheimer’s Society

Sophie Roberts is Senior Research Officer at Alzheimer’s Society, managing the PhD and Dementia Research Leader programmes. She graduated from Durham University with a BSc in Biology and Psychology. She is a huge research advocate and has keen interest in how research can be translated to patient benefit. 

American perspective on state of play in AD trials/diagnosis/future treatment

Professor Marwan Noel Sabbagh
Professor of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix USA

Professor Marwan Noel Sabbagh, MD, board certified neurologist and geriatric neurologist, hopes to work himself out of a job. Considered one of the leading experts in Alzheimer’s and dementia, Dr Sabbagh has dedicated his career to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases. 

Impact of Research and its implementation in health and social care

Kath Sykes
Implementation Lead for the Applied Research Collaboration

Kath Sykes is the Living Well with Dementia (and Healthy Ageing) Implementation Lead for the Applied Research Collaboration, supporting Theme Lead Dr Naji Tabet. Kath is a nurse by background and has worked in the NHS in London and Sussex for over 20 years, leading teams and services in Cancer/Haematology and Clinical Research. Across the system, Kath has worked in Quality and Patient Safety in Commissioning, including Mental Health and Dementia services, and supporting the spread and adoption of innovation as Tech Navigator at the AHSN.

Delivering clinical research studies at the Dementia Research Unit

Natalie Portwine
Clinical Research Team Leader, Dementia/Registered Mental Health Nurse

Natalie Portwine joined the Dementia Research Unit in September 2017 as a Clinical Research Coordinator and in September 2019 became the Clinical Research Team Leader. Natalie is a mental health nurse and has worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, working mostly in services for older people experiencing mental health problems and in assessment and treatment for people with dementia, on inpatient wards and in the community. 

Preferences of newly qualified healthcare professionals for working with people with dementia

Dr Molly Hebditch
Research Fellow, Centre for Dementia Studies, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Dr Molly Hebditch is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Dementia Studies working on the evaluation of the Time for Dementia programme. Her PhD explored medical and nursing student’s career preferences for working with people with dementia. Molly's research interests include the improvement of quality of life and care practices for those affected by dementia, and education in dementia.

Lewy Body Dementia

Dr Jay Amin
Associate Professor in Psychiatry of Older Age (University of Southampton), Honorary Consultant in Older People's Mental Health (Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust)

Dr Amin graduated from medical school at Southampton in 2007, following which he embarked on a clinical academic training pathway that included an Alzheimer’s Research UK Clinical Research Fellowship exploring the role of inflammation in Dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease. In 2019 he was appointed as Associate Professor in Psychiatry of Older Age for the University of Southampton. He also works as an honorary consultant in Old Age Psychiatry at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, where he conducts specialist memory clinics including providing a tertiary service for people with Lewy body dementia.


Day two: morning session

Welcome and introduction

Professor Malcolm Reed
Dean, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Professor Malcolm Reed qualified in medicine from the University of Sheffield in 1981. Following postgraduate surgical training in the UK and a period of research at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, he returned to Sheffield for Higher Surgical Training. He was appointed as Dean of Brighton and Sussex Medical School in December 2014. In 2016, Professor Reed became the Chair of the Medical Schools Council’s Education sub-committee and then recently in August 2019 he was appointed Co-Chair of the Medical Schools Council.

Agitation in dementia – benefits and harms of therapeutic options

Professor Sube Banerjee
Executive Dean and Professor of Dementia, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth

Sube Banerjee trained at St Thomas’s, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, clinically he works as an old age psychiatrist. His research focusses on quality of life and quality of care in dementia and the evaluation of new treatments and services. He works on health services, policy and strategies to improve health for older adults with complex needs and those with dementia.

Risk factors and dementia

Dr Dorina Cadar
Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Epidemiology and Dementia, Centre for Dementia Studies, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Dr Dorina Cadar graduated in Psychology and completed postgraduate training with an MSc in Clinical Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, and a PhD in Cognitive Epidemiology at University College London. Dorina was awarded an MRC Career Development Fellowship at UCL Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing and completed further postdoctoral training with funding from National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Society. Dorina’s research combines cognitive epidemiology, psychiatry, immunology, and neuroimaging in order to understand the modifiable risk factors associated with accelerated cognitive decline and dementia risk. 

DETERMIND Update: Examining care provision post-pandemic

Dr Ben Hicks 
DETERMIND Programme Manager

Ben Hicks is a Research Fellow and the Programme Co-ordinator of the DETERMIND project, based at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. His research concerns supporting quality of life and social inclusion in people with dementia through exploring the differing lived experiences of the condition and addressing the inequalities that may arise in the dementia care pathway. His PhD focused on examining and supporting social inclusion in rural-dwelling older men with dementia through a community technological initiative that was tailored towards their multiple masculinities. 

Sleep and dementia, developing precision management - The TIMES programme

Professor Chris Fox
Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, University of East Anglia & University of Exeter

Professor Chris Fox spent 6 years training in psychiatry and researching trauma/personality assessments and treatment and psychometric assessment development with the Ministry of Defence. Chris has a long-term UK/US collaboration with Indiana Medical School. He jointly co-developed work on the harms of screening, medication trials in dementia, collaborative care in dementia and the most highly cited anticholinergic burden scale. Chris currently leads 3 national NIHR programmes in sleep, dementia and multi-morbidity (TIMES), carers (CARECOACH) and recovery colleges (DISCOVERY). 

Dementia, sexuality and the law

Dr Oluwatoyin Sorinmade
Consultant in Old Age Psychitary, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust

Dr Sorinmade is a Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry and Interpersonal Therapist as well as a trained mediator. He has special interest in Mental Health Law, especially the Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales); as well as in empowering the decisional autonomy of older adults and enabling people to live well even if they have dementia. He has publications in the field of old age psychiatry, mental health law and human rights, and has spoken at conferences both in the United Kingdom and Internationally on subjects relating to mental health law and human rights, especially as they affect the older adult population. His research interest is on human rights, mental health law, empowering individuals with their decisional autonomy as well as improving the quality of lives of older adults. 

 

Dementias in the lives of LGBT older adults

Professor Jaime H Vera Roja
Professor in HIV Medicine, Department of Global Health and Infection at Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Jaime is a Professor in HIV Medicine at the department of Global Health and Infection, Brighton and Sussex Medical School and a Consultant Physician for the Lawson HIV unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital where he is the lead physician for the combined HIV and elderly, neurology and memory clinics. Jaime’s research focusses on the study of comorbidities affecting people with HIV including cognitive impairment and the development of innovative models of care for people with HIV aimed at improving quality of life, and mental well-being of older people with HIV in both low- and high-income settings.

 

Menopausal Hormone Therapy and the risk of dementia

Tom Dening
MA MD FRCPsych

Tom Dening is Professor of Dementia Research, University of Nottingham; and Honorary Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Appointed to his current post in 2012, he leads the Centre for Dementia at the Institute of Mental Health. He is the deputy director for Mental Health & Clinical Neurosciences in the School of Medicine, and the clinical speciality lead for Dementia in the East Midlands Clinical Research Network. His interests include a wide range of clinical topics and psychosocial aspects of dementia. He is one of the editors of the Oxford Textbook of Old Age Psychiatry, the leading international work in this field, third edition published in 2021.

The work of the Consultation Group and studies where we've made a difference

Dementia Research Consultation Group

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Day two: afternoon session 

Clinical Imaging: Neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation in dementia – evidence from iron-sensitive MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Professor Itamar Ronen
Chair in Medical Physics and Academic Director of CISC (neuroscience and imaging) Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Itamar obtained his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the School of Chemistry in Tel Aviv University, where he worked with Prof. Gil Navon on developing a method for indirect NMR detection of 17O. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research at the University of Minnesota with Dr. Seong-Gi Kim and Dr. Dae-Shik Kim, he obtained his first academic position at the Boston University School of Medicine, and there, together with Dr. Dae-Shik Kim, he co-founded the Center for Biomedical Imaging and a secured a Master’s degree in Bioimaging. Since October 2021 he holds the positions of Academic Director of the Clinical Imaging Science Centre and Chair in Medical Physics at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School in Brighton, UK.

 

AI for neurodegeneration - hype or happening?

Dr Timothy Rittman
Senior Clinical Research Associate, University of Cambridge

Timothy Rittman is a Senior Clinical Research Associate at the University of Cambridge where he studies rare types of dementia, combining neuroimaging, cognitive assessments and neuropathology to understand how these diseases affect the whole brain. He also has an interest in translating methods from artificial intelligence and big data for use in memory clinics. Tim co-leads the DEMON dementia network's Imaging Working group and is an adviser to the World Young Leaders in Dementia. He is an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrookes hospital, as a consultant in the Addenbrookes Memory Clinic, and leading a clinic for people with Progressive Supranclear Palsy and Corticobasal Degeneration, and co-leading a dementia genetics clinic.

 

Imaging research in memory clinic - local perspective 

Dr Malgorzata (Gosia) Raczek
Module Leader of MSc Dementia Studies

Dr Gosia Raczek is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at BSMS and a module leader for the MSc in Dementia Studies. She is also a clinical academic consultant in Old Age Psychiatry in Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, where she works in Memory Assessment Service in North West Sussex and Dementia Research Unit in Crowborough. Gosia is an investigator in a number of clinical trials and other studies within the CDS with collaboration with UCL and KCL.  Her special interest is neuroimaging in dementia where she collaborates with   researches  the Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre at BSMS. 

Alzheimer’s Research UK: our 30 year journey

Dr Jorge Gomez Magenti
Research Manager, Impact and Evaluation, Alzheimer’s Research UK

Dr Magenti graduated in Chemistry at the University of Valencia (Spain) before coming to the UK for my PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. After some time in science innovation consulting, he now does (responsible) research impact evaluation at Alzheimer’s Research UK, where he works to communicate the value of the research they fund to their supporters and the public. His dream is to improve the work environment and quality of life of the next generation of scientific leaders, at the same time that they continue to fund the best science possible to deliver much needed treatments to dementia patients.

 

Digital and Remote cognitive assessment at the intersection of primary and secondary care

Dr Chris Kalafatis

Dr Kalafatis is a Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry at South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Affiliate of King’s College London where he researches the diagnostics of neurodegeneration and leads on clinical trials in Dementia at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. He is developing clinical-academic NHS clinics with a focus on brain health and digital innovation at service level. He is also the Chief Medical Officer of Cognetivity that has developed a novel digital cognitive assessment that employs AI for early diagnosis, high-resolution monitoring at the individual and large-population level.

 

INDIGO: Developing an Intervention for Depression in Underserved Geriatric populations

Dr Akin Ojagbemi
NIHR and Wellcome Global Health Partnership International Intermediate Fellow

Dr Ojagbemi trained in dementia care at the Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley hospital London. Akin earned his PhD from Stellenbosch University Cape-Town in 2014 and a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Trials Design and Implementation from Northwestern University Chicago. His research background is from being part of participants assessment in the key international comparative study of dementia in Nigeria and Indianapolis United States. He currently conducts research in global mental health, epidemiology, mental health systems strengthening and intervention studies. 

 

Strengthening Responses to Dementia in Developing Countries (STRiDE): The prevalence of dementia in Indonesia and South Africa

Dr Nicolas Farina
Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Dementia Studies at Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Dr Farina's PhD in Psychology from the University of Sussex explored the effects of physical activity on the executive decline of people with dementia. He has a wide range of research interest areas that seek to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers. In recent years, he has developed an expertise in dementia-related stigma, working in the UK and internationally. At present he is co-ordinating two work packages on the STRiDE project.

Primary care perspective on dementia in the community - research undertaken

Professor Harm van Marwijk
Professor of General Practice and Head of Primary Care and Public Health at Brighton and Sussex Medical

Harm van Marwijk is Primary and Community Care lead for the Applied Research Collaboration for Kent, Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS). He focuses on improving collaborations and connections in care, in teaching and research, through place-based improvement, co-production and co-design. As a generalist GP, he prioritises working on access, workforce, and inequalities. People coming to the GP practice often have both physical and psychological issues, and increasingly have questions around multimorbidity/frailty, living with persistent physical symptoms and improving one’s lifestyle.

 

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