About
I currently work in the Centre for Innovative Ageing, and for the Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research, within the School of Health and Social Care, as a research officer. My current role is to identify what individuals living with dementia want in order to facilitate and support their potential to ‘Live Well with Dementia’ within Swansea Bay. The aim being to create a benchmark in order to target action points within the Dementia Action Plan for service provision across the region and the development of a strategic framework. This piece of work will form an integral part of the development of the local health board Dementia Strategy.
My PhD was looking at Characterising Vascular Cognitive Impairment (Vascular dementia) in terms of brain processing speeds. The aim was to increase our understanding of early signs and symptoms of the disease. This involved protocol development, R&D and NHS ethical approvals, testing participants on a battery of neuropsychological tests, examining neuroimaging, and statistical and qualitative analysis.
I have a Masters degree in Psychology, specialising in the brain and ageing, including non-pharmacological treatments for dementia and alcohol consumption and the risk of dementia, from the Open University. I also gained a PGCE (Post Compulsory Education and Training) whilst teaching Psychology and research methods from the University of South Wales, and I also gained my BSc (hons) in Psychology from Swansea University. For this I completed a research project: The effects of varying amounts of misinformation over time on children’s eyewitness testimony, and a dissertation: Alzheimer's disease: Assessment, cognitive deficits and treatment. Subject areas: Psychopharmacology, Neuropsychology, Research methods, Cognitive and Developmental Psychology.
You can read about my personal reasons for studying dementia here