Current PhD studentships

2019/2020

Exploring the link between major depressive disorder and Alzheimer’s disease

Lead Investigator: Dr Magdalena Sastre

Institution: Imperial College London
 
Grant type: PhD studentship

Awarded: 2019/20

Theme: depression 
 

Improving driving safety assessments for people with dementia

Lead Investigator: Dr Paul Donaghy 

Institution: Newcastle University

Grant type: PhD Studentship

Awarded: 2019/20

Themes: driving, safety
 

Understanding the risk of developing dementia in UK military veterans

Lead Investigator: Professor Neil Greenberg

Institution: King’s College London

Grant type: PhD studentship

Awarded: 2019/20

Theme: risk factors, lifestyle 
 

Understanding the role of mRNA and tau in recognition memory

Lead Investigator: Professor Elizabeth Warburton

Institution: University of Bristol

Grant type: PhD Studentship

Awarded: 2019/20

Theme: tau, cause
 

Investigating cell waste removal genes in frontotemporal dementia

Lead Investigator: Professor John Hardy

Institution: University College London

Grant type: PhD Studentship

Awarded: 2019/20

Theme: cause, Frontotemporal dementia 
 

Identifying brain features to diagnosis and monitor Alzheimer’s disease accurately

Lead Investigator: Dr Richard Killick

Institution: Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London

Grant type: PhD studentship

Duration: 2019/2020

Theme: diagnosis, Alzheimer's disease
 

Understanding how to prevent the build-up of toxic tau in cell models

Lead Investigator: Dr Will McEwan 

Institution: University of Cambridge

Grant type: PhD Studentship

Awarded: 2019/20

Themes: tau, cause 
 

‘Use it or lose it’: What’s the truth for dementia?

Lead Investigator: Dr Dorina Cadar

Institution: University College London

Grant type: PhD studentship

Awarded: 2019/2010 

Theme: risk factors, prevention
 

2018/2019

Understanding the role of mitochondria in dementia with Lewy bodies

Lead Investigator: Dr Ilse Pienaar

Institution: University of Sussex

Grant awarded: 2018/2019

Theme: Dementia with Lewy bodies, cause
 

Can leptin, the anti-obesity hormone, protect brain cells?

Lead Investigator: Dr Jenni Harvey

Institution: University of Dundee

Grant awarded: 2018/2019

Theme: hormones, cure
 

Saving synapses in Alzheimer’s disease

Lead Investigator: Professor Patricia Salinas

Institution: University College London

Grant awarded: 2018/2019

Themes: cause
 

Supporting family carers to carry out person-centred care

Lead Investigator: Dr Gerard Riley

Institution: University of Birmingham 

Grant awarded: 2018/2019

Themes: carers, support, person-centred care

Brain scans to spot signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the choroid plexus

Lead Investigator: Dr Jack Wells

Institution: University College London

Grant awarded: 2018/2019

Themes: diagnosis, scanning
 

2017/2018

Using virtual reality technology to detect the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease

Lead Investigator: Dr Dennis Chan

Institution: University of Cambridge

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Theme: cause
 

Helping people in care homes with hearing problems to communicate

Lead Investigator: Dr Piers Dawes

Institution: University of Manchester

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Theme: care, support, hearing problems, care homes
 

Understanding how dementia services can meet the needs of Black African and Caribbean people

Lead Investigator: Professor Paul Higgs 

Institution: University College London

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Theme: care, support, services 

Using an innovative approach to prevent the toxic build-up of amyloid in Alzheimer’s disease

Lead Investigator: Dr Jody Mason

Institution: University of Bath

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Themes: Alzheimer's disease; drug discovery

Understanding links between diabetes, infections and dementia risk 

Lead Investigator: Dr Charlotte Warren-Gash

Institution: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Themes: Big data; public health; comorbidities 

Understanding the impact of visual impairment on life with dementia

Lead Investigator: Dr Claire Hutchinson

Institution: University of Leicester

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Themes: Care research; eyesight

Understanding how people from minority ethnic backgrounds can access better support 

Lead Investigator: Dr Jan Oyebode

Institution: University of Bradford

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Themes: care research, BAME research; access to services

Keep talking for longer: speech therapy to help people living with dementia stay in the conversation

Lead Investigator: Dr Catherine Tattersall

Institution: University of Sheffield

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Themes: care; speech therapy

Providing better care for care home residents with both dementia and cancer 

Lead Investigator: Dr Laura Ashley

Institution: Leeds Beckett University

Grant awarded: 2017/2018

Themes: care; care homes; comorbidities 

2016/2017

Investigating a potential pathway in the development of frontotemporal dementia

Lead Investigator: Dr Kurt De Vos

Institution: University of Sheffield

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Frontotemporal dementia; cause 

Understanding the role of the C9orf72 gene in frontotemporal dementia

Lead Investigator: Dr Kevin Talbot

Institution: University of Oxford

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Frontotemporal dementia; genetics; cause 

Finding drugs to manage bladder and bowel control in people with Alzheimer's disease

Lead Investigator: Dr Jerome Swinny

Institution: University of Portsmouth

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Alzheimer's disease; incontinence research; drug discovery

Does targeting the immune system have the potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease?

Lead Investigator: Dr David Brough

Institution: University of Manchester

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Alzheimer's disease; drug discovery; immune system; cure

Understanding how tiny changes in several genes could contribute towards risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Lead Investigator: Dr Jonathan Mill

Institution: University of Exeter

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Alzheimer's disease; genetics; epigenetics; cause 

Further understanding of the role of the immune system in blood flow to the brain

Lead Investigator: Professor Karen Horsburgh

Institution: University of Edinburgh

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Alzheimer's disease; vascular dementia; immune system; cause

Understanding what causes the increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease in Down’s syndrome

Lead Investigator: Dr Frances Wiseman

Institution: University College London

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Alzheimer's disease; cause; Down's syndrome; cell biology

Developing a tool to help people decide how to talk about their dementia diagnosis

Lead Investigator: Dr Georgina Charlesworth

Institution: University College London

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Care; diagnosis 

Understanding how to help people with dementia stay safe when going outside

Lead Investigator: Professor Charlotte Clarke

Institution: University of Edinburgh

Grant awarded: 2016/2017

Themes: Care; risk 

2015/2016

Understanding the risks and benefits of using blood pressure medication in dementia

Lead Investigator: Professor Sarah Lewis

Institution: Univeristy of Nottingham

Grant awarded: 2015/2016

Themes: Care; risk

Investigating ways to prevent the toxic build-up of amyloid protein in Alzheimer’s disease

Studying a protein interaction that increases accumulation of amyloid-beta

Lead Investigator: Dr James Duce

Institution: University of Leeds

Grant awarded: 2015/2016

Themes: Alzheimer's disease; cause

Studying loss of connections between brain cells

Lead Investigator: Dr Katrin Deinhardt

Institution:  University of Southampton

Grant awarded: 2015/2016

Themes: Cause; brain cells

How do genetics influence the brain’s response to omega-3?

Lead Investigator: Professor Anne-Marie Minihane

Institution: University of East Anglia 

Grant awarded: 2015/2016

Themes: Risk; prevention; lifestyle; diet

Finding ways to identify the earliest signs of frontotemporal dementia

Lead Investigator: Dr Jon Rohrer

Institution: University College London

Grant awarded: 2015/2016

Themes: Frontotemporal dementia; diagnosis 

How has our changing lifestyle affected brain health over time?

Lead Investigator: Professor Fiona Matthews

Institution: University of Newcastle 

Grant awarded: 2015/2016

Themes: Risk; public health; lifestyle 

Investigating how tau tangles spread between brain cells in dementia