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#WhyWeResearch: Help us celebrate dementia research this World Alzheimer’s Day

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September 2021 marks the 10th year of World Alzheimer’s Month – an international campaign co-ordinated by Alzheimer’s Disease International to raise awareness around the diseases that cause dementia. This year, we want to shine a spotlight on all the brilliant research taking place across the UK and learn a bit more about the people behind it.

As part of this campaign, we’re asking dementia researchers active on social media to post about themselves or their research under the hashtags #WhyWeResearch and #WorldAlzheimersDay2021 on World Alzheimer’s Day (Tuesday 21 September).

To get involved, just follow these simple steps: 

Steps for posting on World Alzheimer's Day
  • 1. Pick a social media platform

    The UK DRI is active on Twitter and on LinkedIn but feel free to post your messages on any other major social media platform. 

  • 2. Select an image or video

    Time to get creative! We can’t wait to see the inventive ways you’ll be showcasing yourselves, your research or why you work in the field of dementia. To get you started with ideas, consider:

    - Taking a selfie of yourself and your team working in the lab 

    - Showing off that perfect neuronal culture

    - Filming a 30-second tour of your lab

    - Spelling out the hashtags with equipment in the lab

    - Posting a picture of someone special that motivated you to study dementia

  • 3. Write your message

    Again, this is up to you, but you may want to include: 

    - Who you are, your role and where you’re from/your lab

    - A public-friendly description of what your image/video shows, if needed

    - Your motivation for getting into dementia research

  • 4. Don’t forget the hashtags!

    Include the hashtags #WhyWeResearch and #WorldAlzheimersday2021 so people can easily find your post. 

    There are a few variations of the hashtag so if you have space please include #WorldAlzMonth. You can also add the handle of the UK DRI (@UKDRI) and any other organisations you are a part of to get our attention. 

    (Top tip: on Twitter you can tag your image with up to 10 different accounts.)

  • 5. Get posting

    We’re asking researchers to post on World Alzheimer’s Day itself (Tuesday 21 September) or, if that’s not possible, the week surrounding it (20-24 September). 

Check out this example courtesy of PhD Student Sophie Sanford (UK DRI at Cambridge):

WAMtweet_sophie.jpg#asset:5741



Good luck and thank you for helping us celebrate dementia research this World Alzheimer’s Day! 

Keep up to date with all the UK DRI activities during World Alzheimer’s Month via the newsfeed and dedicated blog.



Article published: 01 September 2021