Biography
Following undergraduate studies at Cambridge University (Natural Sciences – Experimental Psychology, first class), I joined the Dementia Research Centre at UCL as a Research Assistant. I gained experience in neuroimaging and neuropsychological research on a range of studies investigating different types of dementia, with a particular focus on sporadic and familial Alzheimer’s disease. My role has also included conducting cognitive and clinical assessments for multiple clinical trials and helping to run support groups for patients and families affected by rare forms of dementia. For 2 years I also worked part-time for as a Research Assistant in Global Mental Health at King’s College London, supporting a project in Zimbabwe which uses psychological therapy to treat depression and improve adherence to antiretroviral medication among people living with HIV.
Since September 2015 I have worked full-time on the Insight 46 study at the Dementia Research Centre, first as a PhD student and now as a postdoc leading the neuropsychology research. Insight 46 is a sub-study of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (the British 1946 Birth Cohort), led by Prof Jonathan Schott. The study's overarching aims are to identify life-course factors which influence brain health, cognitive ageing and dementia risk. My research focuses on disentangling the earliest cognitive changes in preclinical Alzheimer's disease, in the context of aging. I use traditional paper-and-pencil and newer computerised cognitive tests (in-person and remote) to detect subtle cognitive changes and I investigate how these changes relate to life-course factors and biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease pathologies.