We are delighted to announce that North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) can offer up to 3 scholarships of up to £2000 each year to students on the MSc Mental Health Sciences Research who are currently working for NELFT during the academic year of the MSc. Promise as a researcher is the main criterion for award.

Applications can be made to Fiona Horton at NELFT Research & Development Department with an application letter, curriculum vitae, copy of acceptance letter for the MSc. fiona.horton@nelft.nhs.uk.

Further details regarding the MSc :

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychiatry/prospectivestudents/researchmentalhealthsciences

On the 19^th June the 2014 Neuroscience Symposium took place at UCL. This was a great opportunity to hear about all the fantastic neuroscience research that takes place here. There were a wide range of great talks; from synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex, to novel methods of functional neurosurgery, and the neural mechanisms of social interactions (among many, many more).

It was also an excellent opportunity to meet colleagues from across UCL, whilst reading the many posters on display. Even the food was pretty good. All in all, a very enjoyable day!

More information about future events across the UCL Neuroscience domain can be found here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/research/domains/neuroscience

This year’s programme front page image “Zebrafish Brain” by Kate Turner:

Noclor Research Support Service announces two Noclor Scholarships to the value of £8,500 each to support clinical staff in North London Trusts to undertake the UCL commencing September 2014. This new course provides a practical and stimulating training in research skills, appropriate for mental health professionals with a strong interest in becoming researchers/academic clinicians. We particularly encourage applications for funding from nursing staff.

These scholarships are open only to staff working within the following affiliated Noclor Trusts:

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust
Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust
West London Mental Health Trust

Availability
The award will pay full time or part time MSc course fees (£8,500) however you will need to cover your own maintenance and travel costs.
Number of awards: Two
Value: £8,500
Deadline: 15 August 2014

Applications are via the UCL applications procedure for the MSc in Mental Health Sciences Research, supplemented by a statement regarding suitability for the award. Mrs Chris Coup, MSc administrator, can be contacted for details of the applications

Details of the MSc in Mental Health Sciences Research:http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychiatry/prospectivestudents/researchmentalhealthsciences

We are very pleased  to announce that we can offer a small number of Division of Psychiatry Scholarships to contribute towards fees for the MSc in Mental Health Sciences Research and the MSc in Clinical Mental Health Sciences Research, beginning in 2014-2015. These two courses will run for the first time in September 2014, and are attracting considerable numbers of applications.

We aim to award these scholarships to the applicants who appear most promising as future researchers in mental health. The scholarships will be worth £2,000 for students registering full time and £1,000 for those registering on flexible or part time pathways. Names of award-winners will be announced on our website. To be considered for these scholarships, please apply for the MSc in Mental Health Sciences Research or the MSc in Clinical Mental Health Sciences and please also send to Mrs Chris Coup, MSc Course Administrator at c.coup@ucl.ac.uk, a 1,000 word statement summarising

(a) your research achievements so far;

(b) how you envisage research being part of your future career;

(c) what topic in mental health you would like to research in future, why, and how you would approach it. Awards will be made on the basis of these statements and your application forms for the MSc.

Applications need to be received by 1 August, and candidates need also to have applied for the MSc in Mental Health Sciences Research or Clinical Mental Health Sciences. 

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychiatry/prospectivestudents/researchmentalhealthsciences

Led by Dr Andre Strydom, our work examines the link between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. Adults with DS are at greater risk of developing AD than the general population and onset tends to occur at an earlier age.

One of the reasons for this is believed to be the fact that one of the key genes implicated in Alzheimer’s – the amyloid beta (A4) precursor protein, or APP gene – is found on chromosome 21. This gene is overexpressed in individuals with Down syndrome, who carry three copies of this chromosome.

Although all individuals with Down syndrome develop plaques and tangles typical of the brains of individuals with AD in the general population, only 50% of them go on to display the clinical symptoms.

The project aims to explore the cognitive, genetic and cellular factors underlying these individual differences in both our participants and through the use of mouse models.

The Consortium is a large multidisciplinary team of clinicians, geneticists, developmental psychologists, mouse geneticists, psychiatrists and cellular scientists and we work closely with participant and carer representatives and statisticians. We are based in Charles Bell House in the Division of Psychiatry. If you’re interested in finding out more, please e-mail us at down syndrome@ucl.ac.uk.

We are now recruiting adults and children of all ages with Down syndrome. For more information, please contact t.al-janabi@ucl.ac.uk

“On Thursday I will be attending the first Global Dementia Legacy Event, following the 2013 G8 dementia summit, which is being held in London. Experts from around the world will propose ways to increase investment in dementia.

Dementia has devastating consequences on the lives of affected people and their families, on social care needs and for economic prosperity. The annual financial impact to the UK alone is already estimated to be £23 billion.

The global burden of dementia is set to increase. By 2025, one million people in the UK and over 60 million globally will have the disease. The World Alzheimer Report predicted a near doubling in worldwide societal costs from $604 billion in 2010 to $1,117 billion by 2030. In recognition of this, the G8 summit in December 2013 committed to significantly increase spend on dementia research and increase participation in clinical trials, to drive a global reduction in the prevalence of dementia and its associated social and economic impacts – the ‘Dementia Challenge’.

Dementia and neurodegeneration have been identified as a major institutional priority as part of our commitment this national and international effort. Our work encompasses world leading expertise across the full spectrum of research offering the genuine prospect of treatments that will be able to slow or even halt neurodegeneration.

As the figures above indicate there is a strong economic case for action and we are actively engaged in attempts to increase investment in this vital area of research in which we have world class capabilities.”

See our dementia publication

Professor Sir John Tooke Vice Provost (Health)

The next Division of Psychiatry Research Seminar will take place on Wednesday  9th July 3pm at 1-19 Torrington Place, room B17

Dr Siân Oram (Lecturer, Section for Women’s Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry , Kings College) will present “Intimate partner violence victimisation and perpetration among people with mental illness.”

We are very pleased to welcome Dr Emese Csipke to the Division of Psychiatry from King’s College to join Martin Orrell’s Promoting Independence in Dementia (PRIDE) project as programme manager.

I’m very pleased to be joining the Division of Psychiatry at UCL. I will be working with Martin Orrell and his team on the ESRC-funded project Promoting Independence in Dementia (PRIDE) and very much look forward to being part of the programme. My previous role was marketing and communications with the School of Laws, Arts, Humanities and Social & Historical Sciences (SLASH), before that I worked in the department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering.