The Dean would like to announce the third Annual Faculty of Brain Sciences Postgraduate Poster & Presentation Symposium which will take place from 1-5pm on Wednesday 11 February 2015 in the South Cloisters, Wilkins Building.

The event will celebrate and showcase graduate research achievements and the unique multidisciplinary and integrative nature of research across the Faculty and is an excellent networking opportunity for staff and students as well as stimulating ideas for student research projects. The Symposium also offers PhD students an opportunity for professional development and to present their research to a wider academic audience.

Staff and all postgraduate students (MSc, MRes and PhD) are invited to attend the event, which will be followed by drinks from 5-7pm, where prize winners will be announced.

I hope you can come, and please encourage your PhD students to submit posters and your postgraduate students to attend.

a) Post-upgrade PhD students (including Professional Doctorates) are invited to submit posters of their research and offer a 2-minute presentation of their work. This presentation can be supported by a maximum of 4 PowerPoint slides. There will be prizes for the best posters/presentations. This is an open competition with only 50 poster positions available. Submissions will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis.
b) Pre-upgrade PhD students (including Professional Doctorates) are invited to submit posters of their research work in progress (no formal presentation). There will be prizes for the best posters. This is an open competition with only 20 poster positions available. Submissions will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis.

Students intending to submit a research poster at this event should email their name, department and a poster title to the symposium team : fbs.pgsymposium@ucl.ac.uk by 7th January at the latest, electronic PDF versions of the posters should be submitted in advance by 28th January at the latest.

For any queries please contact the symposium team

Best wishes,
Alex

Alex Standen
Faculty Tutor’s Office Administrator
UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences

Room 241, 74 Huntley Street
London, WC1E 6BT
020 3108 2434 (internal 52434)
a.standen@ucl.ac.uk
www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-sciences
@UCLBrainScience

“I am an Old Age Psychiatrist, recently appointed Senior lecturer in the division. My research interests are in dementia diagnosis and treatment, and particularly brain scanning. I will be working most closely with Gill Livingstone.”

The INTERDEM Academy enables fellowships for young researchers allowing them to spend 3-6 months abroad. The Promoting Independence in Dementia (PRIDE) programme, led by Professor Martin Orrell from the Division of Psychiatry at UCL, is a partner in the INTERDEM scheme.

We are delighted to announce that the very first of these fellowships has been granted to mr. Antonio García. A PhD student hailing from the University of Salamanca in Spain, he will stay with Prof. Orrell’s team at UCL for 4 months. Below you will find a short report of his experiences so far, giving an excellent example of what we seek to achieve through INTERDEM Academy: building capacity for young researchers in the field, and strengthening the PRIDE / INTERDEM network through joint projects.

“In these 72 days, I have experienced and learned far more things than those I had planned in my motivation letter for the INTERDEM Academy fellowship. I am based in the Division of Psychiatry of UCL, were I have been working with the PRIDE team to lead a literature review on Computer Based Cognitive Interventions for people with dementia that will be submitted by the end of my stay. The review will be useful for the design of PRIDE Work Package 3, and is linked to my thesis in cognitive rehabilitation.

I have also been trained in Cognitive Stimulation Therapy and Individual Stimulation Therapy, treatments developed by Professor Orrell’s team in UCL, and I have had the opportunity to share our Computer Based Cognitive Intervention Program (GRADIOR) developed at the University of Salamanca.

I have visited memory clinics in London and attended different courses and conferences that have helped me widen my scope of view in the field of dementia. Alzheimer Europe’s Conference in Glasgow was particularly enriching, as it made it possible for me to meet many INTERDEM members and participate in the Academy master class. It was also a great opportunity for networking, as a matter of fact; I am now planning a visit to another INTERDEM team while in the UK, hopefully finding new opportunities for learning and cooperation.”

We’re delighted to welcome Johan to UCL and as a new member of the team we hope he enjoys working here

“I am Danish and have recently moved to London, my background is in biology and genetics but I have also studied psychology. I am joining Elvira Bramon’s group as a research associate, working with Alvaro Revuelta, Stella Calafato and Siri Ranlund, towards identifying new genetic variants which increase the risk of developing severe mental illness and/or psychosis, using various types of biomarkers. My focusing will specifically be on identifying high-risk variants which run in families, as such variants offer a unique opportunity to untangle the biological mechanisms involved in the etiology of the disorders.”

Johan Thygsen, November 2014

23rd Sociology of Health & Illness Monograph

Editors: Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard

The sociology of dementia is a relatively neglected but increasingly important topic in studies of health and illness. The 23rd Sociology of Health & Illness Monograph will bring together theoretical and empirical contributions to progress a distinctive sociological understanding of this rapidly developing and globally significant field. The Monograph will be published in 2017. It will address the following cross-cutting themes:

Dementia and the construction of personhood. Topics coming under this theme might include the social construction of dementia, the idea of dementia as the social death of the person and the usefulness of Tom Kitwood’s location of the ‘problem’ of dementia within a ‘malignant’ social psychology. Contributions are welcome that draw parallels and contrasts between dementia and other health care conditions where agency and personhood are called into question.

The social representation of dementia. As dementia rises up the agenda of ‘globalisation’, contributions are solicited on the wider range of representations of this condition that go beyond the ‘conventional’ bifurcation between dementia as normal ageing and the ‘medical model’ as a neurological disorder. This could include issues concerning professional-patient interaction, the diagnostic process and the treatment of dementia. We particularly seek perspectives from the global south that situate dementia as a major challenge facing the global community.

The social framing of care. Contributions are invited on formal (paid) and informal (unpaid) care and on the role of professional discourses in ordering relationships between different groups engaged with the provision of care. We would also welcome contributions examining the social categorisation both of people with dementia and of those paid to look after them. We welcome contributions investigating the intersectional links between the care of people with dementia and issues of ethnicity, gender and power.

The social imaginary of a fourth age. We invite contributions examining dementia as an unsuccessful, failed and ‘frailed’ old age contrasted with successful, productive and active later life. Issues that we would expect to be addressed include the moral conflict between a ‘positive’ view of later life and those wary that such advocacy risks further marginalising those disadvantaged by dementia and disablement.

The monograph will appear both as a regular issue of the journal and in book form in February 2017. Potential contributors should send an abstract of up to 600 words to p.higgs@ucl.ac.uk by 30th January 2015. Abstracts should clearly indicate the proposed paper’s sociological importance. Informal email enquiries prior to submission are welcome. Name and institutional affiliation of author(s) should also be supplied, including full contact details. Proposals will be reviewed and potential authors notified by 31 March 2015. Short-listed authors will be invited to submit their work by 31 July 2015. Submissions will be refereed in the usual way and should follow the journal’s style guidelines<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-9566/homepage/ForAuthors.html>

Website Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-9566/homepage/call_for_proposals__23rd_monograph.htm

A warm welcome to Samira Heinkel who has just started as PRIMROSE Trial coordinator.

We’re very pleased to be joined by Alexsander Gumaraes, Andrea Loizeau and Antonio Garcia who have teamed up with the Promoting Independence in Dementia (PRIDE) programme as visiting researchers. Alexsander is studying at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Southern Brazil, Antonio is a clinician and researcher at the University of Salamanca/SACYL and Andrea is visiting from the University of Zurich. We’re very much enjoying working with them, please say hello if you see them on the first floor of Charles Bell house.

(left to right) Alexsander, Andrea and Antonio