The Alzheimer’s Society has awarded £3.1million to fund a Doctoral Training Centre, based at WIPH and co-led by Professors Nathan Davies and Claudia Cooper.
The Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre for Integrated Care will host 29 PhD students, who will explore how to deliver high-quality joined-up care from diagnosis to end of life, that will ensure independence, autonomy and choice, and reach people in under-served populations.
Students at the QMUL Centre will be guided and supported by supervisors from across five leading universities (affiliated institutions: UCL, University of Plymouth, Leeds Beckett, and the LSE), as well as NHS and social care professionals. They will work with policy makers and people with personal experience of dementia, and will learn from experts in different research methods to develop projects that will improve care and support.
The award is part of a £9 million grant to fund three new Doctoral Training Centres for 90 students over five years, led by QMUL, Manchester and Newcastle Universities. Only one in five dementia PhD students currently stay in dementia research, often due to underfunding and the challenging nature of academic careers. The Alzheimer’s Society hopes that the new Doctoral Training Centres will create a supportive network, encouraging people to enter the field of dementia research and enabling PhD students to widen their options for peer support, networking, knowledge sharing, training, and equipment, and to continue their careers in dementia research.
Co-Leads, Professors Nathan Davies and Claudia Cooper said:
This is a fantastic opportunity, not only to create amazing work that changes the lives of so many people, but also to create, nurture and develop the next generation of dementia researchers, and the field of dementia research itself. For students, being part of our DTC means joining a dynamic academic community, where they are not just learners, but active contributors to cutting-edge research. They will be immersed in an environment where collaboration with fellow students and world-renowned experts fuels intellectual growth and innovation. Importantly students will work in partnership throughout their doctoral studies with people living with dementia and carers which will help shape their pioneering research.