Meet the team

Julie has worked with us advising on our Journeying through Dementia project and analysing research data. She has also worked with us on work with Health Education England creating training materials for all NHS staff. More recently, Julie was involved in online teaching sessions in our Inter Professional Education Day for Faculty of Health Students.

Jacqui has been involved in writing our Centre newsletter, working with researchers in various studies and creating materials to support them in working more confidently with people living with dementia. Jacqui was also involved in online teaching at our Career Booster course for students in the wider University.

Sue has worked with us advising on our Journeying through Dementia research study and has been involved in face-to-face teaching and interviewing University staff.

Kathryn has worked with us on our online courses for Health Education England, dementia training for all NHS staff. She has also been part of our work with the Faculty of Health Studies and our Coronavirus and Dementia in Care Homes Study.

Maq has worked with us in recording his experiences to help researchers’ become more confident working with people living with dementia. He has also been involved in our Inter Professional Education day for students working in the Faculty of Health Studies.

Michael has worked with us to develop new online training materials for Health Education England which is available to all NHS staff. He has also been involved in face-to-face teaching of GP’s on our Practitioner’s with a special interest course and in online teaching to students in the wider University in our Inter Professional Education Days and Career Booster courses.

Supervised by: Catherine Quinn, Gail Mountain and Elizabeth Teale

Title of project: The impact of psychological and social factors on the lived experience of ageing with physical frailty and cognitive impairment.

Start date: December 2019

Biography 

I began working with older people as a care assistant in a residential care home around 143 years ago. I worked in this role for about eight years and during this time I also undertook my first degree in psychology at the University of Bradford. I found that I was interested in the lived experiences of other people and the use of qualitative approaches to explore this. To gain further experience of such research I worked with one of my former lecturers on her work on the experiences of ageing in motherhood. I moved into research with the NHS on a number of projects based in care home, hospital and community settings. The bulk of this work was trial based, although my preference was always direct contact with older people and those who provide care. I was also involved with development of a ‘living lab’ approach to research in care homes undertaken since 2018 by Leeds University, working with staff, families and residents on priority setting and enhancing care provision. 

Aims  

The overall aim of my PhD is to explore and understand the ways in which current and past psychological and social circumstances may impact upon current health and wellbeing for older people living with coexistent physical frailty and cognitive impairment. Further aims include identification of current and best working practice for frontline community care staff.  

Title of project: Exploring and enhancing the wellbeing of direct care staff working with people with dementia in nursing homes in Singapore

Start date: September 2019

Biography:  

I am an Occupational Therapist and practice in Singapore. I enjoy working with the older population and particularly people living with dementia. This may be due to my own early family influences as I grew up with my grandparents and witnessed how dementia affected my maternal grandmother.  I have the privilege to work with families and people living with dementia during the hospital stay as well as those living at home. Their journey through dementia has always been a source of inspiration and learning, as well as a constant personal reflection to improve dementia care.  

Aims

The study aim of this study is to understand the experiences and factors influencing personal wellbeing of direct care staff assistants caring for people with dementia in nursing homes in Singapore and develop recommendations that can help in explore what can be done to better supporting the personalwellbeing of this population. 

Supervised by: Professor Jan Oyebode and Dr Sahdia Parveen

Title of project: Memory problems to complex needs: How do South Asian carers manage the transitions relating to the care of a family member with dementia.

Biography:

Mohammed is a final year PhD student with over 20 years of working with communities regarding health and social care inequalities.  He has worked with South Asian people affected by dementia for 16 years – both living with it and as family carers.  A Founder and Director of Meri Yaadain CiC (A BAME dementia Community interest Company), he was awarded an MBE for his services to people living with dementia and their cares. As a PhD student, Mohammed has sought to bring together academic learning, skills acquisition.

Aim:  

1. To develop an understanding of how South Asian families cope with transitions in the dementia-related needs of a relative with dementia – given possible influences of socio-cultural or religious factors.
    
2. To identify transitions as ‘step changes’ in levels of care needs and make recommendations that will enable effective coping strategies at the various stages.

Supervised by: Professor Jan Oyebode, Dr Liz Breen and Dr Catherine Quinn

Title of project: Perceptions and experiences of caregivers of older relatives in mainland China - A multigenerational study.

Start date: June 2019

Biography: 

A registered Nurse within the UK National Health Service and an early researcher in the field of gerontology, his research interests focus on the process of caregiving and coping mechanisms, and how these are influenced by factors such as culture, preparedness, and the meanings family caregivers attach to their roles. I am equally interested in the process of professional socialisation in nursing and nurse education. I am a member of INTEDEM academy and International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) Young Researchers Network.

Aims  

This is a multi-generational study comprising of three small homogenous sub-samples namely: children affected by One Child Policy, parents affected by One Child Policy and caregivers who are in employment. The aims are: 

• to understand the views and experiences of participants with caring responsibilities for older relatives in China;  
• to explore the preparedness of participants with regards to their potential/current caring responsibilities;  
• to explore the meanings that participants attach to filial piety as well as probe the extent to which they subscribe to the cultural values. 

Supervised by: Professor Jan Oyebode and Dr Sahdia Parveen

Title of project: Exploring cultural understandings of Dementia, using the self-regulatory model.

Start date: February 2018

Biography

Prior to starting my PhD journey at the Centre for Applied dementia studies in 2018 I had been voluntarily researching in the field of dementia. I hold a MSc in Health Psychology from Aston University and a BSc (hons) in Psychology from the University of Bradford. I am qualified further education lecturer and have been teaching both the subjects of Health & Social Care and Psychology. I aim to complete my doctorate by Spring 2022 with the aim to improve inclusion and diversity in dementia support.

Aims

To understand perceptions of dementia, coping, attitudes to services and use of services, from the viewpoint of minority ethnic families, including the person with dementia and to undertake a parallel study with people from a white British background to enable comparison of themes from the majority and minority ethnic populations. 

To then co-design a theoretically based culturally sensitive intervention to foster understanding of dementia and adaptive coping.

Supervisors: Dr Danielle Jones and Professor Peter Gardner  

Title of project: Exploring Simulation-based dementia education 

Biography: Since the outset of my career, I have worked within the domain of health and social care gaining experience caring for the older adult.  I later progressed my studies to become a Registered Nurse (Adult Field) with my clinical experience moving to emergency nursing.  I am also a health professional educator and a registered teacher with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.  Currently I work at the University of Bradford as an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, where I have been for the last four years.  I lead on the delivery Clinical Skills and Simulation-based Education for the School.

Aims of their study: 

My study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Simulation-based education as a pedagogy to enhance the content and delivery of dementia education and training.  Any devised educational materials will be co-designed with people living with dementia. 

• Title of project:  Stigmatisation of dementia in South Africa - a sobering reality? 

• Start date: February 2022 

Biography 

 My background is in education. I spent fifteen years as a secondary school teacher and three years as a health and social care lecturer at a FE college. Upon transitioning to health and social care 17 years ago, I developed a passion for working with older people, and more specifically those living with dementia. Since making my career change, I’ve worked as a carer, assessor, training consultant, operations manager and company director. Each role has given me a different vantage point of how the support of people living with dementia is undertaken. I hold a MSc in Dementia Studies, obtained from the University of Bradford and was involved in a recent study at the university which looked at the effects of the pandemic on care homes, which yielded great outputs. I am the director of two companies; one in the UK and one in South Africa (my country of birth) and recently co-founded a charity dedicated to reduce the impact of dementia in the UK and South Africa. As an entrepreneur, I am involved in the university’s entrepreneurship programme.  

Aims 

The aims of this study are to investigate what role stigma plays, as a determinant of non-inclusive practices, in the lives of people living with dementia – and more specifically in the South African context and what impact this has on their wellbeing, including their mental health. 

Supervised by: Dr Ana Barbosa, Dr Lindsey Collins and Professor Siobhan Reilly

Start date: June 2021

Biography:

With a Master’s in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Cognitive-Behavioural Integrative Psychotherapy, I am enthusiastic for mental health and neuropsychological research, with interests in dementia, well-being, and psychosocial factors for healthy cognitive ageing. 

Aims:

Main scope “Implementation issues of Dementia Care Mapping”

Angela is a registered children’s’ nurse and general nurse with over 30 years’ experience working clinically in paediatrics. Her research career started in 1998 as a research fellow where she was awarded funding to pursue PhD studies at the University of York (2002). She developed a quality of life outcome measure for children following paediatric intensive care.

Since then she has worked in research roles at City University (London) and Barts and the London Trust with nurses, midwives and AHPs, and in senior leadership roles in research at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from 2006. More recently as Assistant Chief Nurse, Quality & Safety Research/Magnet Programme where she leads patient safety research as a member of the Yorkshire Quality & Safety Research Group at the Bradford Institute for Health Research and in the Trust to implement the ‘Magnet4Europe’ research study in collaboration with Mather Hospital, New York, USA.

Current grants include:

• “On-line adaption and evaluation of the ‘RE-BOOT’ (REcovery-BOOsting Training) intervention, to prepare critical care nurses for, and aid recovery after, stressful clinical events” (CI: Burdett Trust for Nurses)
• “Volatile Biomarker Positioning of Naso-gastric Tubes to Enhance Patient Safety (NG-Sure)” (CI: MRC DPFS)
• “Lessons from the frontline: The impact of redeployment during COVID-19 on nurse well-being, performance and retention (Re-Deploy)” (Co-I: NIHR HSDR).

Her research interests include: technology in healthcare; medication safety, and patient and public involvement in research. She supervises a number of PhD students, contributes to undergraduate nurse teaching and has published over 20 papers.

Carolien Smits PhD is a psychologist/social gerontologist with a special interest in inclusive dementia research. She worked as a researcher at various universities (Radboud University, Edinburgh University, Free University Amsterdam, Saxion University and Windesheim University of Applied Sciences) and at the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos-instituut).

Research themes included mastery and cognition as predictors of well-being and mortality; shared decision making in migrant groups and in dementia care networks; perspectives of ageing and care in older migrants; development and implementation of dementia care interventions. Her methodological expertise ranges from longitudinal population research, randomized trials to participative action research and cocreative design.

Carolien currently works at Pharos: the Netherlands Institute on Health Disparities. Her Pharos projects focus on migrant family carers (Taking Care of Caregivers), impact of Covid-19 on migrant dementia carers (So-Iso-study); on people with dementia (POLAR); and on the bereaved relatives of Covid-patients. Research addressing dementia risk factors are being developed at a national level (ABOARD). Carolien also participates in a European project on inclusive design for eHealth applications. As an INTERDEM member she is active in taskforces on eHealth, prevention of dementia and intercultural dementia care.

Dianne is an Honorary Visiting Researcher at the University of Bradford (2021 to 2024) and also Director for Projects at Alzheimer Europe, which is an umbrella organisation of national Alzheimer associations based in Luxembourg. She has been working for Alzheimer Europe since 1996, with a short break between 2001 and 2004. After completing an Honours Degree in Psychology, Dianne obtained MAs in Education and Psychoanalysis (with a focus on gender, disability and eating disorders).

She then trained in the UK in eating disorders counselling and in Germany as an analytical Gestalt therapist. In 2013, Dianne was awarded a PhD from the University of Bradford for her research exploring GPs' perceptions of dementia and how these relate to stigma and timely diagnosis. Since 2009, she has chaired Alzheimer Europe's ethics working groups on a range of topics such as assistive technology, ethical dilemmas, intercultural care and support, inclusive research and sex, gender and sexuality. Dianne is also involved in several large-scale European projects in which her main role is usually either linked to Public Involvement and/or ethics.

Consequently, she does a lot of work with the European Working Group of People with Dementia and is currently supervising the secondment of two Early Stage Researchers in the framework of the DISTINCT research programme.

Contact details:
• Email: [email protected], [email protected]
• Telephone: +352 297970
• Address: Alzheimer Europe, 14 rue Dicks, L-1417 Luxembourg

Murna is Emeritus Professor in Dementia Studies in the Centre for Applied Dementia Studies at the University of Bradford, a centre of excellence in research, education, training and consultancy in dementia care. She has published on a range of topics from early diagnosis through to end of life care, with a focus on the perspective of people living with dementia and their families.

She co-directed the University of Bradford’s Alzheimer’s Society funded Doctoral Training Centre on dementia care and services research, Improving transitions in dementia care. She is co-editor of the highly commended textbook Excellence in dementia care: Research into practice, is series editor of the Jessica Kingsley Good Practice Guides on Dementia Care and is on the editorial board of Ageing and Mental Health. Murna is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, was awarded the British Society of Gerontology Outstanding Achievement award for her work in applied dementia studies, and is a patron with the Alzheimer's Society.

Philly Hare is a Co-Director at Innovations in Dementia CIC (iD). Our work supports people with dementia to keep control of their lives and be happy. We do this by running innovative projects, by providing a training and consultancy service and by influencing how others work with people with dementia.

People with dementia are at the heart and start of all our work. We promote a positive view of dementia, demonstrating that although dementia is life changing it does not have to be life ending.

Philly’s particular interests are the empowerment and inclusion of people with dementia, and the application of research evidence to practice. As a qualified social worker, she has experience within the NHS, Local Authorities and the voluntary sector in many areas of adult social care. In the 1990s, she managed the Scarborough/ Ryedale Kings Fund Carers Project and later set up the Princess Royal Trust Carers Resource.

Philly has a first degree in English and Philosophy (Exeter University) and an MSc in Applied Social Studies (Oxford University). She is also Knowledge Exchange Fellow, University of Edinburgh (ECRED), and Honorary Visiting Researcher, University of Bradford.

Bing is an Honorary Visiting Researcher at the University of Bradford and an alumnus from UoB School of Management from which he graduated with an Honours Degree in Marketing. As a single child, Bing has a keen interest with regards to ageing, especially in Chinese society. Bing started a project after graduation with colleagues of similar interest, to promote Person Centred Care and improve the quality of life for older people in China, which was affiliated with University of Bradford Open Innovation Startup Incubator.

In tune with Bing’s interest in meeting the needs of the ageing population in China, Bing has been working with Professor Jan Oyebode and Oladayo Bifarin, PhD student, support the PhD project entitled: ‘Supporting Caregivers in the Chinese workforce’. Bing is supporting the team in the capacity of a research assistant and is involved in research activities ranging from facilitating interviews to liaising with stakeholders.

Bing also has a keen interest in adopting technology to enhance experience of individuals irrespective of age. Bing is a co-investor in Millennium Castles Ltd, which is a startup company geared towards developing Virtual Reality content for older people, which has been found to enhance their mood and overall well-being, especially during the pandemic.

Chris is an Honorary Visiting Researcher at the University of Bradford (2021-2024). He also works as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Associate Clinical Director for Research and Development with Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Trust.

He has worked clinically with people with dementia and their carers in the NHS for over 20 years and he also worked as a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Hull between 2003 and 2020. His current clinical work focuses on psycho-social interventions for people living with dementia and their care partners within an NHS in-patient setting, focusing particularly on the implementation of positive person-centred care and facilitating psychological safety amongst dementia care staff.

As an active clinical researcher, Chris regularly acts as a local Principal Investigator within the NHS on large-scale trials of psycho-social interventions for people with dementia. He is currently a Principal Investigator and Co-Applicant on a multi-centre randomised controlled trial of a psychological intervention aiming to improve sleep for people with dementia and family carers.

His ongoing research interests encompass peer-support, co-production and the application of positive psychology to understanding how people with dementia (and their care partners) can foster well-being. As such, he has co-supervised and collaborated on several qualitative studies investigating lived experiences of different psychological strengths amongst people with dementia, including hope, humour, resilience and gratitude and he is the co-author of a systematic review in this area.

Chris has a special interest in outcome measurement and led a recent conceptual scoping review of the measurement of well-being amongst people living with dementia. He is the co-author of the book Positive Psychology Approaches to Dementia (JKP; 2016).

Biography

Zena’s career in health and social care has spanned across four decades, initially in domiciliary care and then as a nursing auxiliary in acute and community settings, before undertaking her nurse training in 2003.  

Zena qualified as a mental health nurse at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in 2003 before going on to complete her master's degree in Mental Health at the UEA in 2013. More recently Zena has undertaken doctoral studies at De Montfort University and will complete her PhD imminently having successfully defended her thesis “Relationships, morality and emotion: Their impact and influence on nursing home staff decision-making when a resident with advanced dementia deteriorates” earlier this year. 

She has relished the challenge of less traditional roles throughout her career but always with a keen focus on improving the outcomes and experiences of care for older people, people living with dementia, their families and carers.  Zena's specialist interest includes the care of older people, dementia care, palliative and end of life care, continence management, case management, biopsychosocial care as well service integration and quality improvement. Zena is a published author of multiple journal articles and contributor to two books.  

Given her various areas of interest, skills and experience Zena holds a portfolio of roles including, Acting Head of Nursing for One Norwich Practices, Regional Clinical Advisor (dementia) NHSE&I, Clinical Advisor (dementia) Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, Consultant Editor-Nursing Older People and Honorary Visiting Researcher at both Newcastle University and University of Bradford. 

Biography

Richard H. Fortinsky, PhD, is a professor at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Medicine, where he is a core faculty member at the UConn Center on Aging and holds the Health Net, Inc. Endowed Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology. For more than four decades, Dr. Fortinsky has collaborated with colleagues from a wide range of scientific disciplines, and with numerous healthcare systems and community-based organizations, to design and carry out studies intended to improve healthcare and optimize health-related outcomes for community-dwelling older adults and their families. He has served as Chair of two National Institutes of Health study sections, Chair of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Social Research, Policy, and Practice Section, and Chair of the GSA national expert Workgroup on Cognitive Impairment Detection and Earlier Diagnosis. Presently, Dr. Fortinsky serves as Principal Investigator for a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute-funded study testing an in-home, team-based intervention targeting older adults with cognitive vulnerability. He is also co-Principal Investigator for a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded study to examine the interplay of dementia, race, and ethnicity in relation to hospitalization, emergency department visits, and achievement of goals of care in the state of Connecticut’s publicly-funded home and community-based service program for older adults. Dr. Fortinsky also serves as co-Director for the NIA-funded UConn Older Americans Independence (Pepper) Center, one of 15 funded Pepper Centers nationally. The UConn Pepper Center promotes and funds developmental research in aging and health across the multiple campuses of the University of Connecticut.

Biography

Andrea retired from the Centre for Allied Dementia Studies in 2023 after almost 30 years of working in Dementia Studies at the University of Bradford.  Initially having started teaching alongside Prof Tom Kitwood, Andrea went on to join the Bradford Dementia Research group which he had recently founded.  She played a major role in developing the University's first accredited programmes in dementia care and went on to lead both the BSc (Hons) and MSc programmes in Dementia Studies.  Her research interests centre on participatory, visual and creative methods for involving people living with dementia in research and Patient and Public Involvement, and on the ongoing impact of historical trauma for people living with dementia..  Andrea is a series editor for the Routledge series Dementia in Critical Dialogue and co-edited, with James Fletcher, the recent publication in that series A Critical History of Dementia Studies.

Sara is an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Bradford (2022-2025) and is the Clinical Lead for Y&H Older People Mental Health & Dementia Clinical Network, and she a member of the National Older People’s Mental Health Expert Advisory Group. Sara provides local clinical leadership as the Associate Clinical Director for Frailty and Dementia for Bradford Health Care Partnership.  

Sara started her career at Leeds Medical School in 1990 and following General Practice training joined Westcliffe Medical Centre ( now Affinity Care ) in 1995-2022 .Sara developed skills as a GP with a Special Interest in Older People and has worked for several local teams: including Bradford Hospital Intermediate Care, Bradford Care Trust PACT team and during COVID ,lead and worked in the Digital Care Hub ‘Super Rota’ remotely supporting care homes and their residents during the pandemic.   

While in primary care Sara has lead a research unit at the Affinity Care PCN recruiting participants to a wide range of clinical trials with over 2137 people to 27 clinical trial in 21-22. Sara has also been involved as a co-applicant with several trials involving frailty, dementia and medicines safety over the last 10 years. This includes PROSPER, EFI+,   

Sara has supported the Doctoral Training Centre Stakeholders Advisory Group since 2016 and worked with the University on several studies.  

Sara continues to be a strong advocate for research in dementia, frailty and primary and brings an expertise in understanding how primary care can support and recruit to research trials  

Contact details 

E: [email protected]