Speakers

Prof Terry Quinn (Chair)

Terry holds the post of David Cargill Chair of Geriatric Medicine and Honorary Consultant Physician in Stroke and Geriatric Medicine. He has a broad research portfolio, his principal research interests are around trial methodology, cognitive assessment and vascular cognitive impairment.

Terry has published extensively on stroke, cognition and test accuracy with publications in NEJM, JAMA, Lancet and BMJ. He is Principal Investigator for various studies; chairs monitoring and trial steering committees for multicentre dementia trials and holds the inaugural CSO/Stroke Association priority program grant to research cognitive outcomes following stroke. Terry is passionate about evidence based practice and raising standards in clinical research.

Dr Jennifer Macfarlane 

Jen is a Clinical Scientist based at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee and Director of SINAPSE (Scottish Imaging Network: A Platform for Scientific Excellence) a research pooling group which brings together clinical and academic expertise in imaging research throughout Scotland, encouraging a multidisciplinary, collaborative and supportive approach to tackling Health and Wellbeing.

Her interests include functional neuroimaging and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) working with both academic and clinical partners to optimise the use of MRI in patient care and research and am involved in the introduction of Scotland’s first MR guided Focused Ultrasound service to treat people with refractory Essential Tremor.

Prof Miguel Bernabeu

Miguel is Professor of Computational Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and his research is on vascular structure and function. His approach is primarily theoretical through mathematical modelling and machine learning in close collaboration with vascular/cancer biologists and clinicians.

His research interests concern: a) the development of automated methods for eye and systemic disease diagnosis in retinal scans, b) the study of the tumour microvascular environment and its impact on treatment, c) the mechanistic investigation of vascular remodelling during angiogenesis.

Dr Tom Russ

Tom trained in medicine and psychiatry in Edinburgh, the Highlands, and London and completed a PhD in dementia epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. He is a consultant psychiatrist in NHS Lothian, Network Champion of the NRS Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network, and Director of the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh.

Prof Tara Spires-Jones

Prof Tara Spires-Jones’ FMedSci research focuses on the mechanisms and reversibility of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, other degenerative brain diseases, and ageing.  Her work has shown that soluble forms of pathological amyloid beta and tau contribute to synapse and neurodegeneration and that pathological forms of tau spread through the brain via synapses. 

In addition to research, Prof Spires-Jones is passionate about communicating scientific findings to the public and policy makers; increasing the rigour and reproducibility in translational neuroscience; promoting inclusivity and diversity in science; and supporting career development of neuroscientists. She is President of the British Neuroscience Association (2023-2025), Director of the University of Edinburgh Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, and was elected to the UK Academy of Medical Sciences in 2024.

Dr Katherine Walesby

Katherine is a clinical research fellow at the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh and Specialist Registrar in Geriatric and General Medicine. Her PhD is investigating geographical variation of dementia using routinely collected healthcare data (big data) in Scotland and New Zealand.

Within Scotland, Katherine is currently investigating dementia ascertainment and geographical variation (rural/urban differences) in the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 (SMS1947) which has been anonymously Chi-linked to healthcare data.  Katherine is now in the final stages of writing up her thesis. 

Dr Catherine Pennington

Dr Pennington is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer with the University of Edinburgh, and a Consultant Neurologist with NHS Forth Valley & NHS Lothian. Current academic work is on the development of a novel clinical tool for the evaluation of symptom awareness in neurodegenerative cognitive disorders. 

Dr Pennington specialises in the diagnosis of cognitive disorders, with a particular interest in the promotion of brain health, and evaluation of symptom awareness.

Dr Lucy Stirland

Dr Stirland is a psychiatrist and epidemiological researcher. In August 2022, she completed her specialty training in Old Age Psychiatry and finished her Clinical Lectureship funded by NHS Education for Scotland and the Chief Scientist Office. In 2020, she completed a PhD in the epidemiology of multimorbidity and polypharmacy with mental and brain health. Her clinical experience includes a year’s training (endorsement) in liaison psychiatry.

From 2022-2023 she completed a Certificate in Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco. She remains an active participant in the GBHI network through her role as a Global Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health.

She returned to Edinburgh in October 2023 to take up a joint NHS/University post as a Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist and researcher.

Dr Donncha Mullin

Donncha is an Honorary Psychiatry Specialty Registrar (SpR) and exercise enthusiast, having qualified first as a Physiotherapist before studying Medicine. Donncha undertook his Psychiatry Core Training years in Edinburgh but still feels a strong affinity to Glasgow, where he studied at undergraduate level. Donncha is doing a 3-year PhD using data science, epidemiological and genetic techniques to examine the usefulness of motoric cognitive risk syndrome (slow walking speed and subjective cognitive complaint) for early identification of individuals at high risk of dementia.

Dr Maria Drummond

Maria is Senior Clinical Studies Officer at ENRICH Scotland. She is a registered adult nurse, district nurse and independent prescriber with over twelve years clinical experience in community nursing (including care homes) prior to joining ENRICH Scotland in 2021. Maria completed her mixed-methods PhD from the University of Glasgow in Nursing and Healthcare in 2022. She explored the unpaid caregiver role to identify and design complex nurse-led interventions to better support caregivers. As part of her role at ENRICH Scotland, Maria has worked as a Research Assistant and Principle Investigator on two interview studies. Her research interests include improving access to evidence to address the theory-practice gap, and co-design.

Arlene Bunton

Arlene has worked across social care across the last 20 years ranging from supporting adults living with mental health conditions, adults with disabilities, those with addictions and those experiencing homelessness.

Arlene’s has completed a BA(Hons) in Health and Social Care, a Post Graduate Diploma in Dementia Studies (with distinction) and now into the research phase of a Doctorate in Applied Social Research, Dementia and Ageing pathway. Arlene’s research project will go live in 2025 with a focus on Exploring the Impact of Multiple Disparities on the Assessment of Need in Spousal Dyads (when seeking formal social care supports).

Dr Benjamin Sachs-Cobbe

Dr. Sachs-Cobbe was born and raised in San Diego, California. He received a bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois and a PhD at the University of Wisconsin. Prior to coming to St. Andrews he was an Assistant Professor/Faculty Fellow in the Program in Environmental Studies and the Department of Bioethics at New York University, and prior to that a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health (U.S.).

Dr. Sachs-Cobbe teaches classes on ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of law, animal ethics, philosophy of economics, and distributive justice.

Alison McKean

Alison is Executive Lead for Brain Health and Research at Alzheimer Scotland. Alison graduated in Occupational
Therapy in 2000 and worked across settings in dementia in the NHS before joining Alzheimer Scotland. Alison is passionate about ensuring the voice of lived experience is central to research activity.

Dr Jodi Watt

Jodi is a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant at the University of Glasgow. Their work is part of DPUK2 and aims to identify possible targets for drug repurposing in dementia, using drug-wide association study methodology.

Jodi holds a PhD in Radiological Sciences from the University of Nottingham. Outside of her research work, she is very interested in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion issues in academia and practice.

Thea Laurie

Thea has been a supporter of Alzheimer Scotland since 2004 first as a fund raiser but was latterly a Trustee on the Board. She continues to be involved with NDCAN and has engaged in many campaigns from Fair Dementia Care to Women’s Brain Health. Due to her mother’s dementia never being properly diagnosed and her varied experiences as a carer, Thea has a keen interest in supporting people living with dementia and their carers. She recognises the importance of research in dementia and Brain Health as an important way to modify risks and reduce the incidence of dementia in Scotland.

Tommy McLean

Tommy joined the Scottish Dementia Working Group in 2023 after receiving a diagnosis of dementia in 2016. He describes being a member of SDWG as having opened a new world for him and finds his involvement within the campaign group to be empowering. Previously, Tommy had a successful career in the Financial Services sector until he transitioned into retirement. Within SDWG, amongst various campaign work, Tommy sits on the research subgroup which reviews research requests on behalf of the wider group, whilst striving to ensure research is meaningful for people living with dementia.

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