Dementia Research in Scotland

Scotland’s dementia research community has strong tradition of impactful research with outcomes that improve the lives of people living with dementia and those who care for them. Visit our Research Themes page for an overview of the types of ongoing research taking place in Scotland.

See below for some of the work of researchers, and how we can help you with your research.

Promoting Research

 

The SDRC works to celebrate the ongoing work of researchers.

If you have something you would like to share with the SDRC membership, please get in touch. 

Scottish dementia and brain health research in 2022 in numbers

We attracted 54 research grant awards, totaling £14.5 million in research grants

Over 700 Scottish-based researchers contributed to a research paper or grant award

Scottish-based researchers published over 300 papers into scientific journals

    We collaborated with 2200 international researchers in 49 countries

    Research spotlight: blog

    New SDRC Executive Committee Member: Stina Saunders

    Our final announcement of new SDRC Executive Committee members is Stina Saunders. We are delighted to have Stina joining us and look forward to working with her and all the new members. Find out more about Stina in the blog below.   I am in the final year of my PhD at...

    Alzheimer Scotland welcomes announcement of Scottish Brain Health Register

    Scotland’s largest annual dementia conference (Friday 8 June, EICC, Edinburgh) will see the official launch of the newly created Scottish Brain Health Register. The register is led by the Scottish Dementia Informatics Platform (part of the...

    The SDRC Impact Report 2019- Living with Dementia Theme

    On the 3rd June 2019, we launched the SDRC Impact Report 2019  For the first time, we now have an overall picture of who is doing dementia research in Scotland. In addition to providing this overview, we also have a section in the report for each of the SDRC research...

    Early Career Researchers: Miriam Scarpa

    Throughout August, the SDRC are celebrating our next generation of researchers by publishing a series of blogs to PhD Students/ Early Career Researchers.  Read the previous blogs here Our next blog is from Miriam Scarpa. Miriam gives us a fascinating overview of her...

    Early Career Researchers: Guest Blog for SDRC

    The Scottish Dementia Research Consortium are looking for PhD Students and Early Career Researchers to feature in guest blogs on our website. The SDRC are always pursuing new and different ways to promote those early in their research career. From providing...

    COVID Impact on ECRs: Tuuli Hietamies

    The SDRC are continuting our series of blogs featuring Early Career Researchers who are sharing how COVID has impacted their research and career prospects. Today's blog is from Tuuli Hietamies, thank you Tuuli for your contribution! Read the rest of the blog...

    Early Career Researchers: Jennifer Waymont

    Today's bio in our Early Career Researcher blog series is from Jennifer Waymont at the University of Aberdeen.   Jenny Waymont is a PhD candidate in Medical Imaging at the University of Aberdeen. Her PhD thesis is on the automated detection and analysis of white...

    COVID Impact on ECRs: Mohammad Mainuddin Mollah

    Today's blog is part a series of featuring Early Career Researchers who are sharing how COVID has impacted their research and career prospects.  Today's blog is by Mohammad Mainuddin Mollah, providing insight to supervisory support experiences of an international PhD...

    SDRC Virtual Conference 2020

    This message is to inform you that in response to coronavirus and in anticipation of an ever-changing landscape, our Annual Scottish Dementia Research Consortium Conference scheduled for 20 April and the Early Career Researcher Workshop on 21 April 2020 will now be...

    SDRC Executive Committee Member: Dr Jennifer Macfarlane

    In October 2022, the SDRC held our election to refresh the Executive Committee. We are now able to announce who was successfully voted. Jennifer Macfarlane has been a co-opted member of the SDRC Executive Committee since earlier this year, we are now delighted to...

    Research spotlight: video

    video coming soon

    Are you a researcher that would like to feature in this spotlight section? Get in touch to write a blog or share a video with us!

    How can I get involved in dementia research in Scotland?

    Join Dementia Research

    Anybody over the age of 18 can take part in dementia research in Scotland. The first step is signing up to support vital research studies across the nation. 

    Join Dementia Research is UK-wide service which allows you to register your interest to take part in dementia research and be matched to suitable studies. The register is open to anyone – so you do not need to have a diagnosis of dementia or any family history of the illness. You can also sign up someone else to the register, if you have their consent to do so.

    Visit the Join Dementia Research website for more information. You can also find out more about volunteering for dementia research studies by calling Alzheimer Scotland’s 24 Hour helpline on  0808 808 3000

    Supporting Research

    Funding and Career Opportunities

    Funding Opportunity: SPIN-D Network small grants for early career researchers

    Amount: £400-£2000, or up to £24000 depending on project typeLocation: any University or recognised Research Institution SPIN-D is pleased to announce the first call for projects under the Flexible Funding initiative, aimed at Early Career Researchers.  The SPIN-D...

    Do you have insights to share with other researchers? Write a blog for the SDRC!

    We are always looking for SDRC members to feature on our website and write a guest blog for the SDRC. You may already be familiar with our blog series, where we welcome contributions from people with an experience of brain health or dementia research. Blogs are an...

    Research studies recruiting volunteers

    Share your experience: Dementia diagnosis process

    Do you have experience with the dementia diagnosis process? Support this research study at the University of Strathclyde Sarah-Jayne Hamilton from the University of Strathclyde is looking for people with memory concerns of mild cognitive impairment to join an...

    Take part in research: dementia diagnosis in the autistic community

    Lynsey Stewart, from University of Strathclyde, is recruiting participants for a research study. Lynsey's research project addresses the problem of dementia among autistic individuals.  See below for more information on how to get involved.  Project title: Improving...

    Research Study: Young onset dementia

    Are you younger than 65? Do you have young onset dementia symptoms? Do you live at home? Ziyue Want, from the University of Galway is recruiting for a research study which will help to develop a programme to improve social health of people with young onset dementia. ...

    Are you an Early Career Researcher?

     

    The SDRC understand the specific challenges that early career researchers have in their career. 

    Therefore we have created a range of resources dedicated specifically for early career researchers to support them in their development. 

    Webinars

    Educational content which offers practical education on specific elements of dementia or brain health research. Or masterclasses which will give advice on career progressions.

    Speakers are experts in their fields.

    Mentorship

    We assign early career researchers to a more experienced academic who will give one-to-one advice and support. 

    This programme is currently paused but SDRC members will be notified once it restarts.

    Useful links

    We know the dementia and brain health landscape can be intimidating to those new to research in this area.

    Visit our Useful Links page to get an overview of organisations that are relevant to research and academia.

    How can I be a part of the SDRC?

    The SDRC is the biggest network of dementia and brain health research in Scotland. We all work together to celebrate and grow the research community.

    Membership is free and open to all.