The Alzheimer Scotland Student Research Programme is excited to announce our first ever MRes student: Kelly Kelly. Kelly’s studentship is hosted by the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice at the University of the West of Scotland. She is supervised by Dr Anna Jack-Waugh and Dr Eileen Harkess-Murphy.

Kelly already has extensive experience working with people with dementia and is passionate about enhancing the quality of life for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. She is a registered mental health nurse specialising in dementia care and has a BA (Hons) in Psychology.

For this specific MRes project, Kelly’s research will focus on the gap in knowledge around the use of trauma-informed approaches within dementia care, with emphasis on the experience of people with young onset dementia.  This research is important because people with young onset dementia experience a greater time on a diagnosis pathway than people with late-onset dementia. This can lead to a greater risk of harm associated with the psychological distress of a diagnosis that may cause trauma. Therefore, the outcomes of this research will help allow for a trauma-informed interpretation of the process and the patient/family perspective, which will improve the diagnosis pathway for people with young onset dementia.

Kelly’s project has recently started/ Talking about the Studentship, she said

“I am delighted to be part of The Alzheimer Scotland Student Research Programme hosted by the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice at the University of the West of Scotland. I am looking forward to contributing to this innovative research and continuing my nursing career dedicated to dementia care.”

Project supervisor, Anna, added:

“Eileen Harkess-Murphy and I are delighted to be supported by Alzheimer Scotland to develop this first MRes studentship.  Our candidate, Kelly, has an excellent background, and clear support from the Active Voices Network. This will enable her to explore the potential for a trauma-informed diagnostic approach to the diagnosis of Young Onset Dementia.”

Kelly is enthusiastic about advancing her research initiatives in this field, aiming to make a meaningful impact on individuals affected by dementia. Alzheimer Scotland and the SDRC look forward to working with Kelly and the rest of the team at the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice (ASCPP) throughout this MRes project. We will make sure to keep SDRC members updated on Kelly’s research project as it progresses.

In the meantime, please make sure to follow Kelly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellykresearch

and the ASCPP:  https://twitter.com/AlzScotCPP

The Alzheimer Student Research Programme support the next generation of dementia and brain health research by funding studentships at institutions across Scotland. Find out more here

Read more SDRC Blogs

Early Career Researchers: Samuel Quinn

Throughout August, the SDRC are celebrating our next generation of researchers by devoting a series of blogs to PhD Students/ Early Career Researchers. Read the series so far here This blog is by Sam Quinn, who is based at the University of the West of Scotland. His...

Confident Conversations for Research Participation

Confident Conversations is a collaboration between the Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network (NDN) and Alzheimer Scotland. It is a forward-thinking initiative to assist in enabling everyone with dementia to be offered the opportunity to participate in research. This...

Early Career Researchers: Laura McWhirter

The SDRC are committed to promoting and supporting researchers in the early stages of their career. This is why, we have put together a blog series featuring PhD students and ECRs from all disciplines. Read the series so far here Read Laura McWhirter's blog on...

COVID Impact on ECRs: Michael Smith

In the coming days, the SDRC are publishing a series of blogs featuring Early Career Researchers who are sharing how COVID has impacted their research and career prospects.  Today's blog is by Michael Smith, a PhD student from UWS. A Deep roots are not reached by the...

Alzheimer Scotland Student Research Programme announces first MRes student

The Alzheimer Scotland Student Research Programme is excited to announce our first ever MRes student: Kelly Kelly. Kelly’s studentship is hosted by the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice at the University of the West of Scotland. She is supervised by Dr...

Early Career Researchers: Kotryna Baronaite

Throughout August, the SDRC are celebrating our next generation of researchers by publishing a series of blogs from PhD Students/ Early Career Researchers.  For the first week, we are featuring those that were in the SDRC Impact Report 2019. First, we have Kotryna...

COVID Impact on ECRs: Katie Gambier-Ross

If you have been following on the SDRC website, you will have seen our blog series featuring some wonderful Early Career Researchers and student, sharing insights on how COVID has been impacting their research and career prospects, as well as some helpful tips for all...

Celebrating 10 years of the SDRC

Ten years ago today, on the 28 August 2013, the Scottish Dementia Research Consortium was established at the Surgeon's Hall, Edinburgh. The SDRC was created to enable greater co-ordination by pooling the resources, experience and expertise of the wide-ranging and...

Guest Blog: Enabling Research in Care Homes (ENRICH) Scotland

In this guest blog from Enabling research in Care Homes (ENRICH) Scotland, we find out more about the work of the organisation and how they are working with care homes to increase representation in research. This blog is taken from the SDRC Annual Report, which you...

Early Career Researchers: Anna Jack-Waugh

You may have seen that throughout August, the SDRC are celebrating our next generation of researchers by devoting a series of blogs to PhD Students/ Early Career Researchers. Read the series so far here This blog is by Anna Jack-Waugh, who is based at the University...