What is your current role in EPAD?

I coordinate EPAD at the Edinburgh Trial Delivery Centre, working with a great team of research assistants, study doctors and research nurses to deliver the protocol. I oversee the daily running of the study in our TDC, making sure we have sufficient recruitment avenues to bring in new participants, that we have enough staff trained and delegated to work on the protocol and that the protocol is being follow to give the best quality data. I also manage two of our parent cohorts in the centre which we can use to maintain recruitment into EPAD.

 

What did you do prior to joining EPAD?

I joined the Edinburgh EPAD team in June 2017, and prior to this worked in an NHS research team as a data manager, study coordinator and then deputy team manager. My background is in psychology and I first started working with people with dementia in 2009 as part of a placement year.  After graduating I spent 7 years in the NHS working on a variety of dementia and mental health studies, including many clinical trials of investigational medicinal products. I’ve also been involved in the PREVENT study, one of the first parent cohorts for EPAD in the UK, since it started in 2013.

 

Tell us a bit about the institution/company/organisation you work for.

I work for the University of Edinburgh which is the lead site and sponsor organisation of EPAD. My actual place of work is the Centre for Dementia Prevention, which is combines research in basic science, medicine and social sciences working together in the effort to prevent dementia. The Centre is where we see our EPAD participants for their study visits. We also run other large prevention studies from this centre as well as focusing on treatment trials for participants with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.

 

What are your expectations from the EPAD project?

I’m really excited to be an EPADista and be part of this innovative project. I have the privilege of being able to meet and work with our participants on a daily basis and their dedication to the study is really inspiring. I think the EPAD LCS is already showing how successful the project is going to be with more participants and sites joining every month.  Over the next few months and years I’m looking forward to getting the first proof of concept trials up and running and really seeing how EPAD can change the way we do Alzheimer’s clinical trial research.