The Alzheimer's Society Doctoral Training Centre for Integrated Care is one of only three new Doctoral Training Centres in the country. The project, funded by a £9 million grant, is led by Queen Mary University of London, the University of Manchester, and Newcastle University.
Based at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, the Queen Mary Doctoral Training Centre will be led by Professors Nathan Davies and Claudia Cooper. Over the next five years it will host 29 PhD students, who will explore how to deliver high-quality joined-up care from diagnosis to end of life. In addition to the support and guidance provided by researchers at Queen Mary, the students will have access to professionals from the NHS and social care, policy makers, and people with personal experience of dementia.
Only one in five dementia PhD students currently stay in dementia research, often due to underfunding and the challenging nature of academic careers. The Alzheimer's Society hopes that the new Doctoral Training Centres will create a supportive network, encouraging people to enter the field of dementia research and enabling PhD students to widen their options for peer support, networking, knowledge sharing, training, and equipment, and to continue their careers in dementia research.
Co-Leads, Professors Nathan Davies and Claudia Cooper said: "This is a fantastic opportunity, not only to create amazing work that changes the lives of so many people, but also to create, nurture and develop the next generation of dementia researchers, and the field of dementia research itself. For students, being part of our DTC means joining a dynamic academic community, where they are not just learners, but active contributors to cutting-edge research. They will be immersed in an environment where collaboration with fellow students and world-renowned experts fuels intellectual growth and innovation. Importantly students will work in partnership throughout their doctoral studies with people living with dementia and carers which will help shape their pioneering research."
