Education

8 of our team have now completed their PhDs:

• Rhian Convery (2023): Novel digital biomarkers for frontotemporal dementia (FTD Research Studentship in Memory of David Blechner funded through the National Brain Appeal)
• Mica Clarke (2023): Positron emission tomography imaging biomarkers of frontotemporal dementia (BRUK studentship)
• Will Scotton (2023): Disease progression and genetic risk factors in the primary tauopathies (Wellcome Trust clinical fellowship)
• Katrina Moore (2020): Evaluating the presymptomatic time window in genetic frontotemporal dementia (funded by an Alzheimer’s Society studentship)
• Lucy Russell (2020): The development of novel social cognitive tests in frontotemporal dementia
• Elizabeth Gordon (2020): Longitudinal neuroimaging measures of volumetric change across the frontotemporal dementia spectrum (funded by an Alzheimer’s Society studentship)
• Martha Foiani (2020): Investigating novel tau biomarkers for frontotemporal dementia
• Ione Woollacott (2020): Neuroinflammation in frontotemporal dementia (funded by an MRC Clinical Research Fellowship)

We currently have 7 people completing a PhD in the team:

• Carolin Heller
• Rachelle Shafei (ARUK clinical fellowship)
• Caroline Greaves (FTD Research Studentship in Memory of David Blechner funded through the National Brain Appeal)
• Kiran Samra
• Imogen Swift
• Arabella Bouzigues
• Kerala Adams-Carr (Association of British Neurologists fellowship)

We do not have any funded PhD positions available at present. However, we do accept students from UCL PhD Doctoral Training Programmes for 3 month rotations, including the UCL-Birkbeck MRC DTP.

We help to run the Dementia MSc programme at UCL including being co-lead for the Practical Neuroscience module and lecturing on the course. We take on students for research projects from this MSc and from any of the other Faculty of Brain Sciences Masters courses at UCL.

Previous Masters students and their projects include:

• Zoe Hill (2020): Age at onset and disease duration in the rare genetic causes of FTD
• Emily Todd (2019): Progression of presymptomatic and symptomatic degeneration in MAPT mutation carriers in FTD
• Michelle Naessens (2019): Cognitive impairment in motor neurone disease and its neuroanatomical correlates
• Alisa Hakansson (2019): Investigation of factors influencing progranulin protein concentration
• Georgia Peakman (2019): Neuroanatomical correlates of non-verbal semantic impairment for objects and actions in variants of primary progressive aphasia
• Elise Chan (2019): Investigating plasma complement proteins in FTD
• Jess Welch (2018): Measuring perfusion levels through the use of ASL-MRI in FTD
• Emily Abel (2018): Developing biofluid assays for progranulin and progranulin-related proteins
• Lesley Wu (2018): Improving the separation of the amygdala and the hippocampus on MRI from an automated parcellation (GIF): application on a FTD cohort
• Anna Carobin (2017): A novel proteomics approach to FTD
• Antonia Theodoridi (2016): Further development of a hypothalamic peptide panel
• Mica Clarke (2016): The cognitive profile of motor neurone disease
• Vilma Rautemaa (2015): Developing a hypothalamic peptide panel
• Sophie Harding (2015): Investigating the role of brief cognitive assessments in the diagnosis of FTD

Many of our students have subsequently become research assistants in the team, and some have gone on to do PhDs with us.

We are happy to accept UCL undergraduate students to perform library projects with the team.

Previous undergraduate students and their projects include:

• Annabel Nelson (2018): A window into the earliest stages of dementia – studies of presymptomatic disease

We are also able to occasionally take on placement students from other universities, such as:

• Phoebe Foster (2021): Examining empathy deficits across familial forms of frontotemporal dementia within the GENFI cohort (visiting our team for a year from the University of Manchester)

We have had a number of visiting neurology trainees and neuroscience researchers in the past including from Spain, Italy, Holland and Canada. If you are interested please email your CV and a covering letter.