Blog Archives

Summer Research…APOE in mid-adulthood

Recently I was given the opportunity to do research with the Rusted Lab at Sussex University as a Junior Research Associate. This means I will be continuing the Rusted Lab’s current work measuring the effects of the APOE e4 gene

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Events, Lab Life, Research, Uncategorized

Orla Bonnar: Visit to memory clinic 29 March 2017

As part of my Alzheimer’s Society funded PhD, I was afforded the opportunity to attend a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting held by the memory assessment service (MAS) team in Brighton.  The aim of this service is to ‘provide early detection, diagnosis,

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Lab Life, Uncategorized

Alzheimer’s Society funding announced…

Yesterday the Alzheimer’s Society announced another major investment in research to improve quality of life and the quality of support available to people affected by dementia, funding three new research programmes with £2m each over the next five years. Professor

Posted in Uncategorized

Dementia Action Alliance Launch Event

(from left to right) Professor Louise Serpell (Joint AS DTC lead, Life Sciences), Rachel Clarke (PhD student: Psychology, Social Policy), Rebecca Atkinson (PhD student: Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre), Dr Karen Marshall (Research Fellow, Life Sciences). We recently attended the

Tagged with: , , , , ,
Posted in Events, Lab Life, News, Uncategorized

Disrupted neural activity patterns to novelty and effort in young adult APOE-e4 carriers performing a subsequent memory task

Introduction The APOE e4 allele has been linked to poorer cognitive aging and enhanced dementia risk. Previous imaging studies have used subsequent memory paradigms to probe hippocampal function in e4 carriers across the age range, and evidence suggests a pattern

Posted in Uncategorized

Doing a PhD in the Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre at Sussex –being part of a team and enjoying it!

Posted in Uncategorized

The Elusive Nature of APOE ε4 in Mid-adulthood: Understanding the Cognitive Profile

Objectives: The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele is an established risk factor for dementia, yet this genetic variant is associated with a mixed cognitive profile across the lifespan. This study undertakes both a systematic and meta-analytic review of research investigating APOE-related differences

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Publications, Research

5 Tips from a Thesis Writing Boot Camp

Right before the holiday season, I decided to attend the Sussex University Doctoral School’s Thesis Boot Camp and was pleasantly surprised by how much I accomplished and learned. One limitation was that the writing workshops mostly catered to the humanities

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Lab Life

Dementia in the clinic

One of my PhD colleagues, Rebecca Atkinson, wrote recently that each student at Sussex funded by the Alzheimer’s Society charity is afforded the opportunity to complete placements in a local Memory Assessment Services (MAS) clinic. I was paired with Consultant

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Lab Life

The APOE paradox: do attentional control differences in mid-adulthood reflect risk of late-life cognitive decline

Possession of an APOE e4 allele is an established risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, while the less commonly studied e2 variant is premised to offer some protection. This research explores the purported deleterious-protective dichotomy of APOE variants on attentional control in mid-adulthood. 66 volunteers,

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Publications, Research