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

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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,

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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

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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

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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,

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Posted in Publications, Research

A clinical perspective: visiting the Memory Assessment Services (II)

In the past months I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Klugman during two Memory Assessment sessions at the Hill Rise memory clinic in Newhaven. During my short visits there I had the chance to learn more about the process

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A clinical perspective: visiting the Memory Assessment Services

As a PhD student, the funding for my studentship comes from the Alzheimer’s Society. This is part of an Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Sussex, which supports the research of eight PhD students from multiple disciplines

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How do genetic risk factors for dementia influence cognition earlier in the lifespan?

We all age, but why do some of us age better than others? This question is especially poignant for the field of cognitive ageing, with the prevalence of dementia rising each year. At the University of Sussex, the Ageing &

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APOE Symposium

On May 10th, Sussex Doctoral School hosted a symposium recognising the role of Apolipoprotein (APOE) in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Carrying an APOE e4 gene is established to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in older adulthood, as well as

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Alzheimer’s Research UK 2016 Conference – II

Day 1 The themes of the 1st day of the main AD conference were Frontotemporal dementia, Neurovascular dysfunction, and Inflammation & Immunity. One of many fascinating presentations on this was given by Jessica Duncombe, a 3rd year PhD student from

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