In the UK it is currently estimated that almost 1 million people live with dementia, and this number is predicted to rise by 80% over the next 20 years. Dementia is a challenging condition, not only for the people who live with dementia and their families and carers, but also increasingly on health, care, and community services. Whilst a key goal for research is to find a pharmacological cure for dementia, there is also the need to improve treatments and support to enable people to live better with dementia through evidence-based research.
In 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society, awarded funding to all 15 NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) to support a new generation of dementia research leaders in a programme called “DEM-COMM”. Nationally over 45 researchers from multidisciplinary backgrounds have been appointed to the programme. They are fostering cross-cutting collaboration and ensuring research covers key gaps in the evidence base.
As part of this programme, ARC West Midlands has three Research Fellows who will work across the themes of Social Care and Long-Term Conditions. In the West Midlands, we have called this work “DEM-CARE” to reflect the local focus on the ARC’s Social Care theme within the dementia research. A fourth fellow has a post across ARC West Midlands and ARC Oxford Thames Valley. Each Research Fellow has their own focus and area of specialty for their research, capacity building activities and further collaborative opportunities.
Paul is a Senior Researcher within the Department of Research and Innovation at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) and Honorary Reader within the School of Medicine at Keele University (staff profile).
Paul’s research focuses on the role of social work and social care to those who live with dementia. The NIHR and Alzheimer’s Society recognise the need for improved understanding of the issues of variation in access, approaches, and standards of service, as well as the pressing issues faced by social care dementia staff (recruitment and retention). Paul’s fellowship will explore these issues locally, before expanding the scope via national studies.
Paul is a member of the Keele MEDDIP team who are researching the identification of markers of dementia progression. He is also involved in an NIHR RfPB project led by the University of Worcester that considers the provision of personal care to those living with dementia. Paul is supporting dementia research involvement of practitioners and clinicians at MPFT and is a steering committee member of the new NIHR-Supported Incubator in Mental Health Social Care.
Sue is based at Keele University. Her work is focused on investigating the place of dementia within Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), with particular emphasis on exploring social care models and interventions for people living with dementia.
Part of this work is the SCIP-Dementia-PEP study that is exploring practitioner and lived experience perspectives of social care and integrated care for people living with dementia. Sue’s background is dementia research and evaluation in health and social care settings. Research and methodological interests include knowledge and time in dementia; realist evaluation; simple technologies in the self-management of dementia; and support for people living with learning disabilities and dementia.
Sue is an early career researcher member of the NIHR Dementia Portfolio Development Group, and co-lead with another DEM–COMM fellow for a newly established Realist Evaluation in Dementia Special Interest Group (RAID-ER). Sue retains active links with former colleagues at Dementia UK with whom she is working on publications from a Realist Evaluation of Admiral Nursing research project
Chris is based at the University of Birmingham. He is a qualitative methodologist with expertise in patient and public involvement and engagement. Chris is leading a project exploring life in rural areas of England for people living with dementia. Chris’ background is in dementia–specific social science research within social care contexts.One of Chris’ projects is in collaboration with colleagues from ARC KSS, ARC West and Pen ARC, funded by the Alzheimer’s Society and the NIHR entitled: Personalising Domiciliary Dementia Care via Co-Designed Computational Matching.
Chris brings his dementia specific expertise to the Social Care Cluster nestled in the School of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham and ‘BRHUmB’- the West Midlands Palliative Care Research Hub. He is a member of the End of Life special interest group within DEM–COMM, and is working with DEM COMM colleagues on research proposals and studies.
Subhashisa is a NIHR Dementia Research Fellow at Keele University and at the University of Oxford. With a background in physiotherapy and epidemiology, his research focuses on multimorbidity, ageing, frailty, neurological conditions, musculoskeletal health, and chronic pain.
As an NIHR Dementia Fellow, he investigates the intersection of multimorbidity in dementia, specifically exploring how co-existing conditions affect dementia progression and treatment outcomes. He is particularly interested in the application of AI to manage polypharmacy in dementia patients. Subhashisa co-leads a Sandpit Award from the Alzheimer’s Society to develop an AI model aimed at improving dementia care through better medication management. Using large electronic health records, his work explores the complexities of multi-morbidity in dementia, rheumatic conditions, and age-related diseases.
All Research Fellow have been successful in obtaining funding from the NIHR Three Schools Dementia Initiative to appoint three PhD students (two at Keele, one at Birmingham) who will carry out their doctoral studies in areas aligned to the Research Fellows’ interests.
In 2025, we will host four interns to develop additional dementia research capacity in the region.
Interns:
Dr Angela Clifford is a research methodologist with an interest in dementia care. She will work on a number of projects with the DEMCARE Fellows to support her professional development around qualitative methodologies, partnership working and project management.
Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) is key to all work within ARC West Midlands and we have established our own PPIE group for the DEM-CARE programme.
The group meet once a month to ensure all our research activities are meaningfully informed by the lived experience of people with dementia and family or friend carers. As well as informing the research agenda in DEM–CARE, we host and support other researchers from across the region. Panel members have opportunities to become co-applicants on our research projects and funding applications. They regularly review our research materials and help to formulate our project ideas at the earliest stage of their development.
If you have an interest in joining us please contact Dr Chris Poyner c.poyner@bham.ac.uk to find out more information.