Dementia 2020 North Speakers

Professor Nigel Hooper

Director of Dementia Research, University of Manchester & Co-ordinator, Alzheimers Research UK - Manchester and North West Network Centre

Nigel Hooper received his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Leeds in 1987. He was then awarded a Mr and Mrs John Jaffé Donation Research Fellowship from the Royal Society to work on the proteolysis and membrane anchorage of mammalian cell surface peptidases. In 1989 he was appointed as lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry at Leeds, followed by promotions to senior lecturer, reader and in 2001 to Professor of Biochemistry.

He served as Director of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (2007-2011), Pro-Dean for Research (2011) and Dean (2012-2014) of the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds. In 2014 he was appointed to the Chair in Cell Biology in the Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences at the University of Manchester. He is currently Director of Dementia Research for the University.

Nigel is is co-ordinator for the Alzheimers Research UK - North West Network Centre where researchers from the Universities of Manchester, Lancaster and Liverpool are working to understand Alzheimer’s disease, hopefully developing new drugs to treat the disease.

1st Morning Plenary

Connecting Research Networks

9:45 - 10:05

Helen Foster
Operations Director - North
Alzheimer`s Society

Helen is Operations Director North at Alzheimer's Society where she has worked for over 10 years. She is responsible for the strategic development and operation of all services across the North Region. Beginning her career in the voluntary sector around 30 years ago as a practitioner, she has worked all over the country in roles at Citizen ...

Professor Nigel Hooper
Director of Dementia Research
University of Manchester & Co-ordinator, Alzheimers Research UK - Manchester and North West Network Centre

Veronica King
Stakeholder Relations Manager – North
Alzheimer’s Society

Veronica is Stakeholder Relations Manager for the North at Alzheimer’s Society and is currently working with the team at Salford Royal on the delivery of Dementia United, the Greater Manchester devolution dementia transformation programme. She has worked at Alzheimer’s Society since 2012, working on key projects including the roll out ...

Reinhard Guss
Chair, Faculty of the Psychology of Older People
& Co-chair, Dementia Action Alliance

Reinhard studied Clinical Psychology and Gerontology at Heidelberg University, Germany, in the 1980s. He came to the UK initially to conduct his dissertation research on the effectiveness of CBT stress management training for carers of people with dementia in Salford, and subsequently obtained UK recognition of qualifications. He has since worked ...

Lorraine Jackson
Deputy Director - Dementia Policy
Department of Health

Lorraine Jackson is Deputy Director for Dementia Policy at the Department of Health and has been with the Department since 2009. During this time in addition to dementia, her policy responsibilities have included Older People, Prevention (social care), Loneliness & isolation and Housing. Lorraine’s team leads for the government on ...

Tom Dening
Professor of Dementia Research
University of Nottingham - Centre for Dementia

Tom Dening was appointed in October 2012 as Professor of Dementia Research at the Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham; and Honorary Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. He studied Medicine at Newcastle University and trained in Psychiatry in Cambridge and Oxford. From 1991 to 2012, he was a ...

Christina Pond
Executive Director – Core Contracts & Policy
Skills For Health

Christina Pond joined Skills for Health in 2005 and has responsibility for the development of SfH position on, and response to, Health, Education and Skills Policy through the development of national occupational standards, qualifications and apprenticeship frameworks that support learning supply and facilitate skills. Christina qualified as a ...

Professor Ilora Finlay
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff
House of Lords

Ilora Gillian Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, FMedSci is a Welsh doctor, professor of palliative medicine, and an Independent Crossbench member of the House of Lords. She is a past president of the Royal Society of Medicine. She is a professor of palliative ...

Sheila Grant
Head of Inspection - Northern Region
Care Quality Commission

Sheila describes herself as a care assistant who became the head of adult social care inspection in North central. She has extensive experience in both the delivery and regulation of adult social care. She started as a care assistant in residential services for adults with a learning disability before moving into management and qualifying ...

Professor Stuart Parker
Lead for Ageing & Dementias
National Institute for Health Research (NHIR) - Clinical Research Network

Professor Stuart Parker was appointed as Theme Lead for Ageing, Dementias & Neurodegeneration, Neurological Disorders and Genetics in the NIHR Clinical Research Network in April 2015. Previous contributions to the work of the NIHR have included vice chair NIHR CRN Ageing Specialty Group (2009-2015), associate director of the ...

Dr Michael Mellors
Social Care & Commissioning Specialist
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)

Dr Michael Mellors joined NICE as it`s Social Care expert adviser in August 2013. Before that he had thirty years’ experience of working in social care; including 5 years as Associate Director of Social Care at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust. More recently he spent 5 years working for Calderdale MBC, firstly as Joint Head of Mental ...

Professor James Goodwin
Chief Scientist
Age UK

Professor Goodwin is Age UK ‘s Chief Scientist. The mission of the charity, one of the largest in the UK, is to improve the lives of older people. Age UK funds and commissions a large portfolio of research on ageing and specialises in translating knowledge into tangible benefits for later life. Dr Goodwin graduated with a ...

Jean Tottie
Chair & Director
tide – ‘together in dementia everyday’

Jean worked in health & social care before taking early retirement in 2007 when her father needed more care and support as his dementia advanced rapidly. Jean now works voluntarily to improve services for people with dementia and their carers. She is a passionate about supporting family carers to have a voice, to be partners in care and ...

Rachel Peacock
Director of Development
Making Space

As Director of Development, Rachel takes the lead in developing the Making Space Corporate Growth Plan. Her main areas of responsibility include retaining existing business, researching and securing new business opportunities, and positioning the organisation as a leading health and social care charity. Rachel graduated from Liverpool ...

Rachel Yates
Dementia Development Coordinator
Making Space

Rachel Yates is our dementia development coordinator and is heavily involved in the development of our new dementia based services. Rachel has worked for us for 12 years in various different roles, but her passion for dementia grew when she was asked to set up dementia cafes for us in 2010. Having gained experience of working with dementia and ...

Dr Jane Murphy
Associate Professor
Bournemouth University

Jane is Associate Professor in Nutrition at BU, Registered Nutritionist and Dietitian and Clinical Lead for the Nutrition Programme – Wessex Academic Health Sciences Network. She leads research and evidence-based education committed to improving nutritional health and wellbeing specialising in age-related conditions, including the ...

Joanne Holmes
Lecturer in Nutrition
Bournemouth University

Joanne is Registered Nutritionist, Food Scientist and Lecturer at Bournemouth University. She has a keen interest in good food and drink with strong links to farming, sustainable development and the food industry. Her research is focused towards improving the meal time experience and general nutrition for elderly with long term health ...

Chris Roberts
Dementia Friends Champion
Alzheimer’s Society

Chris Roberts is in his early 50s and has been diagnosed with young onset vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease. He lives in Wales and writes a blog called Dementia Survivor. He regularly speaks at events to raise awareness of living with dementia. Chris is a dementia survivor, expert by ...