)
The Dementia Research Collaborative (DRC) at UEA is a group of researchers, educators, clinicians and lay people who are interested in dementia research.
The aims of the group are:
i) to disseminate cutting-edge dementia research findings across UEA, health services and the public, and
ii) to foster research collaborations across UEA, health services and the public.
We run an ongoing series of free bi-monthly dementia open forums at UEA (currently online) which create an exchange of knowledge between researchers, clinicians, the general public, people with dementia and their carers. Anyone with an interest in dementia research is welcome.
Researchers from UEA, and guests, will present their latest innovative research studies and findings, with a different dementia researcher leading each event. There's an opportunity to ask questions of the researcher and to find out how to take part in any upcoming studies at UEA.
You can watch previous Open Forums on our YouTube channel, the UEA Dementia Open Forum.
Our next Dementia Open Forum will take place on:
Thursday 13th February 2025 at 2pm online via Zoom
Speaker: Miss Ellen Boucher
Title: Beyond the Game: Monitoring Long-Term Consequences of Contact Sport on Brain Health
We know that playing sports and staying active can be very good for our long-term brain health. However, growing evidence suggests a link between playing contact sports and an increased risk of dementia. So far, most studies on this topic lack longitudinal follow up, and have only looked at former professional male athletes, leaving female and amateur athletes invisible in research. In this presentation, Ellen will share findings from her PhD where she explored a new online method to monitor brain health in former contact sport athletes as they age. She will discuss the advantages and challenges of using online tools to collect long-term brain health data, as well as key findings from the first set of data in an ongoing online longitudinal project. The presentation will highlight the importance of including female and amateur athletes in this research field, and ways to improve representation.
Our Open Forum will be taking place online via Zoom. If you would like to join the forum please email dementia.research@uea.ac.uk for the joining link.