The Academy 2024 Cohort

Cat has a background in third-sector policy influencing, having worked for a national homelessness charity where she specialised in inclusion health policy. She has experience in frontline support work and service management and has an MA in Applied Human Rights from the University of York, where she focused on housing rights and homelessness.

"The accommodation and healthcare needs of older people experiencing homelessness who drink in problematic ways"

Lead Supervisor: Prof Sarah Johnsen

School of Health in Social Science

Deniz holds a BA in Psychology, along with a minor degree in Media and Visual Arts from Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey. With an interest in assistive technology, she then completed her master's degree in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain. Deniz gained research experience in various academic laboratories, with a particular focus on alternative reality technologies and participatory design. Having explored the effects of environmental rhythms on human wellbeing within her master's thesis, she now aims to investigate how music can benefit human wellbeing and be utilised in novel assistive technologies for the care of the ageing population.

"Music Listening and Transitions"

Lead Supervisor: Prof Ian Underwood

School of Engineering

Christian has an MA (Hons) in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh. He has worked in homelessness and substance use for two years and has been involved in various projects that include street outreach, pharmacy outreach, and psychosocial group work. He is also interested in film and helps run a community cinema in Edinburgh for people facing social isolation and experiencing homelessness. 

"Exploring the potential role of assistive technology in reducing street drug overdose risk and homelessness for older people experiencing homelessness with problematic substance use"

Lead Supervisor: Dr Stewart Smith

School of Engineering

Elaine’s background is in arts and heritage, having worked latterly as a curator with Glasgow Museums on community led co-produced projects inspired by the museum collections. Much of her work was with groups who were hardly reached and included the homeless community, ex - offenders, those in care settings and people on mental health recovery pathways. Having worked in this field for many years, she is acutely aware of the importance of research in advocating for this work. Her interests are in the long-term impact cultural participation can have on sense of self, mental health and wellbeing. She has spoken about her work, and delivered training programmes for museum colleagues internationally. 

"Understanding the role of community arts-based activities in the relationship between caregiver and care recipient in later life: A coproduced study"

Lead Supervisor: Dr Caroline Brett

School of Health in Social Science

Szu-Chia has an undergraduate degree in International Business, an MSc in Global Health Policy from the University of Edinburgh and an MPhil in Population Health Sciences from the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include using both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand care challenges in later life through a life-course approach.

"Lifecourse predictors of increasing care needs in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936"

Lead Supervisor: Professor Susan Shenkin

College for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Lizzie graduated with a BSc (hons) in Mathematics and Biology from the university of Edinburgh. She is mostly interested in the areas of statistics and public healthcare. The PhD project she will be working on uses statistical modelling to predict which patients may be at risk of acute kidney injury. She hopes her joint degree experience provides a good background for this. 

"Predicting harm from prescribed drugs in people with polypharmacy, multimorbidity and frailty"

Lead Supervisor: Prof Bruce Guthrie

College for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Jane has a background in the arts both as an artist herself and as a project manager, curator and latterly the creative director of an inclusive arts charity in Carlisle that works with learning disabled and autistic adults. Jane has an MRes in Digital Media and a practice lead Phd in Fine Art and Digital media from Newcastle University. For this project she would like to investigate novel multi sensorial methods for engaging marginalised groups in research that connects with individuals and learns from socially engaged arts practice. 

"Spirituality, Well-being and Care"

Lead Supervisor: Dr Tom Russ

School of Health in Social Science

Kourosh holds a BDes in Product Design from The Glasgow School of Art, with a focus on Design Futures and Service Design. His research interests lie at the intersection of digital and human experiences across online service platforms, exploring topics such as policy design, social sustainability, inclusivity, and the application of AI in product design. Before joining ACRC, he worked as a product designer for Accenture and various startups, collaborating with industries to develop improved digital product strategies. He utilised community engagement techniques, design futures methods, and systems design processes to tackle complex business challenges. By combining visual storytelling with a design research approach, he aims to engage a diverse audience in exploring everyday financial practices and the impacts and opportunities of financial technologies during care transitions.

"Understanding Everyday Financial Practices and the Impact and Opportunities of Financial Technologies during Care Transitions"

Lead Supervisor: Dr Chris Elsden

Edinburgh College of Art

Nicola has an MA (Hons) in Politics and an MSc in Korean Studies from the University of Edinburgh, where she studied social movements, inequalities, and the stigmatisation of cognitive disabilities within South Korea. Following graduation, Nicola undertook a research internship at the University of Dundee, where she used co-production and participatory methods to improve Careers Support for disabled students. Her interests in qualitative methods, intersectional research, and the socio-political participation of individuals with health conditions will help to inform her PhD project, which will explore individuals’ health and social care priorities.

"Exploring the health and social care priorities of people with multimorbidity and their care partners"

Lead Supervisor: Dr Emily Adrion

School of Social and Political Science

Misty studied nutrition at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, receiving an undergraduate degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Nutritional Science. She is a Registered Dietitian with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and worked as a therapeutic menu specialist in the United States before moving to Edinburgh in 2021, where she has been working as a Research Assistant for a UK-wide multi-centre study. With an interest in improving quality of life through individualised nutritional management, she is looking forward to combining her research and dietetics experience to investigate protein intake in diabetes. 

"Nutritional and Lifestyle Management of Metabolic Multimorbidity in the Elderly"

Lead Supervisor: Dr Ahmad Al-Mrabeh

College for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Rachel completed her BA in Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh (2023). Her multimodal dissertation, "Difficult Conversations: Navigating Communication with Post-Stroke Aphasia in the UK", investigated language as a social paradigm and how conversations can take on many forms. Creative methodology gave access to understanding the communication differences between individuals with a lived experience and their communication partners. More recently, Rachel was commissioned to develop a report for the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) (2023-ongoing) to examine sensory health concerns across the life course with a focus on the ageing population and commonalities among vision, hearing, and dentistry. This report will be used as the evidence base to support the development of a regional sensory health network for NHS England. Here, she advocates for the core principles of "ageing well", emphasising a holistic approach to ensure individuals receive integrated and effective care across these key health domains as they grow older. Ultimately, Rachel is passionate about using innovative anthropological engagement methodologies to better understand how we can improve the health outcomes for people.

"Sans everything: sensory loss in the 7th age"

Lead Supervisor: Prof Ian Underwood

School of Engineering 

Sam holds a medical degree from the Université Catholique de Lille in France and was a junior doctor in both French and British hospitals. She recently held a research annotator post at the ACRC where she used her clinical expertise to help computer scientists develop an AI model capable of extracting new medical and social data from free-text with the aim to enhance research for older adult populations. She intends to utilise this interdisciplinary experience and medical knowledge to support her research.

"Data driven insight into the relationship between pain and frailty"

Lead Supervisor: Prof Michelle Luciano

School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

Amir has an MSc in Mechatronics and Robotics from the University of Leeds and a second master’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering from Tehran Azad University. Before joining the ACRC Academy, his research focused on developing rehabilitative devices, notably the design of a wearable exoskeleton to aid post-stroke patients in regaining their hand dexterity while performing activities of daily living (ADLs).

"Advanced virtual & mixed reality for Diagnosis, tracking, and simulating visual impairments in members of ageing population"

Lead Supervisor: Prof Ian Underwood

School of Engineering

Stephen grew up in Hong Kong, where his grandfather's struggle with dementia ignited his passion for healthcare policy. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the City University of Hong Kong and a Master's degree in Public Policy from University College London. His research includes evaluating elderly care homes and interventions for family caregivers. 

"Mixed quantitative and qualitative approaches to understanding transitions in housing and transitions in care in later life"

Lead Supervisor: Prof Bruce Guthrie

College for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine