Dementia Research Society: Academic Officer

Hi everyone my name is Katie and I’m a second year Natural Sciences student, majoring in neuroscience and minoring in STS. I am most interested in neurodegenerative disorders, in particular Alzheimer’s Disease.

The interdisciplinary nature of my course will enable me to expand the range of academic events we host, focusing of course on the neuroscience of dementia, while also looking at the ethics and wider impacts behind it. For example a visit to the UCL pathology museum would enable us to view brain samples and pathologies of the brain, while simultaneously highlighting the importance of informed consent when collecting samples, something that impacts all of us studying neuroscience.

I am currently on the committee for Kinesis Life science magazine, which has given me experience in reaching out to researchers and academics for interviews and helped to organise talks, including a talk with Dr Kat Arney, which I believe will benefit me for the role of academic officer. I have also been elected for the 2024/2025 committee of both Kinesis Life Science Magazine and the Science Magazine, which will be useful for organising collaborations for talks and events.

I would also like to make the most of the leading research being conducted on our doorstep at queen square by organising talks with doctors and provide regular updates on the research being carried out. 

I would love to be the Academic Officer and take part in raising awareness about dementia research for students at UCL.

I am passionate about neuroscience research, particularly in the area of neurodegenerative diseases, and I would love to organise and attend interesting presentations by experts in their field in the area of dementia. I have previously been a journal club coordinator for the UCL Neuroscience Society, so have experience in organising academic events. In this academic year I will be completing a Master's project in tau protein, which is highly topical to dementia. Dementia is an area in which I am considering researching further in my career, and am looking at potential PhDs in this field. I'd hope to bring intriguing presentations, stemming thoughtful conversations, to the society!