Internship Opportunities in Applied Dementia Research

Join us in improving dementia care research.

Are you passionate about expanding our knowledge and improving the care of dementia?

Dive deep into one of four cutting-edge pre-doctoral research projects, offering a chance to develop essential research skills in applied health and care. Whether it's evaluating the potential of everyday medications to be repurposed to help prevent dementia or understanding how community-based support could delay or prevent the progression of dementia, you'll be at the heart of change.

Envisioned as a placement for 1 – 2 days a week over 6 - 12 months, these internships present invaluable opportunities for work-based learning. We warmly encourage applications from those at a pre-doctoral stage: undergraduates, masters level students or health and social care practitioners working up to an NHS Band 6 level (or equivalent).

🔍 Research Internship Projects:

1. Drug Repurposing and targetIng for dementia preVENtion (DRIVEN): To tackle the challenges in dementia treatment development., our project aims to unleash the potential of existing medications. To identify target populations for preventive treatment, we will explore cutting-edge machine-learning algorithms with large-scale health data to classify and characterise the clinical groups at risk of dementia.
   [Click here to download full project info]
   
2. Transitions and Trajectories in Dementia Multimorbidity in the UK population. (2TraDe-M): With nearly a million people living with the challenge of dementia, our research explores how multiple long-term conditions, and different biomarkers (e.g. blood pressure), change with time, and how do they group together to predict the incidence of dementia and future health. We will utilise advanced statistical and machine learning methods on the health records of nearly 70 million people to understand how age, sex, ethnicity, and health conditions affect dementia.
   [Click here to download full project info]
   
3. Dietary Interventions to Improve Cognitive Function and Dementia Risk: Development of an Intervention Taxonomy to Describe Essential Features of Dietary Interventions: Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK and new evidence suggests that diet-based interventions could play a promising role in delaying or preventing it. Join our novel work to develop the first known standardised classification system of essential dietary intervention components for dementia prevention. Learn skills in systematic reviews and meta-analyses, guiding future research and improving cognitive health strategies globally.
   [Click here to download full project info]
   
4. Community-based support for preventing or delaying progression to dementia: evidence review and analysis of qualitative data on support needs and service use
   Could there be an opportunity to prevent or delay the progression of dementia using existing services in the community? Capitalise on therapeutic options for people at risk of dementia by analysing the range and effectiveness of existing community-based support.
   [Click here to download full project info]
   

Help to shape the future of health and social care with us.

Eligibility:

The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) will fund salary, or equivalent costs to do the internship over the 6 – 12 months of the research project, and any associated training.

To be eligible for one of these pre-doctoral awards you will need to provide evidence that you have the following:

• A UK/EU first degree or an equivalent overseas degree from a recognised institution OR
• Professional qualifications pertinent to health and social care. (A full list of approved regulatory bodies is available here.)
• Support from your line manager or supervisor, if necessary, to undertake the internship
• Recent study (within the last five years) at degree or equivalent level is a plus.
• Ability to start the programme in October 2024 and complete it on time (within 12 months).
• Please see details of individual projects for project specific suitability

 Click here to apply and download more details about the projects.zip file).

We welcome applications from those working in social care.

Closing date for applications is: Friday 13th September 2024 (5pm)

Questions or support?

If you would like advice or support with your application, please contact Claire Schwartz at NIHR ARC Oxford and Thames Valley:  claire.schwartz@phc.ox.ac.uk and copy in the ARC OxTV general email address: arc_oxtv@phc.ox.ac.uk 

About the NIHR ARC OxTV:

The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley (ARC OxTV) is a dynamic partnership, fostering collaborations between researchers, health and care professionals, and the public to improve the health and well-being of our communities. Our goal is to enable the rapid translation of research findings into tangible health and care benefits. Through innovative projects and integrative approaches, we aim to revolutionise health and social care delivery, ensuring sustainable and equitable solutions for all.