Research Funded in 2023/24

Authors: Hamilton, Antonia (a.hamilton@ucl.ac.uk); Jones, Isla (isla.jones.19@ucl.ac.uk); Greaves, Dwaynia (dwaynica.greaves.20@ucl.ac.uk).

Summary: Brain scanning research has much to contribute to our understanding of the human mind and behaviour using a range of different technologies. However, the physical constraints of different brain imaging systems mean some people are unable to take part in research, while cultural factors mean some people might not have the opportunity. For example, people with pacemakers are (by necessity) excluded from fMRI; people with fixed hairstyles (e.g. cornrows, often worn by Black people) cannot take part in EEG studies; people in some regions or social groups may never be invited to take part in research. This is an EDI issue because it means that our scientific understanding of how the brain and mind work is based on a limited range of the population, while those with certain disabilities or from certain ethnic groups are excluded. 

This project aims to understand who is excluded from neuroimaging research in a UK context, in relation to disability, ethnicity, sex/gender and cultural factors. We will consider physical and social barriers to different types of research participation in 3 stages. First, we will review inclusion/exclusion criteria for common neuroimaging methods (fMRI, EEG and fNIRS). Second, we will use population data to estimate how many people from different groups are excluded. Third, we will implement a survey in Prolific to assess social and physical barriers that might prevent people interested in research (who have joined Prolific) from taking part in neuroimaging. Results will provide the first comprehensive survey of the accessibility of neuroimaging to diverse populations across the UK. We will write a research paper describing our findings as well as a short article for The Conversation and a press-release to share results with a wider public.

Authors: Howell, Peter (p.howell@ucl.ac.uk); Tsivrikos, Dimitrios (d.tsivrikos@ucl.ac.uk); Zhang, Audrey (zhongyao.zhang.19@ucl.ac.uk).

Summary: Diversity statements, the university's written commitment to inclusivity, are more than just words on a webpage; they set expectations and craft perceptions. Our study delves into the heart of how these statements influence student decisions. Specifically, we aim to understand how variations in portraying these commitments — whether they emphasize what most students do (descriptive) or what they should do (injunctive) — influence students' decisions to access essential campus services. We've chosen four pivotal opportunities for our study: funding opportunities, staff-student partnerships, mental health services, and career services. By varying the narrative around diversity across these domains, we hope to provide actionable insights into how universities can fine-tune their messaging.

We hope to better align the spirit of inclusivity with the actions and decisions of our student community, ensuring they feel seen, heard, and encouraged to make the most of the rich tapestry of resources available to them. Through this exploration, we are not just enhancing academic discourse but actively aiming to foster a more inclusive and engaged campus ecosystem.

Authors: Zarkali, Angelika (a.zarkali@ucl.ac.uk); Weil, Rimona (r.weil@ucl.ac.uk).

Summary: Dementia is common in Parkinson’s, affecting over half of people with Parkinson’s after 10 years. Recent genetic studies have revealed different mechanisms of Parkinson’s in Black African than White European patients. Black African people have higher rates of other forms of dementia and higher rates of hypertension and diabetes which contribute to changes in brain blood vessels. However, it is not known whether Black African people are more likely to develop dementia if they have Parkinson’s. Understanding differences in Parkinson’s dementia in Black African populations could lead to new treatment targets.

So far, there has been less research on Parkinson’s dementia in Black African people. Amongst Black African communities, research suggests there is increased stigma around dementia and a perceived futility of seeking help for cognitive symptoms. Ethnic minority populations encounter barriers to research participation including poor engagement from researchers, low awareness and mistrust of research, and concerns about financial costs.

We will engage directly with Black African communities, aiming to increase research participation through:

Focus groups with Black African people with Parkinson’s to examine factors to improve research participation. These will be co-designed and attended by a researcher with personal and research experience of Black African populations (Dr Moïse Roche) Community events: engaging with existing events and co-organising a new research event similar to “Living well with MS, Parkinson’s, and dementia” held in Lambeth for Black African communities.

Authors: Pavlopoulou, Georgia (georgia.pavlopoulou@ucl.ac.uk); Rose, Kieran (kieran@theautisticadvocate.com);  Kakoulidou, Myrofora (myrofora.kakoulidou.14@ucl.ac.uk).  

Summary: Anna Freud, a world leader in research and practice on psychopathology and intervention, has been hosting a range of UCL PALS programmes for over 20 years, attracting students who wish to advance their research and clinical understanding and skills to treat mental health problems such as depression.

Students often work with neurodivergent clients. National data consistently show that the NHS workforce often fails to involve autistic people in mental health therapies. In September 2023, the UK government published a five-year plan to reduce the 5,000 deaths by suicide each year in England, and autistic people were named as a key priority target group in the national strategy. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, good therapeutic clinical care in the community is very likely to reduce the chances of suicide, but providers require support to move away from approaches created by and for non-autistic people.

It is important to be able to identify how to best support autistic patients through: The delivery of adapted evidence-based practice for depression. Monitoring outcomes to ensure that the therapist is effectively supporting autistic people in neuro-affirming ways without encouraging further masking. Engaging autistic people to collaboratively help to shape their services. Engaging autistic therapists to collaboratively shape the services they deliver

This project aims to examine the experiences, strategies, enablers and barriers professionals, including workforce trainees, and the autistic community face when applying NICE guidance for the treatment of depression in this population. By understanding the experiences of the autistic community by researching the phenomenology of their experiences in the topic of depression, we can better inform our local challenges in relation to adopting a neurodiversity-affirming narrative and/or our progress and targets in EDI in relation to clinical interventions. This is a seed project for a bigger NIHR application looking at adapted IPT therapy.

Authors: Volkmer, Anna (a.volkmer.15@ucl.ac.uk); Harding, Emma (emma.harding@ucl.ac.uk).

Summary: Previous research has shown that it can take several years for people to receive a diagnosis of a rare dementia (O’Malley et al, 2021). There is also evidence that people from non-white and linguistically diverse backgrounds are diagnosed with dementia later than their white, English-speaking counter parts (Pham et al, 2018). This will inevitably delay access to support, such as speech and language therapy, counselling and psychological therapies, and pharmacological interventions. Given the research on interventions such as speech and language therapy show that these are more likely to provide long-lasting benefits when started as early as possible (Cadório et al, 2017), there is an urgent need to address this issue. This proposal outlines work to explore what facilitated people with rare dementia diagnoses and who are from ethnically and linguistically diverse backgrounds to access an accurate diagnosis and consequently, appropriate support services. We will also explore any barriers to accessing these services for these groups and how these may be overcome. We plan to recruit ten people, and their family caregivers, who identify as being from ethnically and linguistically diverse backgrounds to participate in semi-structured interviews with a research assistant, not affiliated with the research team (as our research team are also clinicians involved in delivering care). We will develop our interview questions based on patient and public involvement work undertaken in a European-wide study to identify barriers to accessing care for people with all types of dementia. Reflexive thematic analysis will be used to explore the data we collect and inform a peer reviewed journal article. This will influence the development and implementation of future intervention research by the applicants and other clinicians and researchers.

Authors: Mathew, Rashmi (r.mathew@ucl.ac.uk); Soliman, Noha (noha.soliman.18@ucl.ac.uk); Cammack, Jocelyn (j.cammack@ucl.acuk).

Summary: The iLeadUp project aims to understand the lived experience of PhD students at UCL, and the reasons why some students leave before they complete. In particular, we want to understand any differences in BAME and white student experiences and the impact these differences may have on students’ academic success, wellbeing and their immediate career plans.  

We know that early career students experience their research time very differently, with some students having very positive experiences and others less so. We want to look deeply into early career research culture and evaluate whether certain aspects of current practice can be identified and addressed so that all students feel supported and can thrive during this period of their career. We believe that the in-depth exploration of the lived-experience of early career researchers will enable a better understanding of the support that different groups of students need, and the changes required to improve this culture. 

We plan to carry out qualitative research using an Action Research methodology. The strength of Action Research is its focus on generating solutions to practical problems and its ability to empower participants by involving them with the research and co-creating recommendations on how best to address the changes required. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted and anonymised transcripts will then be qualitatively analysed. The emerging themes will be shared with early career researchers, to garner their ideas for recommendations.  

We are excited to conduct this study, as the findings have the potential to provide insights into building an inclusive culture that are applicable to UCL and academia more widely.