Early Career Researcher Programme
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Commitment to support the careers of Early Career Researchers
There are not enough dementia researchers to design and deliver the rigorous research required to ensure people living with dementia and their families receive evidence-based high-quality care. Insufficient investment has been made to support and retain dementia researchers, with 70% of PhD students leaving the field within 4 years.
In response, GIAM is committed to the support, training, and development of interdisciplinary researchers, with our strategies shaping the national training agenda for early career researchers (ECR) and mid-career researchers in the field of dementia.
Professor Featherstone and Professor Hoe contribute to national and international (New Zealand, Australia, Chile) programmes and workshops to support and develop interdisciplinary post-doctoral research careers. This includes supervising early career research fellowships in collaboration with leading funding charities (ARUK, Alzheimer’s Society) and UKRI funding bodies (NIHR).
Professor Featherstone actively mentors mid-career researchers in successfully designing and honing their research grant applications for submission as independent researchers.
Professor Katie Featherstone
Professor Featherstone was invited by ARUK to design and lead a programme supporting an initial interdisciplinary cohort of 30 ECRs from across the UK working in the field of dementia research. As Lead, she mentors senior academics (Professor of Neuroscience, and Professor of Clinical and Experimental Neuropathology) in ECR support. The first 9 months have been highly evaluated by the ECRs.
This builds on Professor Featherstone’s work as part of the Dementias Portfolio Development Group, Office of the NIHR National Director for Dementia Research, where she initiated and led (2019-2022 during and following Covid-19) a highly evaluated NIHR funded programme coaching 30 Early Career Researchers (ECRs) with a focus on supporting women, those returning to work, and historically underrepresented groups in academia working in the field of dementia research (in collaboration with Dementia Researcher).
Professor Featherstone’s approach to ECR development has directly influenced Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) ECR national capacity building strategy in dementia research, and led to an invitation to present her approach to supporting ECRs to the UK Dementia Research Funders Forum (January 2021).
Professor Featherstone’s leadership and expertise in capacity building has prompted invitations from international research institutes to share her approach, including delivering in-person workshops and 1:1 coaching in person at the Centre for Person Centred Research, School of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology (funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, April 2023) and National Ageing Research Institute, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia (November 2022).
Her approach has been positively evaluated by participants:
Professor Katie Featherstone’s workshop today which was amazing. Katie, thank you for sharing your expertise and experiences, I came away from the workshop feeling very energised and empowered, now I need to focus […] I found this workshop extremely helpful”
- participant email April 2023
Professor Featherstone has been awarded Visiting Fellow status at both institutions to continue this collaboration.
Contact us
- Contact the Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory at GIAM@uwl.ac.uk.
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