Carys Banks
In 2006 I graduated from the University of Manchester with a BsocSci (Hons.) in Social Anthropology, and I received an MA in Material and Visual Culture at University College London in 2007. I joined the Cambridge Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Group (CIDDRG) in 2009 as a Research Assistant. Responding to evidence that people with learning disabilities may experience inequalities in mainstream health services; the research I am working on will undertake a systematic review of health care provision for adults with learning disabilities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. I am working with Dr Marcus Redley and Professor Tony Holland at the CIDDRG. This research is in collaboration with the Cambridgeshire Learning Disability Partnership Board, and we will be working with their Senior Nursing Service and Strategic Nurse Facilitators.
Naomi Bateman
I Graduated from Nottingham University in 2005 with a B.Sc. Hons in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. I have since worked as an Assistant Psychologist working with people who have learning disabilities and mental health problems. In November 2007 I began work as a Research Assistant at the Learning Disabilities Research Group working on the LD-ROME project that is investigating the different treatment approaches that are currently used to manage epilepsy in people who have a learning disability. This is a large multi- centre project that aims to recruit 200 participants across Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The study aims to provide evidence about the efficacy and cost effectiveness of the different services (Neurology vs. Community Learning Disability services) that manage people’s epilepsy.
For information about the LD-ROME project ...
Cliodhna Carroll
I am working as a Research Assistant on a study looking at the rates of psychiatric illness in adult survivors of childhood brain tumours. This project is funded by the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust. My academic background includes a BA Psychology in University College Dublin, a MSc Psychology and Health from the University of Stirling, Scotland and a MA Gerontology in University College Cork. My research interests are in the area of neuropsychological functioning and its impact on quality of life, for people with neurological conditions, particularly as we age. I have worked in both residential and community rehabilitation settings with adults with neurological conditions, specifically with people with multiple sclerosis and acquired brain injuries for over 7 years. I have been actively involved with influencing social policy to enhance service provision for people with neurological conditions in for a number of years.
Helen Keeley
Hon. Research Assistant
+44 1223 746100
Amanda Keeling
I graduated in 2007 from King’s College London with an LL.B. in Law, and in 2008 from University College London with an M.A. in Human Rights. I come to the CIDDRG after having worked for a year in the NGO sector, firstly as a legal researcher looking at European human rights law for the Croatian organisation Centar za mirovne studije (The Centre for Peace Studies), and more recently as a training and development assistant at the British Institute of Human Rights and in an administrative role for the Equality and Diversity Forum.
I started in my current post in September 2009, working with Professor Tony Holland and Dr Isabel Clare. My research relates to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, which were recently introduced under the Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales) 2005, and focuses both on the analysis of the safeguards themselves and the accompanying Code of Practice, and their implementation in practice.
Jennifer Landt
I joined the Cambridge Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Group (CIDDRG) in January 2009 and I am currently working on a brain imaging project looking at the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down’s syndrome. This study is jointly funded by the University of Cambridge and by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Trust. In 2007, I graduated from Free University of Berlin with a master’s degree in psychology (German: Diplom in Psychologie) as a fellow of the German National Academic Foundation. Additionally, I worked as a research assistant in the infant EEG labs at the Max-Planck Institutes for Human Development and for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Germany). Publications and Posters: Reid, V.M., Hoehl, S., Landt, J., and Striano, T. (2008). Human infants dissociate structural and dynamic information in biological motion: evidence from neural systems. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 3(2), 161-167. Reid, V.M., Hoehl, S., and Landt, J. (2007). Neural correlates for detecting information in biological motion during infancy. Poster presented at the Thirty-seventh Annual Meeting of the Jean Piaget Society, Amsterdam, 31 May - 2 June.
Felicity Larson
I joined the CIDDRG in August 2009 in a position funded by the NIHR’s Flexibility and Sustainability Funding (FSF) programme for one year. I am working with Professor Tony Holland, Professor Digby Tantam (University of Sheffield) and Dr Tessa Webb (University of Birmingham) on a pilot study investigating a genetic link between atypical psychotic illness and autism. Before coming to the CIDDRG, I studied at the University of Exeter (BSc Psychology, 2006), and then worked as a support worker for men and women with learning disabilities. I am now completing an MSc in Mental Health in Learning Disabilities at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, writing-up my thesis on self-reported attachment style in adults with mild learning disabilities and the links between attachment style and challenging behaviour or mental health problems.
Kate McAllister
I joined the LDRG in January 2009 as part of a proof of principle study aiming to curb the overeating behaviour that is characteristic of Prader Willi syndrome (PWS). The study is being carried out in collaboration with the PWS Association with funding from the Dunhill Medical Trust. In 2006, I graduated with an MA (hons) in Psychology from the University of Glasgow before going to work as a research assistant at the Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair. I have recently completed a funded research MPhil in Biological Sciences (Neuroscience) from Queens’ College, Cambridge, working on sleep and circadian rhythms in models of Huntington’s disease. I presented findings of this study at Cambridge Neuroscience, 2008 and the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, in Geneva, 2008
Sam Panter
I started work as a research assistant in July 2008 on a project looking at assisted eating and drinking in the care of people with profound and multiple disabilities. This aims to identify the prevalence, nature, and degree of dysphagia and other eating and/or drinking problems across Cambridgeshire and North Essex. Current legislation and policy is also being reviewed to assess the social significance of clinical interventions at mealtimes with the goal of improving safety and comfort. I graduated from the University of Reading in 2004 with a BSc Hons in Psychology and I have since worked as an assistant psychologist providing short term Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for adults with mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and OCD.
Alex Presland
Liz Prince
I graduated from Cambridge University in 2007 with a BA in Natural Sciences, specialising in Experimental Psychology. I joined the LDRG in November 2007 as a research assistant on the study LD-ROME which aims to investigate the Relative Outcomes in the Management of Epilepsy in people with Learning Disabilities. The study will run for 3 years and aims to recruit 200 participants from across Cambridgeshire and Norfolk who have their epilepsy treated either through community Learning Disabilities services or hospital based Neurology services.
For information about the LD-ROME project ...
Iskra Stariradeva
I graduated from Hull University in 2008 with a BSc (Hons.) in Psychology, and subsequently gained an MSc in Occupational Psychology at Nottingham University. I have also worked in residential and rehabilitation settings with men and women with intellectual disabilities and older people. I joined the CIDDRG in October 2009 as a Research Assistant with the Adult Theme of the NIHR CLAHRC for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, working primarily with Dr Emma Madden and Dr Isabel Clare. My main interests lie in the neuropsychology of intellectual disabilities, and the assessment of psychological processes within multi-disciplinary teams.
Elizabeth Wheeler
I am an undergraduate medical student from the University of Melbourne, Australia. During the 2009-2010 academic year, I am on placement at the University of Cambridge, studying for a Bachelor of Medical Science as part of my degree. I am based in the CIDDRG and am involved in a variety of work. However, my primary focus is a study, with Dr Howard Ring and Dr Isabel Clare, investigating the possible role of cortisol, and other physiological measures, as biomarkers for physical aggression among men and women with intellectual disabilities.
