Stories from our award-holders

Improving the quality of life for care home residents with chronic diseases

When nearing the end of their life, care home residents with chronic diseases can often find themselves in and out of hospital. This affects their quality of life and is distressing for both them and

Can mindfulness help prevent dementia in older adults at risk?

Improving geriatric care through a new innovative training programme for medical students

Despite the UK’s ageing population, there is a lack of training in geriatric care for undergraduate medical students. In collaboration with colleagues, Dr Grace Pearson and Dr Emily Henderson, both at the University of Bristol,

Unravelling the mystery of frozen shoulder

A helping hand with insulin injections: training Healthcare Support Workers to support older people with diabetes

It’s best practice for people with diabetes to look after their health by injecting their own insulin. As people get older, however, they are likely to have other conditions that make this harder or unsafe

Harnessing health data to improve care for older people

When Dr Oliver Todd from the University of Leeds embarked on a Dunhill Medical Trust Research Training Fellowship aimed at finding out whether blood pressure management is linked to an increased risk of falls, it

We’re supporting community-facing organisations in new ways: Could you be next?

Following the success of our pilot Capability Development Scheme, we spoke to MKS consultant, Dan Fletcher, who helped us support seven organisations with fundraising, measuring their impact and financial sustainability. “It was clear that participants

Supporting Age UK Lancashire to reimagine their fundraising 

Our Capability Development Scheme supported seven organisations through challenging issues. We spoke to Alison Read, Director of Business Development for Age UK Lancashire, about how the scheme helped them transform their fundraising strategy. “You don’t

Supporting Galloway’s Society of the Blind to tell stories about their impact

Our Capability Development Scheme supported seven organisations through challenging issues. We spoke to Rachel Watkinson, Head of Services and Development at Galloway’s Society of the Blind, about how the scheme gave them the confidence to

Can the epigenetic clock predict musculoskeletal disease?

Almost two-thirds of people aged 65 and over live with musculoskeletal disease, but current methods of predicting who is most at risk have limited use. Through his DMT-funded PhD, academic clinician Dr Nicholas Fuggle made

Improving the lives of people living in care homes through the power of storytelling

Clinical linguist Dr Lucy Dipper from City University researches the power of storytelling to improve older adults’ communication skills and wellbeing. She and her team set out to design and test the best way of

Motivating stroke recovery through music making

After having a stroke, many people don’t feel like themselves because they’ve lost so much of what they used to be able to do. Lisa Rodio, from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, runs STOKESTRA®, a unique

Why does an infection after stroke cause worse disability?

Recovering from a stroke is hard enough yet many patients go on to get an infection, sometimes months into their recovery. For some of these patients, this can lead to more disability. Dr Rebecca Trueman,

Keeping you moving with arthritis: an effective alternative to total knee replacement

The gold standard treatment for knee arthritis is a total joint replacement. Yet one in four who have this surgery are unhappy with results and continue to experience pain and discomfort. Dr Amy Garner, an

Hospital, hospice or home? How social deprivation affects end of life care

End of life care is a sensitive but hugely important subject. Many people say that they would like to die at home rather than in hospital. Yet living in a more deprived area means you’re

Stimulating the vagus nerve to improve gait in Parkinson’s

Falls are a major cause of lost independence in people with Parkinson’s. Dr Alison Yarnall is trialling a new method to reduce fall risk and improve walking in people with Parkinson’s, which involves non-invasive stimulation

The birds and the bees: Can enjoying nature promote health and wellbeing in older people?

There’s growing evidence that engaging with outdoor spaces promotes health and wellbeing across all ages. Yet as we get older, our changing abilities, motivations and means could prevent us from reaping the rewards of interacting

Getting older people back on their feet after unplanned hospital admissions

When older people have unplanned hospital admissions, they often experience muscle strength loss. This can have long-lasting effects when they return home, meaning they’re not able to do everyday tasks that they were previously able

Targeting CD148 to ‘switch off’ age-related diseases

Dr James Whiteford and his team at Queen Mary University of London are investigating how to activate a molecular ‘off switch’ that could slow or even reverse age-related diseases such as macular degeneration and lung

Returning the pleasure of reading to people with dementia

Reading is one of life’s great pleasures, as well as being essential to many daily tasks. Sadly, difficulty reading is also one of the first symptoms of Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), a rare form of

Looking in the right places to prevent stair falls in older adults

When and where someone looks, their level of confidence and visual cues in the environment around them all play a part in navigating stairs safely. Professor Mark Hollands and Dr Neil Thomas, from Liverpool John

Finding the missing piece of the puzzle in age-related muscle loss

Despite affecting most people over the age of 50, we don’t really know why age-related muscle loss happens. Dr Katarzyna Goljanek-Whysall, now Senior Lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Galway but who led the

Understanding the science behind Sjögren’s Syndrome

Sjögren’s syndrome is a disease where the immune system attacks healthy cells in the glands, leading to dry eyes and mouth but can affect other parts of the body such as joints, lungs, skin and

New steps to recovery for painful walking in older people

Supervised walking exercise is used to treat leg pain in older people caused by restricted blood flow. But it’s expensive for the NHS to provide and often difficult for patients to complete. Professor Lindsay Bearne

Long-lived naked mole-rats are helping us understand healthy ageing

To understand how brains age, researchers often study short-lived rats and mice. Another rodent, the naked mole rat, lives for decades and ages healthily. Professor Ewan St. John Smith and his team are examining this

Spotting dementia earlier in the deaf community using an automated screening tool

Within the older British Sign Language community, dementia can show itself as changes in the way someone signs – but these subtle changes are hard to spot by those who don’t use sign language. Dr

Can ‘brain training’ pass the test? Exploring whether people with dementia can brain train at home

Brain training is a fun and simple intervention to keep minds active in older age. However, there are many unknowns. What benefits does it have on the brain? And can people living with dementia realistically

Transforming care for older people by developing future leaders within community nursing

Summary: Community nurses are a diverse and essential part of care for older people. Developing community nurses to become leaders and changemakers empowers them to meet the changing and growing needs of older people. The

Farming Comes to You – Finding togetherness for people with dementia through animals

Summary: People with dementia can sometimes struggle to communicate and build relationships with others, especially in care environments. Heeley City Farm, located in Sheffield, runs animal-assisted therapy sessions called ‘Farming Comes to You’, that help

Using primary care data to uncover markers of rapid disease progression in dementia

Dementia is a complex condition that can progress rapidly in some people. Professor Kelvin Jordan and Dr Michelle Marshall from Keele University are leading a team of researchers using routinely gathered patient data from GP

Turning back the clock: Uncovering new therapies for age-related diseases

Published November 2020 When we talk about ageing, people often highlight the external signs. But there’s plenty more going on inside our bodies as we get older. Worn-out senescent cells accumulate within our tissues, pumping

Skin wounds that won’t heal: can stem cells help where antibiotics can’t?

Skin wounds that won’t heal are a big problem, particularly for older people, and have a big impact on quality of life. However, current treatments and antibiotics aren’t very effective, running the risk of long-term,

Using genetic data to understand the causes of age-related macular degeneration

When investigating diseases of ageing and their causes, it can be very difficult, time-consuming and expensive to conduct randomised controlled trials. Instead, Drs Reecha Sofat and Valerie Kuan are using a technique called Mendelian Randomisation

IMPACTAgewell® – Revolutionising the way that older people access healthcare

Older people may need support from a variety of health and social care providers. The IMPACTAgewell® project brings together a range of different providers to create a holistic model of care. They support older people

What does ‘good care’ look like? Understanding the complex systems in care homes

Change is a common and necessary part of care environments – but what sort of culture within care homes leads to them adapting well to change? Dr Al Ross and his team wanted to understand

Can music therapy protect cognitive functions in older people?

Music therapy can enhance people’s lives, and stimulate their minds. Dr Fabia Franco and her team are assessing the impact of music therapy on older people’s cognition through a randomised controlled trial. An important factor

Dropping the needle: developing a less invasive method to deliver drugs for age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration is one of the biggest causes of sight loss in the UK – yet the only treatment available for the condition involves injections directly into the eye. Many patients are desperate for

Making the extra years count: understanding life expectancy in the context of years spent disability free

We know that people are living longer, but simply measuring life expectancy doesn’t tell us anything about the quality of life that older people are experiencing. In this research, Professor Carol Jagger and her team

Better research in care homes through collaboration

Can 3D printing provide a better way to make dentures?

The techniques used to make dentures are labour-intensive, expensive, inaccurate and have remained largely unchanged for decades. Recent advances in technology now make it possible to create 3D printed dentures, so Dr Andrew Keeling is

How does ageing change our cartilage?

We know that the spongy cartilage between bones changes during ageing and osteoarthritis, but it’s not clear how these processes are related. By comparing what’s happening in cartilage cells at a molecular level during ageing

Do fall-prevention exercise programmes benefit older people in the long term?

Specially-designed exercise programmes have been shown to help prevent older people from falling. However, we do not know how well these exercises benefit people in the longer-term. In her PhD studentship, Dr Susanne Finnegan followed

Understanding how people use walking frames in their daily lives

Many older people use walking aids to get around, but there are questions over their effectiveness. Using technology to measure the stability of walking frame users in different environments, Dr Sibylle Thies was able to

How can we make sure that digital innovations in care work for older people?

Digital innovations and ‘smart’ homes are often seen as a way to provide more efficient care for older people. However, the evidence on whether these innovations actually work, or do what commissioners need them to,

Care Home Friends and Neighbours Intergenerational Linking Project: linking older people in care homes with young people in their communities

Fostering relationships and links across generations can bring benefits to all. With matched funding from the National Lottery Community Fund #iwill campaign, the Dunhill Medical Trust is supporting projects that are establishing intergenerational links between

Developing a way to measure the impact of our Community Grants

Uncovering ethnic inequalities in access to dementia care

There is a large amount of healthcare data available in the UK, and new statistical techniques are allowing researchers to analyse differences in dementia care between ethnic groups in detail for the first time. Professor

Understanding the needs of older trans people in Wales: The Trans Ageing and Care project

Very little research has been done to understand the health and social care needs of older trans people, particularly those transitioning at an older age. Dr Paul Willis and his team wanted to understand the

Too hot, too cold or just right? Thermal imaging in care homes

As we get older, our senses change, including our sensitivity to temperature. People living in care homes don’t have control over their environment, and may not be able to determine or communicate if they’re uncomfortably