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Profile – Dr Sarah Griffiths, University College London

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20/05/2019

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Dr Sarah Griffiths

Name:

Dr Sarah Griffiths

Job Title:

Senior Research Fellow

Place of work / study:

University College London

Area of research:

Primary care based dementia support

How is your work currently funded:

Alzheimer’s Society

Tell us a little about yourself:

I am a dementia researcher with experience in study management, and qualitative research methodologies. My career has encompassed clinical practice (as a speech and language therapist), research and teaching in higher education. I was senior lecturer in Speech and Language Therapy at Plymouth Marjon University for 14 years. I am currently based at UCL and was study manager for the feasibility and implementation phase of PriDem (2021-2023), a project developing evidence-based and sustainable approaches to primary care led post-diagnostic dementia support. I am now an Alzheimer’s Society fellow and Principal Investigator on ‘Communication Aspects of Personalised care Planning in Dementia: the CAPPD study.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself:

I have a cockapoo called Albie. He’s the world champion at fetching a ball.

What book are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante – Yes I would recommend it.

Favourite ways to unplug and unwind?

Walking or running with a good podcast. ‘The Trawl’ and ‘The Rest is Politics’ are current favourites.

What single piece of advice would you give to an early career researcher?

Find a topic that motivates you. Build relationships with researchers you like to work with, who generously support you.

Why did you choose to work in dementia?

I had been working with people who have Parkinson’s for a number of years and had become very interested in cognitive difficulties associated with the condition and how they impact on communication. My PhD was a conversation analytic study of everyday conversation management in Parkinson’s. I was part of the team delivering the dementia content on the BSc SLT programme and to prep for this, visited the amazing and inspiring Gloucestershire SLT dementia service. When a Research Fellow post opened up in Plymouth, I knew it was time to follow this developing interest and go for a dementia research focussed post.