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The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC) will soon be inviting applications for a number of new dementia-focussed early career research posts.

The roles are funded by the NIHR and Alzheimer’s Society, as part of a £7.5 national investment in dementia research, announced in July.

In the North East and North Cumbria, the funding will support up to two research posts based within a university setting, and two part-time posts from other sectors – including community-based organisations, industry, arts and cultural organisations, VCSE organisations and clinical settings.

The posts will focus on:

• Care and support in socially disadvantaged communities
• Care for dementia and multiple long-term conditions
• Social care to maintain independence and dignity

The role of technology in dementia care will cut across the work programme.

The posts will be hosted by our Multi-morbidity, Ageing and Frailty theme, and the successful applicants will join a significant national cohort of early career dementia researchers from across all 15 Applied Research Collaborations, funded as part of the same scheme. They will also join a small and vibrant regional community of research fellows within the ARC North East and North Cumbria.

To apply, you will need to have a postdoctoral qualification, and successful applicants’ salaries will be covered. We will be happy to consider flexible working arrangements.

Applications will open in the next two weeks, with more information to follow. Interviews will take place on 1 November, and posts will need to start in January 2023. All posts are two years in duration.

More about the areas of research focus

Care and support in socially disadvantaged communities

Dementia has a disproportionate impact in communities that experience disadvantage, where access to support, quality of healthcare and participation in research are all lower than in more affluent communities. Our capacity building will seek to engage, collaborate and explore ways of ensuring that equitable approaches to dementia care are identified and implemented into practice. We will encourage a focus on disadvantage that arises from the socioeconomic and geographical factors (coastal, rural, and urban) that are pertinent in our region.

Care for dementia and multiple long-term conditions

People living with dementia commonly have other long-term health conditions. Health services designed for single conditions may struggle to provide dignified and appropriate care for the many health problems experienced by people living with dementia. In NENC, capacity building will seek to promote the cross-disciplinary collaboration in research and practice needed to enhance care.

Social care to maintain independence and dignity

Home care and care homes are a critical component of dementia care. Too often the best care is available to those who can afford to pay, and the workforce and funding crisis faced by the sector is most visible in low wage economies. Our focus on inequalities will encompass key research questions around how to produce equitable outcomes from social care in dementia.