Seren Parkman, Linguistics, Lancaster University (2021 Cohort)

How do we change as we age? From worms to brain waves the Centre for Ageing Research Conference at Lancaster University had a bit of everything. Hosted in the Lancaster Medical School by Dr Trevor Crawford and Dr Carol Holland, the conference brought together academics from every discipline including: linguistics, psychology, physics and medicine, around the theme of cognitive frailty. The day explored how age can affect us all across the lifespan focusing on what happens to our bodies as they age, but also how we may better improve the life experiences of individuals over time. The day was a mixture of brilliant talks, interesting posters, and in the spirit of Christmas, excellent mince pies. 

What was particularly great about this conference however, which differed from my previous experiences, was that local people were also encouraged to come to talk about their ageing experiences, and how they would like to see age better discussed in research and within the academic community. This offered a different perspective on the topics that were discussed and made it a much more personal experience. We can very often get bogged down in our research that we forget who it is really all for. This conference bridged that gap between the academic and the real world. 

The day also allowed a few of us to recruit people for our own PhD studies. My own poster involved a stand testing people’s motor control with fun little tasks such as the trail making task (a bit like a dot to dot but faster), and a leader board – this encouraged discussion and a friendly competitive atmosphere, encouraging lots of people to sign up to take part in my own main study looking at language and ageing. 

Highlights of the day also included how flies and worms can be used to measure ageing effects in humans, why you should encourage your grandparents to use their hearing aids, and a finger test which told you how much fruit and veg you have been eating and the importance of it for your memory – don’t ask how I did! 

The day ended with a talk from Dr Alan Gow from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, who took us through the 12 ways we can improve our brain health including drinking less, engaging in educational activities, doing more exercise. Then, in the spirit of Christmas, we debated how well Santa was achieving good brain health (sadly not very well it turns out!). 

Overall, it was a lovely day discussing research, reaching out to different disciplines, and meeting the local community to discuss the world of ageing.