On 19 November 2025 we hosted our Early Career Researcher event in central London. We started the day with lunch and an opportunity to peruse posters. If the buzz of conversation was any indicator, delegates were enjoying catching up with peers and making new connections.
After a brief welcome from our Director of Research, Sanjay Thakrar, we launched straight into the research showcases. This section of the event allowed our grant-holders to talk about their work for five minutes. They also answered questions from the audience. The showcase really demonstrated the breath, depth and impact of the projects we fund. Not only is the research impressive, but the way each speaker clearly communicated such complex topics was commended.
Research showcase speakers
First up was Shiv Bhakta. Shiv is funded by a joint award from the British Geriatrics Society and the Vivensa Foundation for a doctoral training fellowship at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge. His presentation highlighted some of his doctoral work on calcification, ageing and vascular imaging in the assessment of risk of stroke.
Next was Elsa Greed. Elsa is a PhD student who is part of a cohort funded under the Vivensa Foundation multiple studentship scheme at the University of Birmingham. She presented her work looking at caffeine as both a potential intervention and as a tool to understand how brain-muscle communication changes with age.
Dan Hayman took to the stage next. After completing a PhD in musculoskeletal ageing, Dan was funded by the Vivensa Foundation to investigate the genetics of immune ageing using fruit flies as a model organism at the University of Sheffield. He then successfully applied to the first round of our ECR Fellowships scheme and is now investigating the role of a process called splicing in healthy ageing, which his presentation was about.
Next came Bethan Hickey, a second year PhD student at the University of Leicester. She shared insights from the ImPreSs Care Study at Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland and the University of Leicester where she has worked as a Research Assistant for the past three years. This project is funded by the Vivensa Foundation and focuses on improving access to physical health care for older people in mental health settings.
And last but certainly not least was Keir Yong. Keir is a Vivensa Foundation Senior Research Fellow at the Dementia Research Centre at University College London. He presented his research investigating how visual perception may be altered by neurodegenerative disease, and what this means for diagnosis and management.
Putting principles into practice
After a lively refreshment break, delegates returned to the auditorium for a session on putting principles into practice. Our four Vivensa Foundation-funded panellists gave short introductions to their areas of expertise:
Bibhusha Karki, University of Manchester, talked about engaging underserved communities and issues relating to EDI. She quoted Verna Myers who said: “Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.”
Genna Abdullah from the University of Liverpool talked about patient, carer and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in research. She shared some practical tips for making sure PPIE goes beyond being a box-ticking exercise.
Claire Hill, Queen’s University Belfast, discussed environmental sustainability in research. She talked about using the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) that was developed by UCL.
Helen Nuttall, Lancaster University, made some very pertinent points about research culture and communication. I think everyone in the room went away and listened to her and Kate Slade’s podcast – Drs Confess.
The panel session sparked a lot of interesting questions and answers. There was a warm spirit of honesty, sharing knowledge and offering support.
Words of wisdom
This event was the last that our CEO Susan Kay will attend before her retirement. She took the opportunity to share some wisdom gleaned over a 40-year career in the public, private and charitable sectors. Sue (ever the sailor) mused that a career is akin to a voyage. And sailing log books never ask for a destination, they say “towards” – because you can’t predict what’s going to happen or whether you’ll get there. She advised us how to navigate hazards and storms and the importance of ‘tacking’ and a great crew. Sue’s words were delivered with her trademark wit and received to rapturous applause.
Our new CEO (as of 1 December), Katy Saunders, took to the stage to introduce herself. She reminded delegates to join the Academy – not only for the learning resources, events and members-only funding opportunities, but also for the community and mentorship possibilities.
The ECR event closed with a networking reception, where more thoughts and ideas were shared and future collaborations seeded.
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View a selection of photos from the day, taken by FilmFolk.
Read about posters from the event here.
You can find a dedicated playlist on YouTube which contains video recordings of the panel discussion and five research showcase speakers.