Academy Steering Group

Professor Ala Szczepura

Ala Szczepura is Professor of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) at Coventry University. HTA studies the effectiveness, costs, and social, legal and ethical implications of innovations. Her previous academic posts were held at the Universities of Warwick, Manchester and Oxford. Ala’s research on ageing includes: evaluation of health and social care innovations; re-design of services; patient self-management; ageing care models; and population diversity. Her work has been cited in 562 policy documents worldwide.

Ala has experience on over thirty national and international research strategy, grant funding and fellowship panels. She was seconded to the NHS Executive to help establish the UK’s HTA Programme. She currently sits on the Advisory Group for Warwick Evidence, tasked with reviewing evidence presented to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Ala's research is multidisciplinary and involves working closely with scientists, clinicians, end-users, policy makers and technology developers.

Contact: admin@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Professor Ilaria Bellantuono

Professor Bellantuono is Chair of the Academy Steering group.

Ilaria is Professor of Musculoskeletal Ageing and Co-Director of the Healthy Lifespan Institute at the University of Sheffield, and Co-Lead of UKAgeNet, a national network that unites UK ageing research organisations to engage policymakers with one voice. Winner of the 2024 Senior Leadership Award, she is a leading researcher in healthy ageing, focusing on understanding the biology of ageing and developing geroprotective interventions to prevent multimorbidity and frailty.  

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Dr Susanne Arnold

Dr Susanne Arnold is an academic physiotherapist at the University of Warwick Clinical Trials Unit. Her research interests are in mixed methods trials of exercise and rehabilitation, falls  prevention and loneliness interventions. She is the is the current Deputy Chair of the British Geriatric Society (BGS) Nurse and Allied Health Professionals (NAHPs) Council. Susanne's Doctoral Fellowship was funded by the Vivensa Foundation and as a member of the Academy Steering Group she is committed to the Academy's mission of supporting and celebrating success in ageing-related research and building a network of academic and clinical researchers and community organisations to improve the experience of later life for all older people.  

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Alison Benzimra

Alison Benzimra is Head of Research and Influence at United St Saviour’s Charity, where she leads research, policy engagement and strategic direction for older persons housing. Alison contributes to the Vivensa Foundation Academy Steering Group with a commitment to evidence-based approaches that improve the quality of life for current and future older people.  

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Dr Jenni Burton

Jenni is a clinical academic trainee in geriatric medicine based at the University of Glasgow and working clinically in NHS Lanarkshire. Her research focuses on improving understanding of the needs of people living in care homes and those who support them, personally and professionally.  

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Dr Arlene Casey

Arlene is a Vivensa Foundation Senior Research Fellow specialising in Natural Language Processing and the responsible use of unstructured health data, with a particular focus on later-life. She loves using data-driven methods to uncover meaningful insights and support better health and policy decisions. Collaboration is at the heart of my work, and is passionate about making data-driven discoveries accessible to researchers, clinicians, and policymakers alike.

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Dr Nick Evans

Nick is an academic geriatrician and stroke physician with an interest in vascular ageing and the impact of healthy ageing/frailty on outcomes following stroke. He holds leadership roles relating to building research capacity and am an enthusiastic advocate for aspiring early career researchers from different disciplines pursuing translational research relating to healthy ageing. His PhD was supported by the Vivensa Foundation (then the Dunhill Medical Trust), and he is delighted to support its ongoing activities as part of the steering committee for the Vivensa Academy.

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Dr Amy Harwood

Amy has spent over 10 years working as an applied clinical exercise physiologist bridging the link between the NHS and academia. Her main focus is the role of prehabilitation and rehabilitation for people living with long-term health conditions. She has worked and published in the areas of exercise physiology, therapeutic interventions (such as heat therapy and electrical stimulation), environmental physiology and clinical trials focussed on exercise for clinical population.

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Dr Dan Hayman

Dan is a Vivensa ECR Fellow based at the University of Sheffield. In his research, he investigates the role of the spliceosome in relation to ageing and pro-longevity treatments.

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Assistant Professor Rahele Kafieh

Rahele Kafieh is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Durham University and an EPSRC Women in Engineering Ambassador. Her research focuses on using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for biomedical image and signal processing. She collaborates closely with clinicians and the NHS on initiatives aimed at the early diagnosis of diseases, enabling home-based imaging for older adult populations, and streamlining AI-powered referral systems from the community to hospitals. She has more than 12 years of experience in medical data processing using AI, with over 150 research publications in the field. She has successfully secured multiple grants including grants Vivensa Foundation, EPSRC IAA, UKRI MRC Ageing Research Development Award, Switzerland research seed money, Einstein Forum, National Institute for Medical Research Development, and TÜBİTAK.

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Dr Mary Ni Lochlainn

Dr Mary Ní Lochlainn is an NIHR Clinical Lecturer at King's College London and a Specialist Registrar in Geriatric, Stroke, and General Internal Medicine. Her interests lie in prevention and delay of age-associated morbidity, including sarcopenia and frailty, often via the lens of the gut microbiome, ultimately aiming to improve the lives of older adults. 

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk

Dr Stephanie Watkins

Stephanie is a post-doctoral researcher in the Riddell group at the University of Surrey. She is currently working on a Vivensa Foundation funded project researching how sympathetic nervous system activity may impact immune ageing and cognitive decline across the life course. Stephanie also has a keen interest in mentoring and training future scientists. 

Contact: Academy@vivensafoundation.org.uk