As a former teacher and family carer for her mother, who had Dementia, Julia brings an enormous amount of experience and ability to impart knowledge with empathy and positivity. Julia is part of the leadership team and will contribute to the Patient and Public involvement strategy, ensuring that the views of people with lived experience are integrated throughout all DeNPRU Exeter activities. As a key member of the Core Involvement Group she will play an important part in ensuring that other experts by experience feel welcome and included.
Julia has been a volunteer with Alzheimer’s Society for fifteen years, initially as a lead volunteer at a memory café, meeting a large number of people with dementia and their caregivers. As a member of Alzheimer’s Society Research Network, Julia has been involved in various research projects funded by the Society, reviewing grants, monitoring funded projects and sitting on the Care, Services and Public Health Grant panels and boards. She was a member of the ALWAYs involvement group with the IDEAL programme and a driving force behind the Living with Dementia Toolkit. Julia is currently on the Programme Management Group of NIHR National Priorities ARC Ageing, Dementia and Frailty theme and spoke about the value of PPIE in research at the 2023 British Geriatric Society Conference.