Clinical Academic Research – Dementia PhD

As I approach the first milestone of my PhD – the formulation of a research question – I felt it would be good to start a record of my studies, to share some of the interesting finds and information that I come across during my time as a doctoral fellow.

So who am I?

Naomi Gallant: newly married and recently embarked on a Clinical Academic PhD with the University of Southampton. As a doctoral fellow in the Wessex CLAHRC, my research is focusing on improving quality of fundamental care for people with dementia in acute hospitals, specifically reducing the risk of malnutrition and dehydration. I’m a qualified Occupational Therapist (OT), graduating from University of Southampton in 2011, since when I have held several OT roles ranging across physical and mental health settings. Not wanting to lose these clinical skills, and realising the importance of research influencing care at the point of delivery, I have chosen to follow a clinical academic route with the aim of collaborating research and practice.

So why dementia? 

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