Professor Emily Henderson
MBChB(Bristol), FRCP, PhD
Expertise
Current positions
Professor of Ageing and Movement Disorders
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
Dr Emily Henderson is an Associate Professor of Ageing and Movement Disorders at the University of Bristol and Honorary Academic Consultant Geriatrician. She leads the Ageing and Movement Research Group (AMRG) in Population Health Sciences running a translational programme of research in neurodegenerative disease, falls and cognition. This spans basic science through to phase III, multicentre clinical drug trials, healthcare service innovation and education. This >£20million collaborative portfolio improves quality of life for older people and those with neurodenerative conditions through clinical trials, service innovation and pedagogical research.
Preventing falls in Parkinson's disease
In 2011, Emily set up and ran the ReSPonD (Rivastigmine to Stabilise Gait in Parkinson’s Disease) trial. This double blind, placebo controlled, randomised control trial sought to determine whether cholinesterase inhibitor therapy can stabilise gait and balance in people with Parkinson’s disease. She recruited 130 participants in <6 months to time and target and published the positive findings as first author in the published in the Lancet Neurology in 2016.
Emily is the Chief Investigator of the £2.1 million NIHR multicentre durg trial, CHIEF PD. The trial has now recruited over 380 participants across the UK and will provide definitive evidence as to the clinical and cost effectiveness of rivastigmine for falls in Parkinson's.
Innovating Parkinson's care
In 2019 she was awarded, as co-Principal Investigator, a £10 million grant from the Gatsby foundation to innovate Parkinson’s care. Proactive and Integrated Mangement and Empowerment in Parkinson's Disease (PRIME Parkinson’s) is a collaboration with Radboud University in the Netherlands, the University of Bristol and Royal United Hospitals Bath, that shares expertise and facilities to deliver this world-leading research.
Pedagogical research
Emily led development of the novel 18-week Complex Medicine in Older People (CMOP) geriatrics curriculum in the new MB21 Medical School undergraduate curriculum. This undergraduate teaching programme is now successfully delivered across all 7 Clinical Academies in the South West. A funding award from the Dunhill Medical Trust has enable a doctoral position to evaluate the effectiveness of new innovative educational methods on attitudes towards older people and knowledge of geriatrics.
Clinical expertise
Emily is a Consultant Geriatrician at the Royal United Hospital in Bath and clinical expert in Parkinson's and related disorders and medicine in older people.
Wider academic citizenship
From inception until 2018, she was the Lead for the South West Parkinson’s Excellence Network. She has organised conferences and delivered lectures at national and international meetings and at the Royal College of Physicians in London. She is Lead for Ageing in the West of England Clinical Research Network (CRN). Nationally, she is immediate past Chair of the British Geriatric Society - Movement Disorder Section (BGS-MDS), sits on the National Parkinson’s Disease Portfolio Development Group (PD-PDG) and is a Faculty member of the Parkinson's Academy. She is Vice President of Academic Affairs for the British Geriatrics Society and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Strategies for Improving the Sensing Performance of Personalised Therapeutic Products for People Living with Dementia
Principal Investigator
Role
Principal Investigator
Description
This project seeks to develop a soft robotic device as a therapeutic product with intelligent sensing to support people living with dementia. In this project, we systematically explore and develop…Managing organisational unit
Department of Computer ScienceDates
11/10/2021 to 30/06/2022
Undergraduate education in geriatric medicine
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
This is a programme of research to determine the effectiveness of different educational strategies on the attitudes of medical students to older people, and the impact on their future career…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/07/2020 to 31/05/2023
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
08/08/2024What are we teaching UK medical students about ageing? Results of the third BGS national curriculum survey
A narrative overview of undergraduate geriatric medicine education worldwide
European Geriatric Medicine
Defining an Ageing-Related Pathology, Disease or Syndrome
medRxiv
Development, Validation, and Limits of Freezing of Gait Detection Using a Single Waist-Worn Device
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering
Enhancing recruitment of individuals living with frailty, multimorbidity and cognitive impairment to Parkinson’s research
Age and Ageing