Alzheimer Europe 2026 Conference Highlights - Part Two

This episode of the Dementia Researcher Podcast comes from the final day of the 36th Alzheimer Europe Conference in Dublin, looking back over three days of research, policy and lived experience. Hosted by Dr Felicity Slocombe from the University of Bradford, the episode features Professor Andy Northcott from the Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory at the University of West London, Dr Gianna Kohl from UCL and Dr Tiffeny James from the University of Greenwich. The conversation starts before the conference itself, with an Interdem keynote on ethics in care. It challenged the idea of “therapeutic lying”, and the debate carried on over dinner. From there, the panel talks about psychosocial research taking the plenary stage and what blood biomarkers look like to two qualitative researchers who went along to learn. They also cover specialist seating that eases pain and agitation, and whether having “Alzheimer” in the name of most national dementia organisations helps or hinders people with other forms of dementia. How dementia language travels across cultures comes up too, as does whether the conference venue itself is dementia friendly. In this episode: Is lying ever therapeutic? Psychosocial research on the plenary stage Blood biomarkers for the rest of us Why seating matters in dementia care Does “Alzheimer” in a name help or hinder? Living alone, or caring from a distance Emergency care when the paramedic has to leave Lived experience moves from add-on to everyday -- A transcript of this show, links and show notes and profile on all our guests are available on our website at https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk. If you prefer to watch rather than listen, you will find a video version of this podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and on our website. Leave us a tip: https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/ https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/ https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunity https://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social Download and Register with our Community App: https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders: Alzheimer’s Association, Race Against Dementia, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The views and opinions expressed by guests in this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the producers, funders, or sponsors. Subscribe to our sister show 'Dementia Researcher The Blogs': https://podfollow.com/dementia-researcher-blogs