Professor Shenkin is a clinical academic geriatrician who leads a portfolio of interdisciplinary research in healthcare for older people, particularly those living with the geriatric syndromes of delirium, dementia, frailty, and other multiple long-term conditions. Her primary focus is care home research and the impact of delirium and dementia. She uses a range of methods, including data-driven innovation, systematic reviews, and observational and interventional studies. She has mostly worked less than full-time and is a strong advocate for balancing academic aspirations with wider/caring responsibilities.

She co-chairs ENRICH Scotland ENRICH Scotland | NHS Research Scotland | NHS Research Scotland and the Lothian Care Home Innovation Partnership CHIP (Care Home Innovation Partnership) – Care Homes (nhslothian.scot). She is Deputy Director of the Advanced Care Research Centre Academy The ACRC Academy | The University of Edinburgh, and part of the New Models of Care Work Package (Advanced Care Research Centre | The University of Edinburgh). She was Systematic Reviews Editor for Age and Ageing for seven years and is a member of the Academic Board of the EuGMS EuGMS: European Geriatric Medicine Society. She is a medical advisor to the Lothian Birth Cohort Studies Lothian Birth Cohorts | The University of Edinburgh.

Qualifications

• Health and social care of care home residents and staff
• Diagnosis and management of patients with delirium and dementia in the acute hospital
• How delirium and dementia affect outcomes, e.g. admission to care homes
• Data linkage using electronic health and social care records
• Lifecourse epidemiology of cognitive ageing and cerebrovascular disease
• Systematic reviews (especially of observational studies)

• April 2021: ENRICH Scotland | NHS Research Scotland | NHS Research Scotland

  Innovation and research in scotland’s care homes, where could you fit in?https://videos.sproutvideo.com/embed/ea9ddcbf1b14e7c663/be61fe2d67ebcdf7?

  Test beds for innovation: Care home data platform SBRI innovation foundation challenge: technical feasibility https://videos.sproutvideo.com/embed/4d9ddfbc171be7c6c4/bd0f7d056131dfdc?

  PROTECT-CH study https://videos.sproutvideo.com/embed/ac9ddcb11810e3cd25/dad393ed3adf2db0 

• Dec 2016: -'Let's talk about health: losing our minds: can we stop our brains for ageing' https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lets-talk-about-health-losing-our-minds-can-we-stop-our-brains-from-ageing-tickets-28502826722#

• April 2016: Speaker at Women of Scotland Lunch (380 attendees, fundraiser for Music in Hospitals, raised over £23,000) http://www.wosl.co.uk/2016/04/women-of-scotland-lunch-2016-2

• Sep 2015: ‘Age: what’s your number?’ Presentation and panel discussion for Midlothian Science Festival (~80 attendees)

• March 2015: ‘The Living Brain’ panel discussion for Edinburgh Science Festival

  (~100 attendees, ticketed)

• July 2013 MRC Centenary Debate for CCACE: Seconded the motion “Does the wisdom of age trump the speed of youth” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5naEFwmqYs, mostly attended by healthy older people (Chair Sally Magnusson, opposer Sir Tam Dalyell).

• Challenges of Ageing and Care for Advanced Care Research Centre Academy (course organiser)
• Delirium and dementia for a range of clinicians
• Critical appraisal and research methods course at Royal College of Physicians (course organiser)
• Systematic reviews and meta-analysis course at Royal College of Physicians (course organiser)
• Edinburgh Research Methods Course (course organiser and speaker)
• Systematic reviews and meta-analysis course at Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (course organiser)
• Evidence based medicine course at University of Glasgow
• Geriatric Medicine at NHS Lothian

I am a collaborative interdisciplinary clinical academic geriatrician who adds value across a range of research methodologies to provide clinically relevant research output in the syndromes of ageing, particularly cognitive decline (dementia/delirium) and frailty. My focus is developing data driven translational innovation at the interface between secondary care and the community, especially in care homes, to provide evidence-based care for the challenges of an ageing population. I lead a programme of work that aims to raise the profile of care home residents, and staff, undertand and use the data collected to benefit residents, and provide an infrastructure for future studies including drug trials.

I am keen to promote training in research methods for clinical trainees and nurses and allied health professionals (and to support flexible training to combine research and clinical practice), as well as training and working across and between disciplines, and I enjoy mentoring people with a range of experience and backgrounds