Interests
Emma Cunningham, MRCP, PhD
Clinical Lecturer & Geriatrician
We, that is families, nurses, doctors, shopkeepers, hairdressers, drug companies, town planners – everyone – need to act together to care most effectively and compassionately for people with dementia.
Current Work
Emma is a Clinical Lecturer in Ageing in the Centre for Public Health at Queen's University Belfast and a consultant geriatrician at the Belfast Trust. She works to better understand how delirium after surgery relates to dementia.
Personal Hero
Patients
Words of Strength
I generally enjoy people
Vision
To reduce the scale and impact of dementia, we need to understand why and how it develops so we can stop, or at least slow down, these steps. We need to act together to care most effectively and compassionately for people with dementia.
Strategy
I help people with memory problems and their families through my memory clinic. My research aims to better understand how delirium after surgery relates to dementia.
Impact
My work aims to better understand who gets delirium after surgery and why. In doing this, we hope to better explain to the one in six older people who become delirious after hip or knee replacement what they should expect from their memory down the line.
Motivation
Millions of people around the world have surgery every year. This work is an important opportunity to improve brain health globally.My work aims to better understand who gets delirium after surgery and why. In doing this, we hope to better explain to the one in six older people who become delirious after hip or knee replacement what they should expect from their memory down the line
Education & Experience
Emma Cunningham graduated with distinction in medicine from Queen’s University Belfast in 2004. Emma worked as a medical and geriatrics doctor for several years before beginning her research career, being awarded a PhD in 2015. Emma currently works as a Clinical Lecturer and Consultant Geriatrician in Queen's University Belfast and Belfast Trust.
