Our Team

Our team of researchers and coordinators brings research on the diseases underlying dementia to every part of Greater Manchester

Clinical Director

The clinical director of the centre is Dr. Ross Dunne, a later life psychiatrist and dementia specialist working in GMMH. Dr. Dunne has 16 years experience working on clinical trials with older people, and has been Principal Investigator or Chief Investigator on over 25 industry studies in dementia.

Dr. Dunne speaking about brainHealth Manchester at the Research & Innovation Knowledge & Skills Day

Meet the team

We are based in central Manchester, close to the Royal Infirmary, but carry out research at North Manchester General Hospital too. We make every effort to bring studies to care homes and other sites research has not been traditionally conducted.

Lewis Harpin and Saliha Ahmed at the NIHR CRN Research Festival in Levenshulme

Dr. Ross Dunne

Dr. Dunne is originally from Dublin, and trained in Medicine in Trinity College Dublin and in Psychiatry in Dublin and Cambridge. He took up a Consultant post in Manchester in 2015. He has been Director of the Dementia Research Centre since 2018.

Saliha Ahmed MA

Saliha is one of our Assistant Clinical Research Practitioners .From Lancashire, with family roots in Pakistan she has a BSc. in Psychology from Manchester and an MA. in Sociology. Saliha wants to encourage more South Asians to participate in dementia and mental health research.

Lewis Harpin RMN

Lewis is from Lancashire originally, and trained as a psychiatric nurse. He has been in the NHS for over 20 years and involved in dementia and neurodegeneration research in Manchester for over 10 years. He is an experienced rater, for both quantitative and qualitative studies and leads the local rater training programme.

Dr. Helen Martin

Dr. Martin is from Northern Ireland originally and has worked as a GP in Manchester for more than 20 years. She has always been interested in the care of people with dementia and frailty. Clinically, she works predominantly in care homes and she is a physician-Investigator and rater on many of our clinical trials.

Leanne Howieson BSc.

Leanne is a Clinical Trial Coordinator and clinical rater at the Dementia Research Centre. She is from Manchester and has a BSc in Applied Psychology and a PG cert in Primary Care Mental Health Practice. She has worked in research for over 6 years and has experience working in the areas of oncology, mental health, and dementia.

Emmie Morrissey

Emmie is a Clinical Trials Manager at Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust. She has 14 years’ experience coordinating and managing clinical trials and social care research projects within the NHS, universities and a contract research organisation. She is responsible for the operational management of the clinical trials delivery team and oversees the set-up and management of studies

Rabeaa Uddin BSc.

Hello, I'm Rabeaa, I’m a Clinical Trials Coordinator. I work on the set up and operational aspects of clinical studies to ensure they run smoothly and comply with regulatory standards. Clinical trials coordinators work closely with clinical staff to provide the resources they need, oversee patient recruitment, data collection, and maintain accurate documentation. We serve as a key point of contact between sponsors, study sites, and clinical research teams, ensuring clear communication and timely reporting.

Iman Hussein BSc.

My name is Iman and have worked as a clinical pharmacist for the last 5 years in Australia before joining the GMMH team earlier this year. As a clinical trial coordinator, I am responsible for the day-to-day management and deliverance of clinical trials from initial setup to completion. Throughout trials, I also support clinical staff and the PI with all aspects of trial administration and ensure all activity is in accordance with relevant regulations and guidelines.

Sheneil Goodman BSc.

Hi, my name is Sheneil I am the clinical trials assistant, I help the coordinators, research nurses and consultants set up and carry out commercial and non-commercial clinical trials. This involves communicating with clinical trial associates and Sponsors, inputting data, creating workbooks and maintaining the investigator site file. I also organise and schedule monitoring and SIV meetings.

Dr. Tobias Langheinrich

Tobias is a consultant neurologist at the Greater Manchester Neuroscience Centre and honorary senior lecturer at the University of Manchester. He has a special interest in neurodegenerative disorders and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) with specialist clinics in the Cerebral Function Unit (CFU) and Salford Royal Hospital. He is a Principal Investigator for the DF Phenotyping study, recruiting through GMDRC.

Sammy Tinubu

Hello! My name is Sammy and I am a on a placement year for the GMDRC as a Research associate. My job involves sending participant information sheets and consent forms, arranging visits, data management, and analysis of research data. I also shadow a lot of the team to further my own training and learning in the field of clinical research.

WHERE WE WORK

NIHR Manchester CRF

The Clinical Research Facility on Grafton Street in central Manchester is where we conduct many of our trials of disease modifying agents in Alzheimer's and other diseases.