Dr. Kamar Ameen-Ali: Lecturer at Teeside University and advocate for mentorship and diversity in science
In celebration of International Women’s Day on Wednesday the 8th of March, Women in Neuroscience UK are taking over the UK DRI Twitter account! We aim to utilise this opportunity to highlight gender disparities in dementia research and showcase the stories of successful female dementia researchers. In this series of articles for IWD23, we interviewed inspiring women in dementia research about their work, their career pathways, and their advice for aspiring women in neuroscience.
What is your main field of research?
My programme of research falls into two main strands: firstly, trying to understand the mechanisms driving the characteristic pathological changes we see in neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s; and secondly, trying to improve the cognitive testing tools we have for diagnosing dementia, to detect cognitive changes much earlier in the disease process. The earlier we can diagnose neurodegenerative disease, the sooner we can administer treatments and therapies which is when they’ll be most effective.
How did you end up here? Why did you become a scientist? What drew you to the field of dementia research?
I became a dementia researcher almost by accident. As a masters student my dissertation project focused on understanding complex memory processes in an animal model, but at the time I was aspiring to be a clinical neuropsychologist with no ambition to do a PhD and become a scientist. The opportunity came up to do a PhD with my masters supervisor on a project which directly followed from my dissertation, so it felt like too good of an opportunity to miss and I could always come back to the clinical doctorate later on. During my PhD, I found that I really enjoyed research and all the different things you get to do as a researcher really suited me because no two days are the same. You can go from working on an experiment in the lab, to writing a paper, to analysing data, for example. I really enjoyed this variety. I therefore decided to pursue research following my PhD and from there my work focussed more on understanding what happens to memory processes as a consequence of diseases like Alzheimer’s, which lead to dementia.
Why is your research important? What are the possible real-world applications?
Doing laboratory-based biomedical research, sometimes you can lose sight of the bigger picture because you become so highly specialised in trying to understand the function of one specific cell type, for example, that it’s difficult to see the real-world application of what you’re doing. It is much easier to see the potential impact of the research I’m doing to develop a new digital cognitive tool for diagnosing dementia. One of the biggest challenges in dementia diagnosis is that by the time changes in cognition are apparent, disease pathology has already progressed for many years. We’re developing a digital cognitive tool which can differentiate between episodic memory and other types of memory, which would be an ideal screening tool for Alzheimer’s disease because episodic memory is impaired early in the progression of the disease. We are developing this tool to be simple and reliable so that it is easy and convenient for clinicians to administer, and accessible and user-friendly for patients. Results can be provided immediately allowing for early cognitive impairment to be identified, and the rate of cognitive decline to be effectively monitored. This can help patients and clinicians make decisions about appropriate treatment pathways. The task does not solely have applications in dementia testing. Through personal monitoring of memory function, it can also enable initiatives for healthy ageing and promoting good brain health, which is an increasingly important public health issue. The real-world applications of this aspect of my research, therefore, are readily apparent.
What has been / was your most important or surprising scientific finding?
I would say that probably my most important finding was actually from the first paper I published during my PhD, simply due to the impact it has had in that specific research area. I developed new paradigms to assess recognition and episodic memory in rodents which were specifically designed to reduce the number of animals required for statistically meaningful results. Typically, these types of memory tasks rely on a one trial per day paradigm which requires large numbers of animals. Moreover, these tasks are widely used, not just in neuroscientific research, but in the testing of amnestic properties of new drugs, so there is huge potential to reduce the number of animals required for these types of memory tasks. The impact of this work has led to further development of these tasks with investment from GlaxoSmithKline, and the apparatus used for these new paradigms has now been made commercially available.
What are some of the main challenges you have faced in your time as a female dementia researcher?
There are many challenges in academia which particularly impact on early career researchers (ECRs), the most significant probably being insecure temporary contracts. I have moved a lot in my career, working in five different cities in the UK and having to uproot my life each time. Some people move internationally. The issue of precarity is not specific to being female, but it is certainly exacerbated by being female. Being on short-term temporary contracts affects big life decisions around whether or not you can buy a house, and when to get married and have children if that’s something you want to do. The lack of stability contributes to why so many women leave academia after their PhD or Postdoc, to take up more secure positions outside academia. So I’ve been directly affected by academia’s over-reliance on short-term contracts for ECRs, and this definitely has had more of a significant effect on me as a female.
Do you feel as though you are equally represented in this field? How many of your associates are also female researchers?
I feel like the further along in my career I go, the less I feel represented both in terms of my sex and my ethnicity. The number of females at my current career stage is far fewer than there were than when I was a PhD student or Postdoc. Although it’s not something I think about day to day, every now and then something will happen and I’ll think to myself “would they speak to me like that if I was a man?”, or “would they ask a man to do that?”. I can’t answer these questions, but it says a lot that I even ask them of myself.
Tell me what you like to do when you aren't working on research.
I like to run and swim long distances. I have chronic health issues, so it is very important to try and maintain a baseline level of fitness for my general health. I’m not very fast at either running or swimming, but I do enjoy seeing how far I can push myself by increasing the distances.
What's next for you in both your life and research?
For my research I’m in the process of getting my lab up and running at Teesside, which involves applying for lots of research grants. Some small grant applications have been successful recently, so that work is beginning, and it will be something exciting to build on going forward. I’m also in the process of setting up some new collaborations which will hopefully lead to new avenues of research which is exciting. More generally, I have a few trips planned overseas this year (I’ve not been on a plane since pre-covid), and I’m planning to complete my first triathlon this summer!
Please share some key lessons or words of wisdom for women and girls interested in pursuing this career.
The advice I always give students at any level when we talk about career options is to follow what you’re interested in. There are a number of issues in academia, some of the most significant being the insecure temporary contracts, and the exploitation of ECRs. However, there is a lot of work going on to try and address these issues and we are seeing change happen slowly. So for any women or girls who are thinking about pursuing a career in academia, I would suggest that they follow what interests them, but to keep an open mind because what you’re interested in can change over time, and that’s ok! Just because you set off on one path doesn’t mean you are committed to that path forever! If what you’re interested in changes, don’t close off the possibility of pivoting and pursuing something else. And don’t believe anyone that tells you that if you leave academia you can’t return. It’s simply not true and I’m proof of that.
This article was written by Rebecca Parker, and edited by Ailie McWhinnie. Interested in writing for WiN UK yourself? Contact us through the blog page and the editors will be in touch!
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