Championing the Development of Interdisciplinary Early Career Researchers

The AGE Research Group is proud to spotlight our latest cohort of outstanding PhD students, funded by the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre Ageing, Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity (BRC ASM) theme.

Our fully funded PhD studentships form part of our strategic objective to build capacity in academic geriatric medicine and wider ageing research. We enable our students to kickstart their research careers by providing world-class interdisciplinary training in translational ageing research, a tailored supervision program, and fieldwork and networking opportunities.

As profiled below, our new cohort of PhD students hail from different disciplines. This is reflective of the collaborative and interdisciplinary team science approach that we take to our research to achieve maximum impact.

Nessrin Almaghtuf – PhD Student

Nessrin completed her BSc in Biomedicine in 2021 and went on to earn her MSc in Human Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh in 2023. In 2024, she joined the AGE Research Group to undertake a PhD project focusing on understanding skeletal muscle morphology throughout the life course.

Using muscle samples from the MASS Lifecourse Study, Nessrin is investigating the factors contributing to type II muscle fibre atrophy with ageing. Her research also explores differences between men and women in these associations. Her research aims to improve our understanding of sarcopenia and contribute to the development of new treatments for older adults.  She is supervised by Dr Antoneta Granic, Dr Karen Suetterlin, Dr Davina Simoes, and Prof. Avan Sayer.

Sinéad Smith - PhD Student and Clinical Research Associate

Sinéad graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2012 with a degree in Physiology. She also holds two Masters of Science degrees: Physiotherapy from the University of Northumbria and Clinical Science from Aston University, Birmingham. Prior to joining the AGE Research Group, Sinéad was based at the Department of Neurophysiology at the RVI in Newcastle as a Trainee Clinical Scientist, qualifying in September 2024.

Sinéad’s PhD entitled ‘‘From nerve to muscle: understanding, adapting, and applying neurophysiology to characterise skeletal muscle across the life course’’ will involve the development and application of new methods to examine both skeletal muscle mass and skeletal muscle function, including advanced neurophysiological techniques such as muscle velocity recovery cycles to assess skeletal muscle excitability, in the MASS Lifecourse study. She is supervised by Dr Karen Suetterlin, Professor Rachel Cooper, Dr Christopher Hurst and Professor Andy Blamire.

Philippa Watts - PhD Student and Clinical Trials Manager

Philippa has a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Dundee, and her career has encompassed a variety of roles from grants management to running national public awareness campaigns. Since 2015 she has worked in Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit, managing a range of non-commercial trials in a variety of therapeutic areas with a particular interest in research in older people.

Undertaking a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Research sparked an interest in pursuing research as well as managing it, and so Philippa has joined the AGE Research Group to undertake a PhD in clinical trials methodology under the supervision of Professor Miles Witham and Dr Claire McDonald from the AGE Research Group, and Professor Helen Hancock and Professor Dawn Teare from the Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit. Part of this will involve managing REVITALiSE, the BRC ASM Theme’s Sarcopenia Platform Trial, while testing different ways to increase inclusivity and improve communication to potential trial participants and their families and carers, with the aim of improving the way trials are run in future.

Last modified: Wed, 19 Feb 2025 13:28:03 GMT