Dr Tamlyn Watermeyer

I am passionate about brain, cognitive, and psychological health. Most of my interests revolve around identifying biological, cognitive, and social determinants of early cognitive changes associated with aging and disease, with the goal of developing targeted intervention strategies to prevent dementia. I take several approaches to my work spanning epidemiological, experimental, and interventional methods. A secondary interest of mine is the impact of chronic conditions on the psychosocial outcomes of informal caregivers (spouses, children). I am increasingly developing a public and global health focus in my work.

I graduated from the University of St Andrews before completing my PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. I then completed post-doctoral research at Bangor University, Wales, and the Centre for Dementia Prevention, University of Edinburgh. I maintain an honorarium at the University of Edinburgh.

I am a member of several cognitive aging and brain health research working groups, comprising academic, pharmaceutical, and other industry partners. I am the co-founder of FemBER (Female Brain Health and Endocrine Research) Consortium, B.I.N.D. (Binding in Neuropsychiatric Disorders) Collaboration, ECcRoN (European Consortium for Cross Cultural Neuropsychology), and a founding member of the GloDePP (Global Dementia Prevention Program) Collaboration. I am happy to assist small businesses and social enterprises with research development and clinical trial methodology.

Currently, I am completing a fellowship funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and Alzheimer's Society. Under this fellowship, I am leading various projects aimed at involving underrepresented groups, notably people with Learning Disabilities, in Dementia and Brain Health Research. This includes a project titled "Revolutionizing Alzheimer's Disease Assessment in Down Syndrome: The RAD Study," which aims to advance earlier and more sensitive detection of cognitive changes in people with Down Syndrome, using appropriate and engaging assessments. I am also passionate about promoting Brain Health Awareness within underserved populations, and I am currently collaborating with expert by experience stakeholders to develop promotion strategies for Learning Disability communities.

I am also the Principal Investigator, along with collaborators Dr. Paul Ansell (Sports & Exercise, Northumbria University) and Dr. Chi Udeh-Momoh (Ageing Epidemiology (AGE) Research Unit, Imperial College London), on a project interested in understanding biopsychosocial determinants of brain health in female veterans. This work is funded by the Office for Veterans Affairs (Cabinet Office).

Also, under our FemBER Consortium, I co-lead the FemBER-Africa Study with Dr. Chi Udeh-Momoh. This work will extensively phenotype psycho-biological characteristics of dementia patients and controls to help identify sex-specific differences in in-country African versus diasporic cohorts. We are working with a team based at Aga Khan University, Nairobi, with colleagues throughout Kenya, Nigeria, the USA, and Europe. The project is funded by the Alzheimer's Association.

Students who are interested in the above work are encouraged to contact me for internship opportunities within my lab, The Neurosciences Research Venture (NeRVe). Due to my current fellowship, I have reduced student project supervision. Unfortunately, I cannot be approached for formal thesis supervision, but I am always happy to learn about students' interests and brainstorm ideas.

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• An online experiment that presents challenges for translating rest-related gains in visual detail memory from the laboratory to naturalistic settings, Leetham, E., Watermeyer, T., Craig, M. 17 Aug 2023, In: PLoS One
• Insulin resistance, age and depression's impact on cognition in middle-aged adults from the PREVENT cohort, Bauermeister, S., Ben Yehuda, M., Reid, G., Howgego, G., Ritchie, K., Watermeyer, T., Gregory, S., Terrera, G., Koychev, I. 26 May 2023, In: BMJ mental health
• The indirect relationship between sleep and cognition in the PREVENT cohort: identifying targets for intervention, Tari, B., Ben Yehuda, M., Laurell, A., Ritchie, K., Dauvilliers, Y., Ritchie, C., Lawlor, B., Naci, L., Muniz Terrera, G., Malhotra, P., Watermeyer, T., Dudas, R., Underwood, B., O'Brien, J., Raymont, V., Koychev, I. 15 Nov 2023, In: Frontiers
• A digital biomarker for remote self‐assessment of Alzheimer’s Diseases: development and validation, Butler, J., Watermeyer, T., Matterson, E., Harper, E., Parra-Rodriguez, M. 1 Dec 2022, In: Alzheimer's and Dementia
• A digital biomarker for remote self-assessment of Alzheimer's Diseases: development and validation, Watermeyer, T., Butler, J., Matterson, E., Harper, E., Parra-Rodriguez, M. Dec 2022
• Cross-cultural neuropsychological assessment in Europe: Position statement of the European Consortium on Cross-Cultural Neuropsychology (ECCroN), Franzen, S., Bekkhus-Wetterberg, P., van den Berg, E., Calia, C., Canevelli, M., Daugherty, J., Fasfous, A., Goudsmit, M., Ibanez-Casas, I., Lozano-Ruiz, Á., Mukadam, N., Narme, P., Nielsen, T., Papma, J., Pomati, S., Watermeyer, T. 3 Apr 2022, In: Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Personality Predictors of Cognitive Dispersion: A Coordinated Analysis of Data From Seven International Studies of Older Adults, Yoneda, T., Marroig, A., Graham, E., Willroth, E., Watermeyer, T., Beck, E., Zelinski, E., Reynolds, C., Pedersen, N., Hofer, S., Mroczek, D., Muniz-Terrera, G. 1 Feb 2022, In: Neuropsychology
• Practice effect of repeated cognitive tests among older adults: associations with brain amyloid pathology and other influencing factors, Zheng, B., Udeh-Momoh, C., Watermeyer, T., de Jager Loots, C., Ford, J., Robb, C., Giannakopoulou, P., Ahmadi-Abhari, S., Baker, S., Novak, G., Price, G., Middleton, L. 6 Jul 2022, In: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
• Cognitive dispersion and ApoEe4 genotype predict dementia diagnosis in 8-year follow-up of the oldest-old, Watermeyer, T., Goerdten, J., Johansson, B., Muniz-Terrera, G. 1 May 2021, In: Age and Ageing
• Cognitive dispersion predicts grip strength trajectories in men but not women in a sample of the oldest-old without dementia, Watermeyer, T., Massa, F., Goerdten, J., Stirland, L., Johansson, B., Muniz-Terrera, G. 17 Sep 2021, In: Innovation in Aging

• Psychology PhD May 01 2014
• Psychology BSc (Hons) June 24 2009