BAS Conference - Kerry is our Rising Research Star! 🌟

The UTILISE team have been busy spreading the word about our work at international conferences over the last couple of months.

In September, Kerry presented (twice!) at the British Aphasiology Society (BAS) Conference, which was held in London at UCL Queen Square. She spoke about outcomes of our pilot trial, both qualitative and quantitative, which we ran earlier in the year. We would like to thank all the participants of the pilot trial for their work using the app and for their attendance at focus groups. These participants gave us valuable insight into their experiences and shared their suggestions for improving the app. Kerry presented these insights as part of her presentations, highlighting the importance of developing effective remote therapy options to maximise dose potential for patients.

Kerry Dathan at the British Aphasiology Society Conference with her Rising Research Star award.

We would also like to thank the BAS team for giving us the opportunity to present our work. It was a terrific 3-day event with lots of fascinating talks, including some from service users. UTILISE team member Fern also presented a poster, sharing some outcomes from our in-person therapy trial.

We are very proud that Kerry was awarded the “Rising Research Star” award for her contributions to the conference. She is, without doubt, already a star, and has a bright research career ahead of her.

Well done, Kerry! A true asset to the team.

Kerry Corley on UTILISE self-managed therapy

We are hugely grateful to the Stroke Association for funding our ongoing research into post-stroke aphasia.

The UTILISE project has been developed with the aim of improving people with aphasia’s ability to produce and understand every-day sentences. We are about to take the exciting next step in our project journey, which involves lending people an iPad that they can use to access our therapy at home. Our work with Therapy Box has made it possible for us to build a version of our therapy which people can use remotely, meaning there is less travel commitment, less expense, and opportunity for people to spend more time doing therapy exercises from the comfort of their own sofa.

We are thrilled to share this Stroke Association video with you, in which our UTILISE PhD researcher, Kerry Corley, explains more about why she is part of UTILISE, and the work that we do. Professor Rosemary Varley, our project lead, and Tony, an individual with aphasia, also talk about why this research is so important.

The Stroke Association would not be able to fund such valuable work without the contributions of donors and the public. To make a donation to the Stroke Association, click here.

Thank you so much to everyone who supports our work!

Stroke Association Amazing Brains 2023

Jason Parker, stroke survivor, sharing his experience of struggling with mental health after his stroke.

Rosemary, Kerry and Fern from the UTILISE team were very excited to attend the Amazing Brains 2023 event last week, hosted by the Stroke Association.

Kerry Corley and Fern Rodgers from the UTILISE project, in front of Kerry’s award recognition screen, which reads: “I am excited to have a part to play in increasing our knowledge of self-directed computer therapies [for aphasia']. They have a key role in the future of stroke rehabilitation as a leap forward in the amount of therapy people with post-stroke difficulties can access.”

The event centred around the hugely important topic of mental health after stroke. After a significant, life changing event, like a stroke, it is common for people to struggle with feelings of anxiety, depression or anger. This is even more common in people with post-stroke aphasia, many of whom report feelings of isolation, loneliness and loss of confidence. Jason Parker gave a moving and inspirational speech about his first-hand experiences of working through mental health difficulties following his stroke, and how his determination helped him to deal with this experience and get him back to work.

Professor Mark Tarrant, Professor Maggie Lawrence, and Dr Emma Patchwood then spoke about their Stroke Association funded research into post-stroke mental health and the ways in which they are working to reduce the emotional burden experienced by many stroke survivors.

Kerry Corley, Fern Rodgers and Professor Rosemary Varley at Amazing Brains 2023.

We would like to thank the Stroke Association for running such a fantastic event, and for funding the UTILISE research project. We were also thrilled to celebrate our team’s recent funding success too, with Kerry Corley working towards her PhD and Dr Claudia Bruns commencing her post-doctoral fellowship. Without this funding, our work to help people living with aphasia after stroke would not be possible. Difficulty communicating can impact quality of life, and we hope to help.

If you are struggling with your mental health following a stroke, you are not alone. You can visit this webpage for more information, or, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123.

Upcoming Event- UTILISE Team at the UCL World Stroke Day Forum 2022

This Friday, the 28th of October, the UTLISE team will be at the UCL World Stroke Day Forum.

The event, sponsored by The National Brain Appeal, encourages an open dialogue between researchers, clinicians, charities, stroke survivors, carers and loved ones. It aims to empower stroke survivors and raise awareness about stroke research and rehabilitation at UCL.

The UTLISE team will be hosting an expo stall all day, giving interactive demonstrations of the new app-based therapy developed with Therapy Box. You will have the chance to see our automatic speech recognition technology in action.

At 11am, Professor Rosemary Varley, principal investigator of the UTILISE project, will deliver a 15-minute talk, “How do we provide effective aphasia rehabilitation?”, followed by a Q&A.

Rosemary will talk about developing the UTLISE app to allow individuals to self-administer intervention. Remote digital therapy approaches have the potential to increase therapy time whilst reducing costs. Rosemary will also address key questions such as what are the challenges of this approach from the perspectives of people with aphasia, family members and clinicians, and how might we address them?

Everyone is welcome so sign up to attend the in-person event here.

Can’t make it to London? Book a ticket to join online panel sessions to hear about UTLISE project and have the chance to ask any questions during the live Q&A.

UTILISE - Work Experience Recruit

The UTILISE team are excited to be working with Tae Horsfield, over the next year or so, as she gathers work experience on the project before studying towards an MSc. We’ll be getting Tae involved with a range of tasks, from transcription, to fidelity checks, to observation. In the short time she has been with us, she has already made a great impression, evidencing a diligent and thoughtful attitude. Here’s what Tae has to say:

I have recently graduated with a BSc in Psychology from Brunel University of London. In my dissertation, I investigated whether discrepancy scores between semantic and phonemic fluency tasks would predict the diagnostic status of patients groups suffering with various neurodegenerative diseases.

I have joined the UTILISE Project to expand my knowledge of acquired communication difficulties in older adults. Next September, I will be starting an MSc to further specialise in language sciences, neuroscience, and communication.