Jennifer England named UHI Centre for Rural Health Sciences Student of the Year
The UHI Centre for Rural Health Sciences has announced Jennifer England as its 2025 Student of the Year. Currently in the third year of her PhD, Jennifer, from Argyll and Bute, has been recognised for her academic excellence, research impact, and deep commitment to co-production in dementia care.
Nominated by Professor Nicola Carey, Head of the Centre for Rural Health Sciences, Jennifer was praised for her innovation, leadership, and resilience in conducting sensitive, community-based research. Her doctoral study, ‘Music, Movement, and Dementia: can mimesis combined with personalised music contribute to communication skills and quality of relationship in dementia caregiving dyads’, explores the power of music and movement in supporting people living with dementia and their significant others. Her research spans Scotland and Italy, reflecting a distinctly international and interdisciplinary approach.
Since beginning her PhD in 2022, Jennifer has presented her work at national and international conferences, including Alzheimer Europe and the International Congress for Music and Arts in Medicine in Berlin. She is also an invited speaker at the upcoming ‘Future of Music and Dementia’ conference, a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh and Canadian partners, and a contributor to a forthcoming essay collection in the field.
Her work is rooted in co-production and lived experience, involving collaboration with people living with dementia, family carers, health professionals, and community artists. This has included co-designing participant-facing materials, co-delivering presentations, and developing a video-based alternative to traditional written information sheets to enhance accessibility.
Professor Nicola Carey said:
"Jenny is an exceptional, ambitious and high-achieving researcher whose contributions to dementia care, music and wellbeing are both academically rigorous and deeply human. She exemplifies the values of research rooted in community, co-production and compassion, and is a shining example of what this award represents."
Jennifer actively participates in several national and institutional research networks, including ECRED (Edinburgh Centre for Research into the Experience of Dementia) and the Music, Human and Social Development group at the University of Edinburgh. At UHI, she is a member of the newly formed Music Research Hub and will be presenting at their upcoming conference this June.
Her achievements are especially noteworthy given the complexities of international community-based research. From securing cross-border ethical approvals and translating study materials into Italian, to navigating the challenges of working with vulnerable populations, her work has already been recognised as a model of best practice in ethical research.
Jennifer also commits time to advocacy and fundraising. In the first year of her PhD, she completed a sponsored ‘song walk’ in memory of her mother, raising funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Society.
On receiving the award, Jennifer said:
“I am delighted to receive this unexpected award! Many thanks to my supervisor, Professor Nicola Carey, for nominating me and the support of my other supervisors Dr Leah Macaden and Professor Sarah-Anne Munoz. I will be sharing the news with my Partners in Research group – people with lived experience of dementia – who I have collaborated with from the beginning of my studies. They deserve a reward for sticking with me and the study for nearly three years! I’m also very grateful to the Alzheimer’s Society, who have funded this PhD.”
Jennifer will receive a £100 prize and will now go forward for consideration for the Overall UHI Student of the Year 2025.