Sarah Bauermeister, Ludovica Griffanti, Louise Dalton and Elizabeth Rapa have all been conferred the title Associate Professor for making a significant and sustained contribution to the university’s goals through research, teaching and citizenship.
Dr Sarah Bauermeister is a cognitive neuropsychologist and epidemiologist who also works as data manager for Dementias Platform UK. She joined academia after a 20 year career break to bring up her children. She said:
“I am thrilled to be awarded an Associate Professorship. This was only possible thanks to the support of John Gallacher and colleagues at Dementias Platform UK, and valuable funders and collaborators. I hope other female academics and those who have non-conventional career paths feel encouraged that they too can progress in academia.”
Ludovica Griffanti is an Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellow who works at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging and also co-leads a strand of work for Dementias Platform UK. She said:
“I am very grateful for having worked with and to keep working with amazing mentors and colleagues. A work environment that is supportive and promotes creativity is so important for people’s growth and success”.
Louise Dalton and Elizabeth Rapa work in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry group, working together on research into communicating serious illness with children. They said:
“We are delighted to have been awarded our Associate Professorships. It would not have been possible without the support of Alan Stein and Mina Fazel and the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry group, Belinda Lennox and our colleagues across the Department of Psychiatry. We are so lucky – it is a privilege to be part of this team.”
Head of Department Belinda Lennox said: “I want to offer huge congratulations to our four new Associate Professors, each of whom has already made great contributions both to their important areas of research and also to the Department of Psychiatry. I am particularly pleased that we have more women in these senior positions who are leading the way in brain science and mental health research.”
They join Susannah Murphy who was made an Associate Professor earlier this year.
Meanwhile the Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity (OHBA) has appointed a new Director. Mark Woolrich has now taken over from Kia Nobre.
Professor Woolrich said: “It is a great privilege to take over from Prof Kia Nobre as the Director of OHBA. It’s a hard act to follow. But along with Prof Clare Mackay, and the amazing teams at OHBA and WIN, I’m looking forward to pursuing the exciting new directions the field is heading in.”