Dementia Researcher Blogs24 Okt 2025

Aygun Badalova - Life Inside a Dementia Clinical Trial

Aygun Badalova narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.

In this moving reflection, Aygun Badalova shares her experience working inside a dementia clinical trial at UCL. She explores the human side of research, where every test and data point represents real people, families, and moments of connection. From the challenges of recruitment and paperwork to the deeply emotional encounters with participants and their loved ones, Aygun shows that dementia research is about dignity, relationships, and hope as much as science.

Find the original text, and narration here on our website.

https://communities.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/c/research-chat/life-inside-a-dementia-clinical-trial-b45aab0f-0377-4963-aaaa-32fd05ed0579

Aygun Badalova is a PhD student at the Institute of Neurology, University College London, funded by NIHR. Her research focuses on developing Digital Interventions in Neuro-Rehabilitation (DINR) for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, including work on the Gotcha! name retrieval therapy app to help people with dementia remember familiar names. Alongside her research, Aygun is involved in clinical work at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. She’s driven by curiosity about why some people forget while others don’t, and outside the lab she enjoys meditation and travelling to Greece.

Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk

This podcast is brought to you in association with Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support.

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