Gail Mountain is Professor of Applied Dementia Research within the School of Dementia Studies and Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Gail is also an occupational therapist; having practiced for 13 years before becoming involved in research.
Gail tells us about her recent trip to Geneva…
I was fortunate to be invited to a two day workshop at the Brocher foundation, Geneva in June (www.brocher.ch). The workshop was organised by Heike Felzmann, a lecturer in philosophy/ ethics from the University of Galway, Ireland and researcher within the EU funded Mario project (www.mario-project.eu/portal/) and the Society for Responsible Robotics. The task of the highly interdisciplinary workshop was to explore the topic of ‘connected robots for health; challenges for responsible robot design’. We discussed the issue from a multitude of perspectives including design, ethical and legal considerations, engineering challenges and service infrastructures to make routine use of robots a reality. I was particularly interested in the lessons that can be learnt from current deployment of robots for surgical techniques. The society for Responsible Robotics is using our deliberations to create a position paper on this important topic.
The Brocher foundation is a magical place on the shores of Lake Geneva as you can see from the picture below. It would be wonderful to be a visiting researcher there; applications are welcomed. Topics for future workshops are also invited.
Gail Mountain’s participation in future research strategy by the Joint Programme on Neurological Diseases (JPND)
I was also invited in June to a one day workshop in Paris organised by the JPND with the goal of consulting with the research community regarding their future strategy for public health research. JPND is a significant funder for research into dementia and other neurological diseases; it is a joint funded programme across a number of participating EU countries www.neurodegenerationresearch.eu/. On the day the importance of primary prevention dominated much of the conversation but there was also discussion regarding research into interventions to enable people to live well with such conditions. I look forward to seeing the refreshed strategy.
Professor Gail Mountain