Susan D Shenkin (MBChB, BSc (Hons), MSc, MD, FRCP (Edin))
Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Edinburgh; Honorary Consultant, NHS Lothian

- Ageing and Health
- Usher Institute
- College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Contact details
Address
- Street
-
Room S1642
Department of Clinical and Surgical Sciences
The University of Edinburgh
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
51 Little France Crescent
Edinburgh
Scotland
UK - City
- Post code
- EH16 4SB
Background
Dr Shenkin graduated from The University of Edinburgh (MBChB) in 1994, having done an intercalated BSc (1st class Hons) in Psychology. After a general medical rotation in Oxford, and a neurology SHO job in London, she returned to Edinburgh to train in Geriatric Medicine. Under the mentorship of Professor John Starr (geriatric medicine) and Professor Ian Deary (psychology) she was awarded an MRC Training Fellowship investigating lifecourse influences on cognitive ability and cerebrovascular disease in older age. During this fellowship she obtained an MSc in Epidemiology (Distinction), graduating in 2002. and was awarded her MD in 2006. Much of her training has been undertaken flexibly (less than full time).
She has been working as a clinical academic (Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant) in geriatric medicine at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian since 2011.
Qualifications
2013: FRCP (Edin)
2006: MD “Life course influences on cognitive ability and cerebrovascular disease”; University of Edinburgh
2002: MSc Epidemiology, Distinction; University of Edinburgh
1997: MRCP (UK)
1994: MBChB; University of Edinburgh
1992: BSc (Med. Sci.) in Psychology, 1st Class Hons; University of Edinburgh
Responsibilities & affiliations
2017- present Associate Editor (Systematic Reviews) for Age and Ageing
2017-present NRS Ageing Specialty Lead
2011-present South East Scotland Geriatfic Medicine specialty training committee academic representative
2017- present Lothian Health Board Research Committee
2017- present Steering Committee for SCoOP (Scottish Care of Older People – National Audit)
2015-2017 NRS Ageing Specialty Group Scotland lead (for Prof Mead)
2015-2017 RGC Specialty Group Leads (deputy for Prof Mead)
2011-2015 Dementia Implementation and Monitoring Group (NHS Lothian)
2010 -2015 Dementia and Delirium Implementation Group (Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh)
Undergraduate teaching
Regular contirbutor to Year 6 Geriatric Medicine Undergraduate Teaching, particularly on dementia, delirium and depression
Examiner in final MBChB clinical and portfolio viva exams
Postgraduate teaching
- 2018-current: Established and run new Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Course at Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh
- 2018-current: Established and on organising committee for new Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Course at Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, Edinburgh
- 2015-current: Course organiser for RCPE course on Critical appraisal and research methods
- November 2014: lecture to CMT doctors on delirium
- November 2014: lecture to MSc Brain Imaging in Neuropsychology ‘Using neuroimaging to study cognitive ageing’
- Developed online guidance on systematic review and meta-analysis as part of the CCACE Academy (http://tinyurl.com/sysrev1), and organised annual successful training days for postgraduate students and staff to 2018.
- Contributed to a course on Systematic Reviews for trainees in geriatric medicine, organised by Dr T Quinn in West of Scotland.
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Current PhD students supervised
- 2018- PhD Primary supervisor (MRC DTP Precision Medicine: Emily Ball) CT biomarkers and other predictors of post-stroke cognitive decline
- 2018- PhD Co-supervisor (Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre: Katherine Walesby) Geographical variation of dementia prevalence in New Zealand and Scotland using routinely collected healthcare data and the Scottish Mental Survey cohort
Past PhD students supervised
- 2015-2018 PhD Primary supervisor (CCACE/ASDRC clinical fellowship Jennifer Burton): New care home admission following acute hospitalisationn: a mixed methods approach
- 2018-2018 MSc Clinical trials supervisor (Lorn McKenzie): systematic review of delirium subtypes and outcome
- 2015-2015 MSc psychology co-supervisor (Benji Grove): systematic review of birth weight and cognition.
- 2014-2016 MNursRes research placement supervision (Allan McRaild)
- 2014-2019 PhD co-supervisor (BHF Fellowship Atul Anand): Predictors of frailty and delirium in aortic stenosis
- 2014-2018 PhD co-supervisor (CCBS Fellowship Ellen Blackhouse): Cognitive ability in youth, risk of stroke and post-stroke dementia in later life
- 2012- 2015 PhD co-supervisor (ASDRC funded fellowship Sarah McGrory): Item response theory in the ACE-R. Completed and PhD awarded 2015.
- 2012- 2017 PhD co-supervisor (Dunhill funded fellowship Amanda Barugh): The role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in delirium and long-term cognitive impairment after stroke. Completed and PhD awarded 2017
- 2013- MSc neuropsychology: collaborator and site supervisor for recruitment of clinical patients development of a software application for the assessment of inattention and delirium
- 2012-13 MSc neuropsychology: collaborator and site supervisor for recruitment of clinical patients for study on delirium (Gemma Brown)
Research summary
- Diagnosis and management of patients with delirium and dementia in the acute hospital
- How delirium and dementia affect outcomes, e.g. admission to care homes
- Data linkage using electronic health records
- Lifecourse epidemiology of cognitive ageing and cerebrovascular disease
- Defining normality e.g. in brain imaging
- Systematic reviews (especially of observational studies)
Current research interests
I am interested in how the brain changes with age, both in 'normal ageing' and in disease: dementia and delrium. I have used historical records to explore how factors in early life (even before birth) affect how the brain changes with age. I am now using electronic health records to understand how common dementia and delirium are in hospital, and the outcomes for people with these conditions, e.g. what factors predict who will be discharged from hospital straight to a care home. I am also interested in defining 'what is normal' in ageing, particularly in how to decide whether a brain scan is normal for a person's age and health, as well as how physical frailty and cognitive changes relate to each other. I particularly enjoy working with a range of colleagues, and my research involves collaborations with academic nurses, geriatricians, radiologists, obstetricians, endocrinologists, data scientists, image analysts, psychologists and many more. I am keen to promote training in research methods for clinical trainees (and to support flexible training to combine research and clinical practice), and the use of systematic reviews to synthesise the current evidence and so make sure reseach is answering important questions that have not already been addressed.Knowledge exchange
- Dec 2016: Speaker at ‘Let’s talk about health. Losing our minds: can we stop our brains from ageing?” University of Edinburgh Medical School Public Lecture (>200 tickets, https://bit.ly/2vC76k6)
- April 2016: Speaker at Women of Scotland Lunch (380 attendees, fundraiser for Music in Hospitals, raised over £23,000) http://www.wosl.co.uk/2016/04/women-of-scotland-lunch-2016-2
- Sep 2015: ‘Age: what’s your number?’ Presentation and panel discussion for Midlothian Science Festival (~80 attendees)
- March 2015: ‘The Living Brain’ panel discussion for Edinburgh Science Festival
(~100 attendees, ticketed)
- July 2013 MRC Centenary Debate for CCACE: Seconded the motion “Does the wisdom of age trump the speed of youth” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5naEFwmqYs, mostly attended by healthy older people (Chair Sally Magnusson, opposer Sir Tam Dalyell).
Affiliated research centres
-
The Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis
In:
Psychogeriatrics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/psyg.12810
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
“Don’t let the trial kill the intervention”: How can researchers and care home teams implement complex intervention trials in care homes?
In:
Age and Ageing
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (Accepted/In press) -
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to invest in care home research infrastructure
In:
Age and Ageing
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press) -
Implementation of corticosteroids in treating COVID-19 in the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK: prospective observational cohort study
In:
The Lancet Digital Health
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press) -
Early life predictors of late life cerebral small vessel disease in four prospective cohort studies
In:
Brain, vol. 144
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awab331
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Informing patients with acute stroke about their risk of dementia: A survey of UK healthcare professionals
In:
Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press) -
Predicting post-stroke cognitive impairment using acute CT neuroimaging: A systematic review and meta-analysis
In:
International Journal of Stroke, pp. 174749302110458
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/17474930211045836
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Predicting readmission and death after hospital discharge: a comparison of conventional frailty measurement with an electronic health record-based score
In:
Age and Ageing
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab043
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Correction to: Association between components of the delirium syndrome and outcomes in hospitalised adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis (BMC Geriatrics, (2021), 21, 1, (162), 10.1186/s12877-021-02095-z)
In:
BMC Geriatrics, vol. 21
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02419-z
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Comment/debate (E-pub ahead of print) -
Online Supportive Conversations and Reflection Sessions (OSCaRS): A Feasibility Study with Care Home Staff during the Pandemic
In:
International Journal of Practice-based Learning in Health and Social Care
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press) -
Practice based approaches to supporting the work related wellbeing of frontline care workers in care homes: A Scoping Review
In:
Journal of Long-Term Care
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31389/jltc.66
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Birth weight is associated with brain tissue volumes seven decades later but not with MRI markers of brain ageing
In:
NeuroImage: Clinical
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102776
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Delirium in COVID-19: Common, distressing and linked with poor outcomes: Can we do better?
In:
Age and Ageing
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab153
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Editorial (E-pub ahead of print) -
Care Home Innovation: Associate feature in Holyrood magazine
Health Innovation South East Scotland Newsletter › Other contribution (Published) -
BGS position statement on flexible working in geriatric medicine
LTFT Position Statement › Other contribution (Published) -
Association between components of the delirium syndrome and outcomes in hospitalised adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
In:
BMC Geriatrics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02095-z
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Cholinesterase inhibitors for vascular dementia and other vascular cognitive impairments: a network meta-analysis (Review)
In:
Cochrane Library, vol. 2, pp. CD013306
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013306.pub2
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Routine assessment of cognitive function in older patients with hypertension Seen by primary care physicians: Why and how: A decision-making support from the working group on “hypertension and the brain” of the european society of hypertension (ESH) and from the european geriatric medicine society (EuGMS)
(11 pages)
In:
Journal of Hypertension, vol. 39, pp. 90-100
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000002621
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Diagnostic accuracy of the 4AT for delirium detection in older adults:: systematic review and meta-analysis.
In:
Age and Ageing
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaa224
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Physical activity and exercise in mild cognitive impairment and dementia:: an umbrella review of intervention and observational studies
In:
Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
DOI: https://doi.org/doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.08.031.
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)