DR EMILY J HENDERSON
MBChB (Bris.) MRCP (UK) PhD FHEA FRCP
MY TRAINING
I am an Associate Professor in Ageing and Movement Disorders and Consultant Geriatrician. I specialise in the care of older adults.
I trained in medicine at the University of Bristol and having graduated in 2002, undertook my initial training in medical and surgical specialties across NHS Trusts in South West England. I obtained Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, London in 2005 and thereafter worked in Sydney Australia gaining specialist expertise in Intensive Care Medicine at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. I subsequently worked at the Prince of Wales Hospital caring for older people in community settings whilst gaining specialist expertise in the care of older people who have broken bones and undergone surgery. I returned to the UK in 2007 and undertook higher specialty training in General Internal Medicine (GIM) and Geriatric Medicine in the Severn Deanery.
I have a specialist interest in Parkinson's and related conditions and am recognised nationally for my research and clinical work in this field. I undertook a PhD in Parkinson's and falls to gain in depth expertise and experience in managing this complex, multifaceted condition.
MY RESEARCH
I led the RESPOND (Rivastigmine to Stabilise Gait in Parkinson's Disease) clinical trial. This randomised controlled trial compared the drug rivastigmine to placebo treatment and successfully established that treatment with this medication resulted in a 45% reduction in falls.
I published the results as first author in Lancet Neurology in 2016 and have since continued to build on this ground breaking research work, leading a UK-wide clinical trial examining whether these findings can be replicated on a larger scale. I established the Ageing and Movement Disorders Research Group (AMRG) at the University of Bristol where I lead a translational programme of research that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of older adults. You can read more about our research work and the papers I have published here. I am the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the British Geriatrics Society and speak regularly at national and international conferences.
I have an active clinical practice, working as a NHS consultant at the Royal United Hospitals in Bath and I practice privately at the Nuffield Hospital in Bristol. I am passionate about caring for older people and tailor individualised treatments to make a meaningful difference to people's lives.
