Logo with a stylized brain divided into two halves, one with chaotic lines and the other with circuit-like lines, and the text 'Delirium & Translational Research in Neurodegeneration' written below.
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DELTA Team Lead: Dr Rachael Lawson

Senior Lecturer

Public Patient Involvement and Engagement Lead, NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Dementia, Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Theme PPIE Lead

Parkinson’s North East and Cumbria Research Interest Group (NEC-RIG) Co-Lead

Email: rachael.lawson@newcastle.ac.uk

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DELTA’s vision is to transform how delirium and neuropsychiatric symptoms are understood, detected, and managed in neurodegenerative disease, with a particular focus on Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. We aim to move delirium from an under-recognised and episodic complication to a clinically meaningful and measurable syndrome, informed by cognitive change, sleep and circadian disruption, and real-world clinical and digital data, and embedded within routine care pathways.

The Delirium and Translational Research in Neurodegeneration (DELTA) Team is led by Dr Rachael Lawson, a Senior Lecturer and Cognitive Psychologist whose research focuses on delirium and neuropsychiatric symptoms in neurodegenerative disease, particularly Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Her work is centred on improving how these symptoms are identified, measured, and monitored, with the aim of supporting earlier detection and more effective clinical management, informed by emerging insights into underlying neural and cognitive mechanisms.

DELTA brings together cognitive neuroscience, clinical research, and digital health approaches to advance translational research in this area. The team integrates detailed clinical assessment with digitally enabled measures of cognition, sleep, activity, and neuropsychiatric symptoms —alongside selected neurophysiological and neuroimaging methods— to capture real-world symptom dynamics and change over time. Through clinically embedded and translational studies, DELTA develops and validates outcomes that support risk stratification, longitudinal monitoring, and personalised care, with the overarching goal of reducing the burden of delirium and improving quality of life for people living with neurodegenerative disease and those who support them.

DELTA Team

Postdoctoral Researchers

PhD & MD Students

  • A young woman with long dark hair, smiling, wearing a white top and a necklace, standing against a plain light-colored background.

    Miss Macy Fan

    Alzheimer’s  Society Lewy Body Dementia Doctoral Training Network PhD student

    PhD Title: How can technology support mobility and functioning in people living with Lewy body dementia?

    Supervisors: Prof Chris Fox (Uni of Exeter), Prof Helen Dawes (Uni of Exeter), Dr Rachael Lawson (external)

    ‍ Email: hf425@exeter.ac.uk

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    Miss Florence Gerakios

    Clinical Trials Associate / Newcastle NIHR BRC PhD student

    PhD Title: The Pheomenology of Delirium in Inpatients with Parkinson’s

    Supervisors: Dr Rachael Lawson, Dr Sarah Richardon and Prof Alison Yarnall

    Email: florence.gerakios@newcastle.ac.uk

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    Dr William Lee

    MD Student / Consultant Geriatrician

    PhD Tile: Parkinson’s disease: Risk Assessment of Persistent Delirium and its Management (PARADIGM)

    Supervisors: Dr Rachael Lawson, Prof Alison Yarnall

    Email: w.Lee5@newcastle.ac.uk

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    Miss Daisy Rusdale

    Alzheimer’s Society Lewy Body Dementia Doctoral Training Network PhD student

    PhD Title: Can we use EEG (electroencephalogram) to identify delirium in Lewy Body dementia? (EEG-DEL)

    Supervisors: Dr Rachael Lawson, Prof Mark Baker, Prof Louise Allan (Uni of Exeter), Prof John-Paul Taylor

    Email: d.rusdale2@newcastle.ac.uk

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  • Image of Mohammadreza Sedghi

    Mr Mohammadreza Sedghi

    NIHR Newcastle BRC PhD Student

    Email: m.sedghi-gamchi2@newcastle.ac.uk

    PhD Title: Discovering digital biomarkers of activity and sleep in ageing and diverse neurological populations

    Supervisors: Dr Rachael Lawson, Dr Lisa Alock, Dr Silvia Del Din, Prof John-Paul Taylor

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Research Assistants

Associated Clinical Staff

DELTA Studies

  • A line drawing of two human profiles with circles above their heads. Inside the circles are tangled scribbles and a ball of yarn. Below, the text 'DELIRIUM-PD' in orange capital letters.

    DELIRIUM-PD

    Defining delirium and its impact in Parkinson’s Disease

    Funder: Parkinson’s UK

    Principal Investigator: Dr Rachael Lawson

    Collaborators: Dr Sarah Richardson, Prof Alison Yarnall, Prof David Burn, Prof John-Paul Taylor, Prof Louise Allan (Uni of Exeter), Prof Glenn Stebbins (Rush Uni), Prof Andrew Teodorczuk (Uni of Queensland), Dr Claire McDonald

    Team members: Florence Gerakios, Dr Rachel Cullinan, Dr Nicole Edwards, Rosina Cook

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  • An illustration of a person's side profile with a brain depicted on the head, showing intertwined lines and yarn ball, with a blue shaded area indicating activity. An orange waveform line runs below the profile. Text reads "Delirium-PD: Activity and Sleep" in orange.

    DELIRIUM-PD: Activity and Sleep

    Using wearable sensors to identify activity and sleep patterns in inpatients with delirium and Parkinson’s disease

    Funder: MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership

    Principal Investigator: Dr Rachael Lawson

    Co-investigators: Dr Silvia Del Din, Prof Alison Yarnall

    Team members: Florence Gerakios, Mohamadreza Sedghi

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  • A stylized logo combining a brain and a circuit board with a heartbeat line and the text 'ActiNap' beneath it.

    ActivNap

    Discovering digital biomarkers of activity and sleep in ageing and diverse neurological populations

    Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)

    Principal Investigator: Dr Rachael Lawson

    Co-investigators: Dr Silvia Del Din, Dr Lisa Alock, Prof John-Paul Taylor

    Team members: Mohamadreza Sedghi

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  • Illustration of a brain with an EEG line pattern connecting to the bottom text 'EEG-Delirium' in orange.

    EEG-Delirium

    Discovering EEG biomarkers of delirium in Lewy Body Disease (LBD)

    Funder: Alzheimer’s Society

    Principal Investigator: Dr Rachael Lawson

    Co-Investigators: Prof Mark Baker, Prof Louise Allan (Uni of Exeter)

    Team members: Daisy Rusdale

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    Technology-Supported Mobility in LBD

    How can technology support mobility and functioning in people living with Lewy body dementia?

    Funder: Alzheimer’s Society

    Principle Investigator: Prof Chris Fox (Uni of Exeter)

    Co-Investigators: Prof Helen Dawes (Uni of Exeter), Dr Rachael Lawson

    Team members: Macy Fan

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  • Blue snowflake with the text ICICLE-PD beneath it.

    ICICLE-PD

    Incidence of Cognitive Impairments in Cohorts with Longitudinal Evaluation in Parkinson’s disease

    Funder: Parkinson’s UK

    Principal Investigator: Prof David Burn

    Co-Investigaors: Prof Lynn Rochester, Prof Alison Yarnall

    Data Curator: Dr Rachael Lawson

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  • A digital illustration of a brain with the left half showing stylized swooping lines and the right half showing interconnected dots and lines, with the text 'RSN-LBD' in orange below.

    Resting State Networks-LBD

    Affective symptoms in Lewy body disease: Monoaminergic activity and resting state networks

    Funder: Alzheimer’s Research UK

    Principal Investigator: Dr Rachael Lawson

    Co-investifator: Dr Laura Wright

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