MOTION

Mobility Observation, Translation and Innovation in Neurodegeneration

Close-up of a woman with light brown hair tied back, wearing a white collared shirt with a patterned lining, standing against a wooden background.

MOTION Lead: Dr Lisa Alcock

Senior Research Associate

Gait Laboratory Lead, Clinical Ageing Research Unit

Email: lisa.alcock@newcastle.ac.uk

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Dr Lisa Alcock is a biomechanist specialising in mobility impairment in ageing and neurodegeneration using instrumented techniques. 

Lisa leads the Mobility Observation, Translation and Innovation in Neurodegeneration (MOTION) team, which aims to characterise signatures of mobility impairment in ageing and neurodegeneration to understand the impact on daily function and relevance to clinical events such as falls. Her program of research aims to use insights from clinical and real-world environments to inform the development of interventions designed to create safer environments and optimise locomotor safety. 

She also leads a Gait laboratory integrated within an NIHR clinical research facility (Clinical Ageing Research Unit). We see over 250 patients every year for clinical research and the team has significant expertise in the design of novel protocols, validation of new technologies, delivery of complex clinical trials and implementing bespoke analytics. 

MOTION Team

Postdoctoral Research Associates

PhD & MD Students

  • A smiling young woman with dark, curly hair in front of a yellow background, wearing a white shirt and a light-colored striped jacket.

    Miss Adenike Adesanya

    Jain Foundation PhD Student

    PhD Title: Characterising gait impairment in dysferlinopathy: disease progression and therapeutic response.

    Supervisors: Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Karen Suetterlin, Professor Volker Straub

    Email: a.adesanya2@newcastle.ac.uk

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  • A woman taking a selfie indoors with a bookshelf in the background.

    Emily Chruscikowski

    Mental Health Mission/Newcastle NIHR BRC PhD student

    PhD title: Movement as a biomarker in bipolar disorder

    Supervisors: Prof Hamish McAllister-Williams, Dr Stuart Watson, Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Silvia Del Din

    Email: emily.chruscikowski@newcastle.ac.uk

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  • A woman with long brown hair smiling, wearing a white sleeveless top with black stripes and a rainbow-colored NHS lanyard, standing indoors in front of stairs.

    Miss Emma Packer

    NUAcT PhD Student

    PhD Title: Leveraging digital health technology and insights from people with Parkinson’s to explore medication effect on real-world mobility

    Supervisors: Dr Silvia Del Din, Dr Lisa Alcock, Prof Alison Yarnall, Prof Jaume Bacardit 

    Email: e.packer@newcastle.ac.uk

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  • Ms Naveed E Saba

    PhD Student / Early Stage Researcher

    Email: naveed-e-saba@newcastle.ac.uk

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  • A smiling man with glasses standing outdoors on a bridge, with trees and a few people in the background.

    Mr Mohammadreza Sedghi

    NIHR Newcastle BRC PhD Student

    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

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

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  • Young woman with curly hair smiling, wearing a black long sleeve shirt with a cream sleeveless knit top, layered necklaces, large floral earrings, and a belt with a decorative buckle, standing indoors near a railing and a white wall.

    Miss Claire Wilkinson

    NIHR Newcastle PhD Student

    PhD Title: Characterizing and validating turn strategies in the real-world in people with Parkinson’s disease

    Supervisors: Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Silvia Del Din, Prof Lynn Rochester, Dr Kirsty Alcock

    Email: c.wilkinson8@necastle.ac.uk

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MOTION Studies

  • Logo for the MRC Multimorbidity Project with an icon of a person, a gear, and a check mark inside a circle, with the text 'MRC Multimorbidity Project' and 'Mobility Validation Project' underneath.

    MRC Multimorbidity Project

    Real-world gait in people with multiple long-term conditions

    Funder: MRC

    Principal Investigator: Professor Ioannis Vogiatzis

    Co-Investigators: Dr Silvia Del Din, Dr Lisa Alcock

    Team members: Dr Kirsty Scott

    Website
  • Logo for SUSTAIN Mobilise-D with a gradient background of blue and green, featuring stylized text and icons

    SUSTAIN Mobilise-D

    Funder: EU-IMI & EPFIA

    Principle Investigator: Silvia Del Din

    Co-Investigators: Prof Lynn Rochester, Dr Lisa Alcock

    Collaborating Institution: University College Dublin

    Team members: Dr Metin Bicer, Dr Lou Sutcliffe

    Website
  • Text reading "EJS ACT PDF" on a black background, with the orange line crossing out the letter "A" in "ACT".

    EJS-ACT PD

    The Edmond J. Safra Accelerating Clinical Trials for Parkinson’s Disease: Digital Measures Study

    Funder: Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme, an MRC and NIHR partnership, Cure Parkinson’s, The Michael J Fox Foundation, Parkinson’s UK, The John Black Charitable Foundation, The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Van Andel Institute

    Chief investigator: Prof Camille Carroll

    Co-Investigators: Prof Alison Yarnall, Dr Silvia Del Din, Dr Lisa Alcock

    Website
  • A graphic design with a teal brain, a robot circuit symbol, and an orange electronic wave, with the text 'ActiNap' in bold orange letters.

    ActivNap

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

    Funder: NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)

    Principle Investigator: Dr Rachael Lawson

    Co-Investigators: Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Siliva Del Din

    Team members: Mohammadreza Sedghi

    More information
  • A graphic showing a blue brain with three icons connected to it: a pair of legs, a human head with a lightbulb inside, and a medical cross. The text below reads "DynaMo-PD" with "Mo" in red and the rest in blue and green.

    DynaMo-PD

    Developing a dynamic FDG-PET/MR imaging methodology to stduy gait in Parkinson's

    Funder: Parkinson’s UK

    Principle Investigator: Prof Lynn

    Co-Investigators: Dr Lisa Alcock

    Team members: Phil Brown

    More information
  • Logo for The Polg Foundation with black text and a green letter G.

    POLG

    Clinical trial readiness for POLG-related mitochondrial disease and ataxia: a prospective, longitudinal study identifying sensitive and ecologically valid biomarkers (C4TR-POLG)

    Funder: The POLG Foundation

    Principle Investigator: Dr Yi Shiau Ng

    Co-Investigator: Dr Lisa Alcock

    Team members: Dr Marta Mirando

    Website
  • Logo of the Jain Foundation with the words 'Jain Foundation,' 'LGMD2B/R2,' 'Dysferlinopathy,' and 'Miyoshi' written below.

    COS-PrePARED

    COS-PREPARED: Clinical Outcome Study in PRe- and Early-symptomatic PAtients with REcessive Dysferlinopathy

    Funder: Jain Foundation

    Co-Investigators: Dr Lisa Alcock

    Team members: Adenike Adesanya

    Website
  • A blue snowflake graphic with the text ICICLE-Gait written below it.

    ICICLE-Gait

    A prospective study of gait as a biomarker for cognitive decline in Parkinson’s Disease

    Funder: Parkinson’s UK, NIHR and Peggy Coates Bequest

    Principle Investigator: Professor Lynn Rochester

    Team members: Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Silvia Del Din

    More information
  • Logo of the French Ataxia Association (AFAF), featuring teal and orange colors, with a stylized ribbon and text in French and English.

    AFAF

    Friedreich ataxia: balance and gait study. A longitudinal laboratory and real-world study of gait and balance in people with Friedreich ataxia

    Funder: The French Friedreich’s Ataxia Association (AFAF)

    Principle Investigator: Dr Yi Shiau Ng

    Co-Investigator: Dr Lisa Alcock

    Team members: Dr Marta Mirando

    Website
  • Logo with the word 'C02' featuring a green Earth globe as the 'O', and additional text about limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B, dysferlinopathy, and Miyoshi myopathy.

    COS II & COS II extension

    An International Clinical Outcome Study of Dysferlinopathy

    Funder: Jain Foundation

    Principle Investigator: Dr Yi Shiau Ng

    Co-Investigators: Dr Lisa Alcock

    Team members: Adenike Adesanya

    Website
  • Text graphic with the words 'Muscular Dystrophy UK' in large red letters and 'Our Muscles Matter' in smaller dark blue letters.

    MFM & DM

    Integrative analysis of clinical data and biopsy profiles in Distal and Myofilbrillar Myopathies in the UK

    Funder: Muscular Dustrophy UK

    Principle Investigator: Prof Giorgio Tasca

    Co-Investigators: Dr Lisa Alcock

    Team members: Ariele Barreto Haagsma

  • Logo of Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative, featuring two orange stylized fingerprint-like designs and black text.

    PPMI

    Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative

    Funder: The Michael J Fox Foundation

    Principle Investigator: Prof Anat Mirelman

    Co-Investigators: Prof Nicola Pavese

    Team members: Dr Lisa Alcock, Heather Hunter, Philip Brown, Dr Ellen Lirani-Silva

    Website
  • Diagram showing the acronym CRED, standing for Cholinergic Response in Early Lewy Body Disease, with a blue brain illustration in the center.

    CREED

    The Cholinergic ResponsE in Early lewy body Disease

    Funder: Lewy Body Society

    Principle Investigator: Prof John-Paul Taylor

    Co-Investigators: Prof Alison Yarnall

    Team members: Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Aron Syversen, Mohammadreza Sedghi

    Website
  • Illustration of an orange oak leaf with black veins and a black stem, over a beige triangle background, with the text 'OACS-3' below the leaf.

    OACS-3

    Obeticholic acid for the Amelioration of Cognitive Symptoms trial - 3

    Funder: Intercept Pharmaceuticals

    Principal Investigator: Alison Yarnall

    Team members: Kathryn Walker, Dr Lisa Alcock

    Website
  • Logo with stylized human figure and the text 'Mobilise-D' in green and blue with orange accents.

    Mobilise-D

    Funder: EU-IMI & EPFIA

    Principle Investigator: Prof Lynn Rochester

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

    Team members: Phil Brown, Dr Lisa Alcock, Heather Hunter, Dr Cam Kirk

    Website
  • Logo for SUSTAIN Mobilise-D with a green and blue gradient background and stylized text.

    A Mobilise-D Extension study

    Funder: Michael J Fox Foundation

    Chief Investigator: Prof Alison Yarnall

    Co-Investigators: Prof Lynn Rochester, Dr Silvia Del Din

    Team members: Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Hannah Blackburn, Dr Ellen Lirani-Silva, Dr Cameron Kirk, Dr Patrick Tait, Philip Brown, Heather Hunter, Isabel Neatrour

    Website