MOTIV-PD Lead: Professor Alison Yarnall

Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Honorary Consultant in Older People’s Medicine

Deputy Director Clinical Ageing Research Unit

Email: alison.yarnall@newcastle.ac.uk

ORCID

Research Gate

Alison leads the Mobility & Ageing: Outcomes, Trials, InnoVation in Parkinson’s Disease & Dementia (MOTIV-PD) Team

Professor Alison Yarnall is a Professor of Geriatrics and an Honorary Consultant in Older People’s Medicine, with clinical and research expertise in Parkinson’s disease and related neurodegenerative conditions. Her work focuses on key complications of ageing and neurodegeneration, particularly gait and mobility impairment, and related functional decline. She leads a major digital measures study embedded within a large disease-modification trial in Parkinson’s disease, advancing the development and validation of real-world mobility endpoints for clinical research and clinical care. Her broader programme aims to translate objective mobility assessment into meaningful clinical tools to improve outcomes for older adults living with Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.  

MOTIV-PD Team

Postdoctoral Research Associates

PhD & MD Students

Associated Clinical Staff

MOTIV-PD Studies

  • Mobilise-D

    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

  • Mobilise-D Extension

    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 Hannah Blackburn, Dr Ellen Lirani-Silva, Dr Cameron Kirk, Dr Patrick Tait, Philip Brown, Heather Hunter, Isabel Neatrour

  • EJS ACT-PD Digital Measures Study

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

    Funder: Michael J Fox Foundation

    Cheif Investigator: Prof Camille Carroll

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

    Team members: Dr Lou Sutcliffe, Dr Silvia Del-Din, Hugo Hiden, Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Marie-Louise Zeissler, Dr Ellen Silva

  • COBALT

    COmBining memantine And cholinesterase inhibitors in Lewy body dementia Treatment trial

    Funder: Health Technology Assessment Programme, National Health and Medical Research Council

    Chief-Investigator: Prof John-Paul Taylor

    Principal Investigator: Prof Alison Yarnall

    Team members: Kathryn Walker

  • CREED

    The Cholinergic ResponsE in Early lewy body Disease

    Funder: Lewy Body Society

    Principle Investigator: Prof John-Paul Taylor

    Co-Investigator: Prof Alison Yarnall

    Team members: Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Aron Syversen

  • TORUS

    Transforming the Objective Real-world measUrement of Symptoms

    Funder: EPSRC

    Directors: Professor Ian Craddock (Uni of Bristol), Professor Lynn Rochester

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

    Team members: Dr Lisa Alcock, Dr Kirsty Scott, Dr Chloe Hinchliffe

  • Ghrelin in Dementia

    To determine if ghrelin can be used as a biomarker for dementia and neurodegenerative disease

    Funder: Weston Brain Institute

    Principal Investigator: Prof Alison Yarnall

    Team members: Dr Ellen Lirani-Silva

  • IDEA-FAST

    IDEA-FAST

    Funders: EU-IMI & EPFIA

    Principle Investigator: Fai Ng

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

    Team members: Phil Brown, Heather Hunter, Dr Ellen Silva, Dr Chloe Hinchliffe

  • 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

  • ICICLE-PD

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

    Funder: Parkinson’s UK

    Chief Investigators: Prof David Burn

    Principal Investigators: Prof Lynn Rochester, Prof Alison Yarnall

    Data curator: Dr Rachael Lawson,

  • ADVANSING-PD

    Adjunctive vagus nerve stimulation for improving neural control of gait in Parkinson’s disease

    Funder: Dunhill Medical Trust & Parkinson’s UK

    Chief Investigator: Prof Alison Yarnall

    Team members: Heather Hunter, Phil Brown