Staff Profile

I am a member of the Population Health Sciences Institute (NUPHSI) and work across the Ageing and Geroscience and Innovation, Methodology and Application themes. My research also covers several Newcastle University Centres of Research Excellence (NUCoRE):

• Centre for Ageing and Inequality
• Centre for Data
• Centre for Healthier Lives

Introduction

A biomedical scientist by training, I began my career in cancer pharmacology researching Poly (ADP-ribose) Polymerase (PARP) inhibitors and bio-imaging of dermal immunology. My postgraduate work has focused on epidemiology, advanced statistics and Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence in the fields of ageing, dementia and neuropathology.

In my current role I am a Senior Research Associate in the Population Health Sciences Institute (NUPHSI) as well as the research statistician for the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies (CFAS) group, a multi centre population cohort study based at the University of Cambridge.

I am an NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Dementia Community (DEM-COMM) fellow based in the North East and North Cumbria ARC. My fellowship is investigating the relationships between medication use and dementia risk in older people.

My primary research interests are applying state of the art statistical methodology including, machine learning/ Artificial Intelligence, to understanding neuropathological risk in older people of cognitive impairment and dementia. 

As well as research I enjoy an active role in the wider university including student supervision and teaching. I am also a representative of NUPHSI on the FMS Post-doctoral researchers committee and the NUPHSI Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee.

I have also worked alongside colleagues with North East NHS trusts, providing epidemiological modelling for the COVID-19 response.

Research Gate ORCID Scopus Twitter

Roles and Responsibilities

• PHSI Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Deputy Lead
• Research Associate, Population Health Sciences Institute
• Statistician, Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies (CFAS)
• Teaching & Supervision
• Faculty of Medical Sciences post-doc society committee member, Newcastle University

Qualifications

• BSc - Biomedical Sciences - Newcastle University (2013)
• MSc - Public Health and Health Service Research - Newcastle University (2015)
• PhD - Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in the Population: New Criteria and Cohort Effects (2019)

Lecturing

• MSc Public health and health services research: Chronic Disease Epidemiology
• MSc Public health and health services research: Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods 
• MPharm: Introduction to Statistics 
• BSc Biomedical Sciences: Public Health & Ageing 

Student Supervision

I have supervised a number of undergraduate and masters dissertation projects.

• Articles

  • Mistry H, Richardson CD, Higginbottom A, Ashford B, Ahamed SU, Moore Z, Matthews FE, Brayne C, Simpson JE, Wharton SB. Relationships of brain cholesterol and cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes to Alzheimer’s pathology and dementia in the CFAS population-derived neuropathology cohort. Neuroscience Research 2024, 204, 22-33.
  • Richardson CD, Roscoe H, Green E, Brooks R, Barnes L, Matthews FE, Brayne C. Impact of COVID-19 Policies on Perceptions of Loneliness in people aged 75 years and over in the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (CFAS II). Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2023, 71(2), 463-473.
  • Begde A, Jain M, Goodwin M, Brayne C, Barnes L, Brooks R, Green E, Richardson CD, Dening T, Wilcockson T, Hogervorst E. Exploring factors influencing willingness of older adults to use assistive technologies: evidence from the cognitive function and ageing study II. Information, Communication & Society 2023, 27(2), 368-385.
  • Stephan BCM, Tang E, Pakpahan E, Biswasd B, Guptae A, Fairley A, Bosco A, Richardson CD, Robinson L, Siervo M. Secular Trends in Dementia Free Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 2022, 88(2), 417-428.
  • McGrattan AM, Zhu Y, Richardson CD, Mohan D, Soh YC, Sajjad A, Aller CV, Chen S, Paddick SM, Prina M, Siervo M, Robinson LA, Stephan BCM. Prevalence and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Low and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 2021, 79(2), 743-762.
  • Waller R, Narramore R, Simpson JE, Heath PR, Verma N, Tinsley M, Barnes J, Haris H, Henderson FE, Matthews FE, Richardson CD, Brayne C, Ince PG, Kalaria R, Wharton SB. Heterogeneity of cellular inflammatory responses in ageing white matter and relationship to Alzheimer's and small vessel disease pathologies. Brain Pathology 2021, 31(3), e12928.
  • Ellmerich S, Taylor GW, Richardson CD, Minett T, Schmidt AF, Brayne C, Matthews FE, Ince PG, Wharton SB, Pepys MB. Dementia in the older population is associated with neocortex content of serum amyloid P component. Brain Communications 2021, 3(4), fcab225.
  • Chambers A, Bury JJ, Minett T, Richardson CD, Brayne C, Ince PG, Shaw PJ, Garwood CJ, Heath PR, Simpson JE, Matthews FE, Wharton SB, CFAS. Advanced Glycation End Product Formation in Human Cerebral Cortex Increases with Alzheimer-type Neuropathologic Changes but is Not Independently Associated with Dementia in a Population-Derived Aging Brain Cohort. Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology 2020, 79(9), 950-958.
  • Richardson C, Stephan BCM, Robinson L, Brayne C, Matthews FE. Two-decade change in prevalence of cognitive impairment in the UK. European Journal of Epidemiology 2019, 34, 1085-1092.
  • Lavrencic LM, Richardson C, Harrison SL, Muniz-Terrera G, Keage HAD, Brittain K, Kirkwood TBL, Jagger C, Robinson L, Stephan BCM. Is There a Link between Cognitive Reserve and Cognitive Function in the Oldest-Old?. Journals of Gerontology: Series A 2018, 73(4), 499-505.
  • Wang XN, McGovern N, Gunawan M, Richardson C, Windebank M, Siah TW, Lim HW, Fink K, Li J, Ng LG, Ginhoux F, Angeli V, Collin M, Haniffa M. A Three Dimensional Atlas of Human Dermal Leukocytes, Lymphatics and Blood Vessels. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2014, 134, 965-974.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Richardson CD, Wharton S, Matthews FE. Can Machine Learning advance or hinder statistical modelling of dementia risk in the Population. In: Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC). 2022, San Diego and Virtual: Alzheimer's Association.
  • Richardson CD, Stephan BCM, Robinson L, Brayne C, Matthews FE. Evidence exclusive labels in cognitive research cause unstable prevalence estimates over time. In: Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC). 2021, Chicago, IL, USA: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
  • Richardson C, Stephan BCM, Robinson L, Matthews F, The Cognitive Function and Ageing Study. Risk of Two-Year Progression from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Dementia: Results from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study. In: Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC 2018). 2018, Chicago, Illinois: Elsevier.
  • Richardson C, Stephan B, Robinson L, Brayne C, Matthews F. The Changing Face of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Mild Dementia. In: Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2017. 2017, London, UK: Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
  • Richardson C, Harrison S, Brittain K, Muniz-Terrera G, Robinson L, Stephan B. Associations between cognitive reserve and cognitive function in the very old: Newcastle 85+ Study. In: 2016 GSA Annual Scientific Meeting. 2016, New Orleans, Louisiana: Oxford University Press.
  • Wang XN, McGovern N, Gunawan M, Richardson C, Windebank M, Siah TW, Lim HY, Fink K, Li JY, Ng L, Ginhoux F, Angeli V, Collin M, Haniffa M. Microanatomical dissection of the human dermis: the three-dimensional relationship between leucocytes, lymphatics and blood vessels. In: British Society of Investigative Dermatology Annual Meeting. 2014, Newcastle upon Tyne: Wiley-Blackwell.

• Digital or Visual Media

  • Richardson CD. Reserve, Resilience and Protective Factors PIA - Year in review recap. London: NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2024. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. Academic Promotions: A Tale of Two Tries. Part 1: Dealing with an unsuccessful promotion. London: NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2024. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. Population Studies: What We Have Learned and Why We Need Them. London: NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2023. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. Population studies: How are They Helping?. NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2023. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. My Path to an NIHR ARC Dementia Fellowship. London: NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2023. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. How is Working From Home Affecting Research Culture in Universities?. NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2023. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. How is working from home affecting research culture in universities?. London: National Institute for Health and Care Research, 2023. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. Getting Involved in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Leadership. London: NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2023. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. Am I in Career "Drift Mode"?. London: NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2023. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. 2023 Unfiltered - An honest diary of a researcher. NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2023. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. My Research Career From Biochemistry to Biostatistics. London: NIHR Dementia Researcher, 2022. Podcast.
  • Richardson CD. Connor Richardson - Introduction. Dementia Researcher, 2022. Podcast.

• Report

  • Matthews F, Richardson CD. NIH Collaboration Report: Relationships between Education, Deprivation and Incident Dementia. 2018.

• Review

  • Wharton SB, Simpson JE, Ince PG, Richardson CD, Merrick R, Matthews FE, Brayne C, on behalf of CFAS. Insights into the pathological basis of dementia from population-based neuropathology studies. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology 2023, 49(4), e12923.