Staff Profile

I am a neurologist-in-training interested in neurodegeneration, brain imaging and cognition.

I am interested in how auditory brain pathways may provide a mechanism for understanding how hearing loss may be a risk factor for dementia as epidemiological studies studies the link between hearing loss in midlife and later life dementia is strong.

I have a broad interest in experimental psychology, statistics, neuroimaging, online experiments, clinical neurology and dementia.

2007 - BSc in Microbiology and Immunology

2012 - MBBS in Medicine

2014 - Academic Clinical Fellow in Neurology

2015 - MRCP (Lon)

2015 - PGCert in Clinical Research

2019 - PGDip in Health Professions Education

2020 - Guarantors of Brain Entry Fellow

2021 - MRC Clinical Research Training Fellow

2024 - NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Neurology

I run basic science (behavioural) and clinical studies looking at auditory cognition and cognitive impairment. I am interested in how sensory perception and cognitive measures change in relation to neurodegenerative disease biomarkers in preclinical neurodegenerative disease in Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Disease. Clinically, I am part of the Clinical Neurosciences department at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and Memory and Management Service, CNTW situated in the Health Innovation Neighbourhood. I use various research methodology including neuropsychometry (in-person and online), psychophysics and neuroimaging (EEG, structural MRI and fMRI).

I supervise and teach medical and non-medical undergraduate and some master's students. If you are a student, layperson or junior doctor that wishes to do something related to what i'm doing then please get in touch.

I can provide guidance if you want to learn about computer programming (C , Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery) to create computerised behavioural experiments, web sites, online experiments that are free, open-source and from scratch. 

I am very fascinated by the nervous system and its disorders and can discuss and teach about this topic. In particular I have been involved in running the yearly 'Practical Cognition Course' - www.practicalcognition.com, which uses a case-study approach to help assess patients with cognitive disorders.

• Articles

  • Lad M, Billig AJ, Kumar S, Griffiths TD. A specific relationship between musical sophistication and auditory working memory. Scientific reports 2022, 12(1), 3517.
  • Kumar S, Dheerendra P, Erfanian M, Benzaquen E, Sedley W, Gander PE, Lad M, Bamiou DE, Griffiths TD. The motor basis for misophonia. Journal of Neuroscience 2021, 41(26), 5762–5770.
  • Lad M, Holmes E, Chu A, Griffiths TD. Speech-in-noise detection is related to auditory working memory precision for frequency. Scientific Reports 2020, 10(1), 13997.
  • Lad M, Griffiths TD. Clinical Reasoning: A 72-year-old man with a progressive cognitive and cerebellar syndrome. Neurology 2020, 95(19), e2707-e2710.
  • Lad M, Thomas RH, Anderson K, Griffiths TD. Niemann-Pick type C: Contemporary diagnosis and treatment of a classical disorder. Practical Neurology 2019, 19(5), 420-423.
  • Lad M, Mullally SL, Houston AL, Kelly T, Griffiths TD. Characterising memory loss in patients with autoimmune limbic encephalitis hippocampal lesions. Hippocampus 2019, 29(11), 1114-1120.
  • Lad M, Duncan S, Patten D, Shreeve N, Webber M. The utility of teaching ultrasonography. Clinical Teacher 2013, 10(6), 423-424.
  • Lad M, McGowan D. The iSurgery. The British Journal of General Practice 2013.
  • Lad M, Webber M. The hidden curriculum: Are medical students adequately prepared for life on the wards?. Medical Teacher 2013, 35(9), 788.
  • Lad M, Norris JM, McGowan DR. What are we being trained for?. British Medical Journal 2012.
  • McGowan DR, Norris JM, Smith MD, Lad M. Routine testing for HIV in patients undergoing elective surgery. Lancet 2012.

• Letter

  • Norris JM, Lad M, McGowan DR. Humble correspondence: Gaining a foothold in the surgical literature. Canadian Journal of Surgery 2015, 58(1), E2-E3.

• Review

  • Lad M, Sedley W, Griffiths TD. Sensory Loss and Risk of Dementia. Neuroscientist 2024, 30(2), 247-259.