CFU - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Admin Team
- Secretary
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Member of the Clinical and Research Team
- Consultant Neurologist
Dr Anna Richardson is a Consultant Neurologist with a long-standing interest and expertise in neurodegenerative dementias. Dr Richardson runs a specialist cognitive neurology clinic at the Cerebral Function Unit.
Dr Richardson's research interests include the genetic and neuropathological aspects of frontotemporal dementias and Alzheimer's disease.
In addition to her role at the Cerebral Function Unit Dr Richardson is Clinical Lead in Neurology and Lead Medical Examiner for the Northern Care Alliance.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Clinical and Research Team
- Neurology Clinical Research Fellow
Dr Christopher Leahy graduated from the University of Birmingham Medical School in 2011 and completed his foundation and core medical training in the Northwest of England before commencing specialist training in clinical neurology. Dr Leahy is currently a clinical and research fellow at the Cerebral Function Unit, having taken time out of his neurology registrar training to complete an MD.
For his MD Dr Leahy is carrying out a study investigating the role of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), a novel and safe form of electrical brain stimulation, in enhancing the therapeutic benefit of speech and language therapy in Primary Progressive Aphasia. Dr Leahy is also completing a study evaluating the revised Movement Disorders Society diagnostic criteria for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, across a retrospective 10-year cohort of people diagnosed with PSP in a combined cognitive neurology and atypical parkinsonism service. This work was recently presented to the Association of British Neurologists in May 2022.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Clinical and Research Team
- Neuropsychologist
- Research Publications
Dr Jennifer Thompson is Lead Neuropsychologist at the Cerebral Function Unit and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. In this clinical and research role Dr Thompson manages the neuropsychology service at the Cerebral Function Unit and is involved in a range of research studies. Research interests include clinical, neuropsychological, and behavioural aspects of early-onset and rare neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, semantic dementia and progressive aphasic syndromes.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Member of the Clinical and Research Team
- Consultant Neurologist
Dr Matthew Jones graduated from Manchester Medical School in 2001 and trained in general medicine and then Neurology in the North West of England. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and a member of the Association of British Neurologists.
Dr Jones is a consultant neurologist at Salford Royal and honorary senior lecturer at the University of Manchester. His subspecialty interest is in cognitive neurology and he runs a weekly clinic in the Cerebral Function Unit.
He obtained his research MD in the field of dementia from the University of Manchester in 2010. His research interests are in the clinical, genetic and pathological classification of rarer dementia syndromes. Dr Jones is also Principle Investigator for a number of observational and therapeutic trials in neurological and cognitive disorders.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Psychologist
- Member of the Clinical and Research Team
Dr Matthew Larbey is a Clinical Psychologist with a special interest and expertise in the neuropsychology of neurodegenerative dementias.
Matt completed his undergraduate course in Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Bristol. He gained a Masters with distinction in Applied Neuropsychology from the University of Nottingham. He joined the CFU after graduating from the University of Oxford with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. His clinical and academic interests are in neuropsychological assessment and the interaction between cognitive impairments and psychological wellbeing.
Matt has worked in a number of clinical settings, including neurobehavioural rehabilitation after acquired brain injury, memory clinics and a general outpatient neuropsychology service. He has conducted research into psychosocial interventions in dementia care and the relationships between cognitive impairments and psychological distress in people who have experienced a stroke.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Member of the Clinical and Research Team
- Consultant Neuropsychiatrist
Dr Rachel Thomasson graduated from the MB-PhD programme at University College London Medical School in 2006 and trained in Liaison Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry in London and Greater Manchester. She is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Neuropsychiatry Association.
Dr Thomasson is a consultant neuropsychiatrist at Salford Royal Hospital. Her subspeciality interests are cognitive neurology and sleep medicine, and she runs a specialist clinic at the Cerebral Function Unit.
Dr Thomasson obtained her PhD in the field of Cognitive Neurosciences in 2006 and retains academic interests in visuospatial cognitive function and psychosis in organic disease. She is also a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Neuropsychiatry Curriculum Development Group, which is focused on developing and setting standards of training for Neuropsychiatrists nationally
Job Titles:
- Member of the Clinical and Research Team
- Consultant Neurologist
Job Titles:
- Member of the Admin Team
- Support Secretary
Job Titles:
- Honorary Professor of Neuropsychology
- Professor
Professor Julie Snowden is Honorary Professor of Neuropsychology and retired Consultant Neuropsychologist. Professor Snowden was instrumental in establishing the Cerebral Function Unit as a multi-disciplinary diagnostic clinic in the early 1980s. Her special interest is in young-onset degenerative brain disorders and their associated cognitive and behavioural changes. She has played an pivotal role in the characterisation of focal degenerative disorders including frontotemporal dementia and progressive aphasic syndromes. Her experimental studies of semantic dementia have increased understanding of the interrelationship between language and memory. She helped to establish a multidisciplinary research clinic into Huntington's disease.
Professor Snowden has published more than 150 scientific papers and book chapters and is first author of a clinical monograph on frontotemporal lobe degeneration.