My journey as a DISTINCT Early Stage Researcher began less than a year ago, in October 2019. It was a real pleasure to end July 2020 and already have the opportunity to present my work on the FindMyApps project<\/a>.<\/p>\n I was fortunate to have a poster accepted for AAIC 2020, outlining the protocol for our randomized controlled trial, which I will be running for the next two years.<\/p>\n The poster I was able to virtually present at AAIC 2020<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ve presented posters at national conferences and I\u2019ve attended international conferences. Never before had I had the opportunity to present at an international conference. At AAIC 2020, I exchanged comments and questions with attendees from India, the United Stated and Canada.<\/p>\n It\u2019s one of the things that I love about DISTINCT, that it\u2019s an international network. DISTINCT connects researchers in many different European countries. At AAIC 2020 I relished the opportunity to connect with researchers from even further afield.<\/p>\n I engaged with world experts in two areas in particular: technology for dementia and psycho-social factors in dementia. My research with FindMyApps looks at the use of technology for psychosocial support in dementia, and it was really inspiring to hear other examples of how new tools are addressing long-standing challenges.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n David Neal is DISTINCT Early Stage Researcher 6<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n So far, COVID-19 is not cancelling my 2020 \u2013 it\u2019s just sending it online. And AAIC was no different.<\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t sure exactly how a \u2018virtual congress\u2019 was going to work, so I was a little apprehensive beforehand. When I first logged onto the conference website, I wasn\u2019t disappointed.<\/p>\n Visually, the website was set up to look like a conference centre, which was a really nice touch. I found it easy to navigate between live sessions, presentations, posters and booths. This allowed me to virtually \u2018wander around\u2019, much like I would in real life.<\/p>\n I did miss the experience of meeting colleagues and making new friends over a cup of coffee. I\u2019m not sure that networking via chat rooms will ever replace the enjoyment of the real-life experience. But all in all, it was a really enjoyable and well-organized event.<\/p>\n I\u2019m immensely grateful to everyone working on FindMyApps, on DISTINCT and on AAIC 2020, to have had this opportunity \u2013 despite the challenging year that we\u2019re all having. I hope next time we\u2019ll be able to get together in person, to learn, to grow and to celebrate our progress towards improving care for people living with dementia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0David Neal is an EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow (DISTINCT Early Stage Researcher 6). He is running a Randomized Controlled Trial of the FindMyApps project and is based at Amsterdam UMC in the Netherlands.<\/em><\/p>\n d.n.neal@amsterdamumc.nl<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/dr-david-neal\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"Poster](\"http:\/\/interdem.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Poster-AAIC-300x212.png\")
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