A Lancaster University linguist has been awarded a highly prestigious Fulbright All Disciplines Award which will enable him to conduct research in the United States on how the media communicates about dementia.

Dr Gavin Brookes, a Research Fellow at Lancaster University, will spend six months at Northern Arizona University in the US to undertake a programme of research examining how news media in the country uses language to communicate about dementia and people living with it.

During his stay, he will work closely with researchers at Northern Arizona University, as well as with national dementia advocacy groups to translate the benefits of his research to US society.

The Fulbright Commissionenables study, teaching and research at some of the world’s leading universities.

To support his work, Dr Brookes has secured a Fulbright All Disciplines Award. This is the Fulbright Commission’s most competitive award, being granted only to two researchers in the UK each year.

Dr Brookes said: “I am delighted to receive this award, which will give me the opportunity to bring the benefits of my work to US citizens living with dementia. Fulbright is all about cultural exchange, and I’m excited to get the chance to engage with US culture and use what I learn there to inform my ongoing work on dementia representation in the UK."

In 2021, Dr Brookes was awarded a Future Leaders Fellowship of £1,044,105 by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)for his research project ‘Public Discourses of Dementia: Challenging stigma and promoting personhood’.

He currently heads a research team raising awareness of the implications that communication around dementia can have for public understanding and for the wellbeing of those diagnosed with the syndrome.

Professor Tony McEnery, who works with Dr Brookes, said: “It is a real pleasure to see one of these prestigious awards going to a highly respected colleague in the department.

He added: “Not only does the fellowship promise to make a real difference to the lives of Americans living with dementia, the award will also help to strengthen the bonds between the renowned Linguistics departments at Northern Arizona University and Lancaster University.”

Find out more about Fulbright opportunities at Lancaster and overseas on our website.