Connor Richardson

Since moving to the University of Edinburgh, a large part of my research has shifted towards vascular dementia and small vessel disease. It is a natural progression for me after recent years focused on vascular neuropathology and dementia, and I wanted to use this blog to introduce the topic to anyone who, like me not so long ago, may not have given it the attention it deserves. When we talk about dementia research, the conversation often gravitates towards amyloid and tau.

In December 2025 I started a new role at the University of Edinburgh. It was the first time in my career I had moved to a new job at a new university. After nearly a decade at Newcastle, where I did my undergraduate, masters, PhD and postdoc, leaving was a big deal. I wrote about the process of leaving in an earlier blog, but now I wanted to reflect on the other side of it. What it is actually like starting somewhere new. I want to say two things upfront, and they are both equally true.

I started at Newcastle University when I was 18 years old. Did my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences, left for a year in London, then came back to do an MSc in Public Health. It was during my masters that I met my future PhD supervisor, moved into a PhD in dementia epidemiology, and that became the foundation of my career for the following six years. All told, nearly a decade of my life was shaped by one place.