Cassie Eastham joined the Empowered Conversations Research team at the University of Manchester in November 2021.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I’m an occupational therapist by profession and have spent the last 10 years working in the Wigan Later Life and Memory Service.

How did you start working with the Empowered Conversations trial?

Well, I’ve always been interested in doing research and did my Master of Clinical Research at the University of Manchester in 2019, but then my research plans went on hold during the pandemic.

I spotted the advert for a Research Associate last summer and felt that it was a perfect role for me. I love working with people with dementia and their families, wanted to carry on working in Greater Manchester, and Empowered Conversations sounded like a really interesting project. Luckily the team agreed that I would be a good fit and I joined the trial in November 2021.

What is your role in the team?

I do lots of things! At the moment, my main role is contacting people who are interested in the trial, giving them more information and, hopefully, signing them up to take part. After that, I can support them to complete our questionnaires online or visit them at home to go through them.