Read about ACADI’s activities over the last month.

• Ageing, Cancer, and Disparities Research Unit – ACADI

Welcome back to the ACADI Newsletter! This month we share some of our updates from talks, publications and more, with a special excerpt from our PhD student, Gladys.

Talks

Dr India Pinker recently gave a talk about her previous work on the role of empathy in health care interactions at the Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek Nederlands Kanker Instituut. There was plenty of discussion and interest, and we look forward to some future collaboration!

Publications

Dr Sophie Pilleron has recently published a Letter-to-the-Editor in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology entitled: “Words matter: Use Caution when interpreting study’s results!”. Don’t miss this important read: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879406824000365?via%3Dihub

Submitted Publications

The whole team has been busy working on publications in the meantime, with 4 publications undergoing review. Watch this space to read all about the work as it gets released.

Grant Submitted

Our joint efforts with Dr Maria Ruiz-Castell from the CARES team has paid off as we have submitted our final proposal for the CHANSE funding call. Wish us luck!

Cancer Epidemiology Call

Dr Sophie Pilleron has been made Lead Guest Editor for the journal Cancer Epidemiology to lead a special issue on the epidemiology of cancer in the oldest old. If you have some work you want to submit or just want to know more, please have a read: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/cancer-epidemiology/about/call-for-papers#epidemiology-of-cancer-in-the-oldest-old

Want to work with us?

The ACADI team is growing! We are looking for another Postdoctoral Fellow to join our team. If you are keen to join us please read our advert for how to apply: https://www.lih.lu/en/job/?value=JA/PDEPI0224/SP/ACAD

Get to know the team

This month, the spotlight is on our PhD Student Gladys Langue:

“I trained as a nurse, specialising in intensive care and emergency medical services (ICU and EMS). When I finished my bachelor’s degree in nursing, I hesitated for a long time between specialising in EMS or geriatrics. In the end, I opted for EMS, because the training was much more technical and would also enable me to work in geriatrics later on, whereas the reverse was not the case.

I worked for several years in hospitals, mainly in intensive care units. I enjoyed working alongside patients and their families, gaining their trust so that I could understand their needs as well as possible and accompany them through their illness.

Yet little by little, I began to feel out of place. I had the impression that I was ‘too late’ in the disease trajectory. My motivation was to enable people to live in the best possible health, but I was working in the “last chance” departments. I could only work to limit the damage, and patients often left with lifelong after-effects.

During a professional training course, I discovered the importance of public health. So I decided to do a Masters in Public Health at the University of Liège. It was a revelation. I then left the hospital sector and started a new profession at the National Health Laboratory (LNS), where I worked in the field of environmental medicine, with a focus on indoor air quality.

During the course of this work, I came into closer contact with the world of research by participating in the set-up of European studies. This was decisive: I wanted to become a researcher, to gain a better understanding of public health issues and try to find solutions to them, in order to protect the health of as many people as possible.

So, at the age of almost thirty, I was immensely lucky to join Dr Sophie Pilleron’s research unit as a PhD student. My area of interest is older adults’ access to cancer diagnosis. Older adults have always held a special place among my patients. They are often more fragile, more vulnerable, and often need more attention than younger patients – an attention that is unfortunately rarely given to them, despite them having so much to offer us. I hope to be able to improve their care, even just a little.”

Gladys Langue, PhD Student

Until next time, keep well!

The ACADI Team