Professor David Bunce

Profile

I am Emeritus Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology and specialise in the study of cognitive ageing and dementia. I conducted my PhD and post-doctoral research at the MRC/ESRC Social and Applied Psychology Unit, University of Sheffield.

I then served as a Lecturer and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London before moving to Brunel University London as a Professor of Psychology.

In 2013, I was appointed Leadership Chair in Cognitive Psychology in the School of Psychology, University of Leeds.

My ageing and cognition research falls into 4 main areas:

  • The early detection of cognitive impairment and dementia in old age
  • The impact of attention on wider cognition and the performance of everyday tasks such as driving, and the incidence of falls in old age
  • The association between the genetic factor apolipoprotein E (APOE) and cognition across the lifespan
  • The relationship between depression, anxiety and cognition in old age.

The above work uses both experimental laboratory-based and large-scale epidemiological methodologies.

I have collaborated with leading experts in the field of ageing and dementia in several countries including Australia, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US, and I have held visiting positions at the University of New South Wales (Sydney) and the Australian National University (Canberra).

I have received research funding from various sources including ESRC, the Wellcome Trust, British Academy and Royal Society and recently held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for research into cognitive ageing and dementia.