Dr Camille Carroll, Associate Professor in Neurology, is a leading light in Parkinson’s disease research in the South West, particularly in clinical trials of potential therapies and in the application of technology for early disease detection and personalised care. She is an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and leads the Applied Parkinson’s Research Group.
Empowering people living with Parkinson’s disease
Camille is driven to improve the lives of those living with Parkinson’s through approaches that ensure their care meets their needs and expectations. Her Home Based Parkinson’s Care project embodies the patient-centred approach with a service that introduces user-friendly technology alongside traditional resources to support in-home care. The initiative enables more accurate symptom monitoring to inform healthcare decisions and allow individuals to take an active role in those decisions.
In her project PD-STAT, Camille and her team investigated the use of simvastatin as a neuroprotective treatment to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. The study extensively involved participants from across the UK and uncovered key findings to improve the design and delivery of clinical trials in Parkinson’s research. With collaborators at UCL, she is now embarking on improving clinical trial design for Parkinson’s research with a multi-arm, multi-stage platform that has potential to evaluate several new treatments at once.
Thought leadership
How about I ask you?
If we ask patients to tell us what they need, we would probably learn that our traditional care models – developed largely for the convenience of the care-provider organisations – aren’t fit for purpose. Maybe we’d learn that also the content of our ‘care’ doesn’t quite fit the bill. Read more about asking patients
Leading research excellence
Camille’s research has led the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust to become one of the foremost research delivery sites for Parkinson’s studies in the UK. She has overseen the development of a Parkinson’s diseases (PD) DNA bank and a regional PD clinical research register, both contributing to broadening the impact of the Parkinson’s research.
She also developed and leads the award-winning Parkinson’s disease service in Plymouth. This service incorporates complex and advanced therapy clinics, as well as a nurse-led first year of care post-diagnosis pathway, to help patients with Parkinson’s self-manage their condition, as well as supporting patients with stressful hospital admissions and reducing length of hospital stays.
The person behind the pioneer
“Of course, you’ll never be a neurologist – you’re a woman…”
To enquire about future collaborations, please contact Dr Camille Carroll
The UK prevalence of Parkinson’s disease will increase by a fifth by 2025, so the challenges associated with providing a timely and patient-centred service will also be much higher. We want to help people with Parkinson’s to live the best lives they can for as long as they can.
The existing Parkinson’s care service sees patients come to the hospital clinic once every 12 months or so regardless of how they’re feeling – which is unsatisfactory for healthcare staff, is arduous for both patient and carer, and fails to meet their needs.
My work aims to make things easier for everyone involved, and empower people with Parkinson’s to take control of their condition.
Dr Camille Carroll
Current projects and research activity
Champion for health
Our research tackles the most pressing public health issues to improve the health and care of the populations we serve. We have a vibrant community of interdisciplinary research that is truly cutting-edge, from disease discovery to innovative care practices, novel treatments to clinical trials. We are at the forefront of research into the mechanisms, treatments and best care practices for areas including brain tumours, Parkinson’s disease, ageing communities, digital health, antibiotic resistance, and health inequalities.
Our close partnership with the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, together with the Derriford Research Facility, place us on the frontline of applied research from the laboratory to the patients across medicine, dentistry and healthcare professions.
