Conor Durkin

Conor Durkin is a PhD student in Health Policy and Health Economics at the Department of Health Policy and the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC). His research is funded by the Alzheimer’s Society as part of the Doctoral Training Centre for Integrated Dementia Care.

His PhD will investigate small-area geographic variation in dementia care needs and service provision in England. Using geospatial analysis, his research will aim to identify areas with limited access to dementia-related health and social care services. Focusing on these areas, it will examine the health and social care outcomes for people living with dementia, as well as the factors associated with inequalities in access. It will also explore the lived experiences of people living with dementia and their carers in these areas, alongside the perspectives of professionals.

Conor holds a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Applied Cognitive Neuroscience, both from the University of Groningen. Before joining LSE, he worked as a research assistant for Dementias Platform UK at the University of Oxford, where he primarily harmonised data from large dementia and neurodegenerative cohort studies. He then joined the Policy Research Unit in Dementia and Neurodegeneration (DeNPRU) at Queen Mary University of London, where he estimated geographic variation in the proportion of dementia cases attributable to modifiable risk factors and examined associations with area-level characteristics across all upper-tier local authorities in England. Alongside this, he also carried out a national survey of care homes exploring current provisions for residents living with dementia.

Dissertation title:
Service provision and equity: identifying dementia care 'deserts'

Dissertation supervisors:
Professor Martin Knapp and Dr Javiera Cartagena-Farias

Working Papers

• Durkin C, et al. (2026) Geographic inequalities in the potential for dementia prevention. (under review, Lancet Regional Health)
• Darby A, Durkin C, et al. (2026) A national survey exploring dementia care provision in social care in England. (under review, Journal of Long-Term Care)