Professor Ingelin Testad

Professor Testad has been pivotal in establishing long standing international collaborations and exchange of students, knowledge, teaching and collaborative research projects between UK, University of Exeter and Norway; the Centre for Age-Related Medicine (SESAM) at Stavanger University Hospital in medicine and aging. She has extensive experience in teaching and international dementia research, including roles at King's College London, University of Stavanger, University of Bergen, Norway and currently at the University of Exeter.

Testad earned her PhD at the University of Bergen, Norway in 2010 and completed her Postdoctoral fellowship, granted by the Western Norway Regional Health Authority in 2017. In 2017 she was made Associate Professor at the University of Exeter, followed by becoming Professor in 2019.

Testad specializes in educational interventions, student programme on bachelor and master level in medicine, aging and dementia as well as mentoring PhD students within non-pharmacological interventions for people with dementia at home and in care homes. Her work also focuses on patient and public involvement as well as staff training programmes. She has published close to 80 peer-reviewed papers and written four chapters in international textbooks.

International collaboration has been a major focus of Testad’s career. She served as Care Home Portfolio lead at King’s College London and worked as Site Coordinator for the NIHR WHELD project “Improving well-being and health for people with dementia” (2012-2016) and the DCM EPIC project “Enhancing Person-Centred care in Care Homes” (2014-2017). In 2015, she established the Care Home Research Network (CHRN) in London, which involves 200 care homes (2015) across the UK.

Her professional development and research in geriatric psychiatry, healthcare and dementia have garnered great recognition, both locally, nationally, and internationally. In 2010, she was awarded the National Research Prize for dementia research in Norway, and in 2012, she was the first nurse to receive the Helse Stavanger HF Research Prize.