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Biography
Dr Blanca de Dios qualified as a psychologist (specialisation in Neuropsychology) from Complutense University of Madrid in 2015. This was followed by further higher education with an MPhil in Psychology at the University of Manchester (2016). She worked as a Research Assistant in the Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit (NARU) at The University of Manchester, working on a series of projects to understand post-stroke aphasia.
Dr Blanca de Dios pursued a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Nottingham, focusing on developing, implementing and evaluating a vocational rehabilitation intervention for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their employers.
Her current work, leading from her PhD at the University of Nottingham, largely focuses on developing vocational rehabilitation interventions for people with MS, focusing on supporting job retention.
In 2023, she was awarded an Early Career Fellowship from the UK MS Society to explore the implementation of vocational rehabilitation within national charities.
Expertise Summary
Blanca's research expertise focuses on supporting people with illness or disabilities to remain in paid employment. Blanca's PhD involved developing, implementing and evaluating a job retention vocational rehabilitation intervention for people with multiple sclerosis.
Blanca has led a series of studies developing and evaluating complex interventions using mixed-methods research.
Research Summary
De Dios Pérez, B. Optimising access to vocational rehabilitation services through national charities. MS Society Early Career Fellowship. April 2024-June 2027. [Awarded: £233,404.10]
Gilmartin, C., Evangelou, N., Dineen, R., Morgan, P., das Nair, R., De Dios Pérez, B., Allen, C., Garjani, A., Clarke, M., Tench, C., Topcu, G. Multiple Sclerosis Diagnostic Pathway: Feasibility Study for Implementation of New Radiological Biomarkers. Nottingham Hospitals Charity Pump Priming (Nottingham) Autumn 2023. April 2024- March 2025. [Awarded: £24,880.07]
Radford, K. (PI), De Dios Pérez, B., das Nair, R., Evangelou, N., Booth, V., Hassard, J., Newsome, I., Ford, H. Radford Preventing job loss for people with multiple sclerosis: Implementing vocational rehabilitation in the NHS. MS Society Project Grant. April 2022-March 2024. [Awarded: £125,648.79]
Recent Publications
BLANCA DE DIOS PEREZ, CHARLOTTE PRITCHARD, KATIE POWERS, ROSHAN DAS NAIR, NIKOS EVANGELOU, HELEN FORD, EMMA TALLANTYRE, RUTH DOBSON and KATHRYN RADFORD, 2024. The Impact of COVID-19 on the Employment of People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Multi-Methods Study International Journal of MS Care. 26(Q3), 174-186 HANNAH E. THOMPSON, KRIST A. NOONAN, AJAY D. HALAI, PAUL HOFFMAN, SARA STAMPACCHIA, GLYN HALLAM, GRACE E. RICE, BLANCA DE DIOS PEREZ, MATHEW A. LAMBON RALPH and ELIZABETH JEFFERIES, 2022. Damage to temporoparietal cortex is sufficient for impaired semantic control Cortex. 71-85 BLANCA DE DIOS PEREZ, KATE RADFORD and ROSHAN DAS NAIR, 2022. Experiences of people with multiple sclerosis at work: Towards the understanding of the needs for a job retention vocational rehabilitation intervention Work. 72(1), 303-313