| Meghánn Catherine Ward MSCA-ERA Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Bilkent University LinkedIn ResearchGate ORCID |
I am an interdisciplinary gerontologist who researches dementia, arts, place, and health through theoretically-informed lenses, with specific interest in relational wellbeing, more-than theories, creative assemblage, and therapeutic landscapes. My university education has spanned various disciplines – specifically anthropology, psychology, sociology, and human geography – but the ‘golden thread’ throughout my work has been dementia and experiences of aging.
I am currently undertaking a 2-year MSCA ERA Postdoctoral Fellowship at Bilkent University, Ankara, Türkiye, mentored by Prof. Yasemin Afacan (Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design & Neuroscience), exploring the everyday geographies of home for older women with dementia.
I completed my PhD in 2022 from the Division of Health Research, Lancaster University, UK (supervised by Prof. Christine Milligan [Emerita] and Prof. Emma Rose), where I studied the in-the-moment wellbeing benefits of participatory arts for people with dementia and their caregivers, adopting multidisciplinary and participatory approaches.
I work as the Co-editor of the Anthropology & Aging journal, linked to the Association of Anthropology, Gerontology and the Life Course (AAGE) and I also sit on the steering committee of the British Society of Gerontology’s ‘Creative Ageing’ Special Interest Group.
Recent publications
Ward, M. C. (2025). Spaces of Liminality, Places of Creative Assemblage: A Multi‐Arts Setting for People Living with Dementia in Northwest England. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie.
Ward, M. C., Milligan, C., Rose, E. E., & Elliott, M. (2024). ‘Being’ and ‘doing’ well in the moment: Theoretical and relational contributions of health geography to living well with dementia. Area, 56(4), e12899.
Ward, M. C., Milligan, C., Rose, E., Elliott, M., & Wainwright, B. R. (2021). The benefits of community-based participatory arts activities for people living with dementia: a thematic scoping review. Arts & health, 13(3), 213-239.