The butterfly effect of research translation

Life as a graduate researcher: Marnie Drake

Neuropsychology PhD candidate Marnie Drake is interested in how best we can translate research into mediums and tools that can be used by the community. For her, there’s an art to research translation, one that she put into practice collaborating with Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) filmmakers Alekh Chapman and Erin Christmas.

Marnie Drake is a Master of Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology)/Doctor of Philosophy candidate. Her research explores how to help teachers and educators understand brain injury, so they can support children in the classroom. This work includes the development of digestible, video resources.

"There’s a lot of pressure and demand on educators, so finding a way to give them information in a quick, meaningful bite, has been an exciting challenge for me and an interesting space to explore through my research. I’ve been working with the community, speaking with Australian teachers to understand what their needs are, and collecting data."

While completing her PhD, Marnie has continued to work, producing these videos, and experimenting with different forms of medium, to see what might prove most effective. It’s a project that has drawn on Marnie’s interests form outside her PhD, and her experiences making short films.

"In a lot of ways, I think that studying psychology has made me more creative, as it’s given me more understanding of human behaviour. It’s a lens that’s useful in creating stories. I feel that the intersection between research and art is a natural thing, and it’s an intersection I’d like to continue to explore," Marnie says.

In 2023, a unique opportunity presented itself, when she collaborated with VCA filmmaker Alekh Chapman, and producer Erin Christmas on the short film, I Dreamt I was a Butterfly. The film drew on Marnie’s experience of working in a dementia outpatient clinic, to create a narrative retelling of the diagnostic process for frontotemporal dementia.

"I was doing a placement, and I was meeting people who were being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at a young/middle age. I was struck by how with every person that got diagnosed, it wasn’t just the individual, it was the couple, or the good friend, or the family. They were all having this shared experience of wondering where to go next. I realised that I was quite privileged to be able to understand that experience, and that I wanted to be able to share that understanding with the wider world, so that even just friends and family could understand that journey better. Translating it to film and having the opportunity to work with Alekh and Erin, was a chance to do that."

Marnie worked with Alekh on writing the script for I Dreamt I was a Butterfly, then joined the project as a consultant, helping with everything from casting to production, ensuring that at every stage of the process, the scientific realities of frontotemporal dementia were translated to the artistic interpretation.

"I think for me, one of the most important things was respect, and respecting every person who was involved in the film’s own lived experience. I think I was aware of how many people have experience with dementia – not necessarily frontotemporal dementia, but more broadly – with having loved ones who had a diagnosis of dementia. That came up with casting, and it came up with the crew, so it was about acknowledging that experience, and knowing that experience looks different with everyone. For us it was finding that balance, how we could tell this story respectfully, and authentically, while maintaining a safe space for everyone. I think that respect translated, and that the cast and crew felt that, and it allowed us to approach a topic with this kind of gravity."

Now that the film has been completed, the team are working on distribution, eager to partner with dementia focused charities and NGOs, so that it might be used as an educational resource.

"When I’m thinking about how film might come together with research in psychology, I think there are two, equally important ways the medium can help; with awareness and representation. Awareness is more for the general community, it provides them with a base understanding of what dementia might look like, or what the experience might be of a carer who is looking after a loved one. It’s not about knowledge, we don’t need them to become neuropsychologists. They don’t need to be able to diagnose it, but they need to be aware of it, and the impact it has on the lives of people around them, because it’s more common than people realise," says Marnie.

"And as for representation, it’s the other side of that coin. It’s being able to see the experience you’ve had on screen. It’s knowing that you’re not alone. I think that’s the power of film in general, it creates a space for people experiencing this kind of dementia, of acknowledging that challenge and the resilience they, their families, and their caregivers have."

Learn more about a PhD in clinical neuropsychology