Dr Clíona Farrell - An Alzheimer’s Cabaret

Dr Clíona Farrell narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.

After a long week at AAIC in London, Clíona swapped the conference hall for the Bloomsbury Theatre and a one-woman cabaret called Unforgettable. It tells the story of Tamara, who lost her father to familial young-onset Alzheimer's at 45, and who lives with a 50% chance of carrying the same mutation. What Clíona expected to be an evening of tears turned out to be funny, dynamic and strange in the best way, with a bubble machine, a lit-up hula hoop and a family horse among the cast of characters. But it also landed somewhere personal. Clíona carries her own family experience of an autosomal dominant condition, and watching Tamara perform the agonising question of whether to get genetic testing made her rethink what her research is really for. A blog about grief, dark comedy, and why public engagement has to be a two-way conversation.

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-an-alzheimers-cabaret/

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Dr Clíona Farrell is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London. Her work focuses on understanding neuroinflammation in Down syndrome, both prior to, and in response to, Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Clíona completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience in Trinity College, and then worked as a research assistant in the Royal College of Surgeons studying ALS and Parkinson’s disease. She also knows the secret behind scopping the perfect 99 ice-cream cone.

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Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk

This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support.

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