#4 Normal voices
"A PhD never goes as planned anyway so a pandemic shouldn’t be in the way of that"
Howdy readers!
Very humbled that you have taken the time to read the Normal voices this first week of 2021. Hopefully you have had a great switch from the old to the new and I present my best wishes to all. May the new year be filled with learning more about one and other!
My new year’s eve was marked by a multi-course Indian cuisine (to the best of my ability) followed by a proper night’s sleep, only interrupted by freakish quiteness due to the lack of fireworks and the sincere worry it was me and the cockroaches from now on.
Anywhoo, a disclaimer on this weeks interview: it is a bit shorter but (in my humble opinion) it is still an interesting read and hope you will enjoy it!
#4 Normal voices
Thanks a lot for being the guest on Normal voices this week! Diving straight in to it: if you lived to 100, would you rather keep the body or the mind of yourself today until you were 100?
Definitely keep the mind of myself today. As a PhD student in Neuroscience studying dementia, I see patients with dementia on a daily basis. Loosing your identity is frustrating and devastating. Therefore, my biggest fear would be loosing my cognition and my mind. I don’t mind the grey hair, the wrinkles and a fragile body when I am 100! I would embrace it to the fullest as long as my mind still works as a mid 20 year old, what a gift would that be in life!
Have you always been interested in dementia?
I have always been interested in cognitive neuroscience, including dementia. Even though it’s a frustrating topic, it is also fascinating and therefore a motivation to study this topic
Interesting choice of words. What makes it a frustrating topic?
Even though dementia research has evolved rapidly over the last decades and the first drug trials have started, a cure is yet to be found. It’s a diagnose you give someone that will slowly change their lives and their loved ones resulting in frustration. But the doctors and scientists are also frustrated because they try to unravel one of the biggest puzzles in science so far.
As a PhD student, you are helping on this puzzle I can imagine. Is your topic of research focussed on the origin or drug of/for dementia?
I am not involved with drug trials
Do you have any books/series/podcasts you could recommend to people (amateurishly) interested in dementia or neuroscience ?
I think any book of Oliver Sacks! But to be honest I mainly read text books and articles in medical journals...
Do you think enough attention is placed on the 'mental' part of going old (instead of the artificial part, like you mentioned in the first question: grey hair, wrinkles)?
I think more and more attention is placed on the “mental” part of going old, both society as research. For example, a lot of longevity studies have been conducted recently. We didn’t really know what “normal” or “healthy” aging is until all these studies. Although with our life expectancy growing each generation, the attention on this topic should grow as well... so more research will always be necessary. The question remains what is normal aging? I do not think we have to answer to that yet or ever will get!
What is your biggest goal for the next year?
Good question! A year ago I would have answered running the marathon! It got cancelled due to the pandemic and setting a goal for next year feels a bit tricky since nothing can go as planned. But I guess for me my biggest goal would be publishing my first paper for my PhD! A PhD never goes as planned anyway so a pandemic shouldn’t be in the way of that.