Profile – Dr Raffaele Ferrari

Name:

Dr Raffaele Ferrari

Job Title:

Junior Research Fellow; Research Associate

Place of work / study:

Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London

Area of research:

Genetics and Bioinformatics

How is your work funded?

Alzheimer’s Society Junior Research Fellowship

Tell us a little about yourself:            

I am italian / german and lived and studied in Italy, Genoa. After completing my BSc in Biology and an MSc in molecular Biology, I left to the US to start a career as a researcher with the goal of being of service to the community and help improving our understanding of disease(s) as well as finding ways to cure them.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself:           

I always thought I would become a Rockstar: 20 and a little more years ago I was in bands, doing gigs, and writing and recording songs. John Lennon once said: ”Looking at Elvis and all those screaming fans made me think: ’That’s a good job!’” and I, looking at John Lennon and the Beatles, and seeing all those screaming fans thought to myself too: ‘that must definitely be a good job!’

Why did you choose to work in dementia?

A combination of factors: mainly I would say the interest in the biology of the brain and ageing and the opportunity to serving the community on health associated matters. Of course, like for many others, a number of family members have been affected by forms of Dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. I have witnessed the effects of the degeneration on the affected person and the familial environment. It is devastating to see a person losing the capability of being self-sufficient in the most basic and daily activities and the disruption of their and close relatives