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Dr Cara Croft
Name:
Dr Cara Croft
Job title:
Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leaders Fellow / Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience
Place of work / study:
Queen Mary University of London
Area of Research:
My research group is focused on understanding different aspects of dementia – specifically Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease as proteinopathies. We are interested in the causes and consequences of protein aggregation and neuropathology in these diseases and how genetic risk factors influence this. We hope greater understanding of these processes may provide novel targets to treat these diseases in the clinic.
How is your work funded?
I have recently been awarded a Dementia Research Leaders Fellowship from Alzheimer’s Society. I currently hold or have been funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK, Race Against Dementia, Bart’s charity, Rosetrees Trust and Brightfocus Foundation.
Tell us a little about yourself:
I began my career and training in dementia research when I joined King’s College London for my PhD in 2012. Following this I joined the University of Florida for postdoctoral training and received a Brightfocus Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. I relocated to the UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London as an Emerging leader in 2021 and joined the Blizard Institute at Queen Mary University of London as a Senior Lecturer and Group Leader in Neuroscience in September 2023. Outside of the lab I enjoy travelling and exploring nature.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
I have visited 42 countries and aim to always keep the number of countries I’ve visited higher than my age.
Why did you choose to work in dementia?
Dementia is one of the biggest crises to face humanity and without cures or preventions an increasing number of people will lose loved ones to the diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease which cause dementia.
What single piece of advice would you give to an early career researcher?
Find a network of mentors who can support you from various angles. Some of these shouldn’t be academics!
Favourite ways to unplug and unwind?
Travelling to new places, cooking or baking something new or spending time with friends and family
UK DRI