Get to know Dr Patricia Ragazzon
Dr Patricia Ragazzon – Keele University
”My grandmother had dementia. She was one of my favourite people. It was devastating to see. I knew dementia was something I wanted to make a difference in.
Dr Patricia Ragazzon at Keele University is developing a new human cell model containing three types of brain cells, which she will use to study the link between stress and brain cell death in Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr Patricia Ragazzon – Keele University
”Working with animals is not going to be the answer.
Tell us about your life before your animal-free research career
I wasn’t so much into science until I went to secondary school. I am from Argentina, so I did all my early education there. I actually wanted to be an archaeologist early on. I had this desire to discover Troy or something like Troy, but my mum said that there isn’t much money in that area so I needed to find another career path.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I always liked animals and I was always begging to get a pet, so we got a tortoise when I was 5 years old, and we still have one of them nearly 50 years later! I do have this very early memory of watching a documentary, maybe a National Geographic one, of someone doing some surgery or something on a bird without anesthesia.
In Argentina, I helped at animal shelters that rescued animals from the streets. And after much persuasion, I managed to convince my mum to let me have more animals, so we started to collect several cats. Even now I have five cats and two dogs. After this work I still wasn’t sure what to do next, but I ended up going to university in Argentina to study chemistry because I was interested in it. I then came to UK in 2002 to do my PhD.
And that’s when things really started to change. At the University I saw a notice about the charity BUAV (now Cruelty Free International), and started volunteering for them. We would go into the cafeteria at the University to start collecting signatures and donations.
After my degree, I worked in various biotech companies where I learned a lot about cells and human-specific in vitro systems. I started building models of the human intestine, but I wanted to study something that was more meaningful to me.
Why did you go into dementia research?
My grandmother had dementia. At the time it was really hard because I couldn’t go home to Argentina to say goodbye because as a student then I didn’t have enough money. She was one of my favourite people.
There is a part that they never tell you about early dementia. And it is that they know that things are going wrong. I remember telling her that you need to exercise the brain. She was a retired Head of a primary school, so she was always very active. She would say that she no longer wanted to read because one day she would be fine and understand the words, but then other days the letters would be like soup and she couldn’t understand them. She was too scared to read and find out which day it was going to be.
It was devastating to hear. I knew dementia was something I wanted to make a difference in.
I had a colleague that was working on dementia, so we would chat sometimes, and I always kept an eye on what she was doing. When I came to Keele University, I started looking at dementia and used my varied experience including my Chemistry background which gave me a different mindset on how to analyse something.
We live longer and if we’re expected to work into our 70s, we need to do something about dementia. The current treatments are not working, so we need to go back and start again. What are we missing in here?
Patricia’s Grandmother, Nelida.
What advice would you give to aspiring animal-free researchers?
I love being in the lab and love spending as much time in there as possible. And I love training students and teaching them how to use microscopes and about the importance of human-specific research.
Our work is about advancing. And you see that with our students. They want something different and to progress and do something that will not involve animals. It’s great to see them come with new ideas, and approach things in a different way. It’s inspiring to see.
I would advise any student to read lots of research news, coming from industry and academia. Always challenge anything you think it is not right, and don’t be afraid of asking for advice.
What do you do outside of the lab?
When I’m not in the lab, I like to watch the birds in the garden, as we have installed several feeders. I love going for walks with my two big chihuahuas, and spending time with my five cats. And of course, I love to spend time with my family.
”I love being in the lab and love spending as much time in there as possible.
