Question: why do you study Alzheimer's?

Jonathan Jackson answered on 25 Apr 2016:

Hi Ethan,
Many people who do research in my field have a loved one who suffers from Alzheimer’s. I do as well, but that’s not what inspired me. It was the picture at this link:

When I saw that picture for the first time 11 years ago, of a normal brain compared to a brain with Alzheimer’s disease, I had a lightning-bolt moment. As soon as I saw it, I wanted nothing more than to conquer that disease. To me, it’s about justice. It seems so wrong that someone can live to 75 or 80, survive everything that this world has thrown at them, and then be robbed of the one thing that’s more precious to them than anything else – their memories, the identities of their loved ones, their sense of self. Nothing seems more unfair to me, and it’s on the basis of bringing justice to older adults that I’ve pursued research in this field every day since then.