Verified by 
I. December 1st, 2014
For my first blog, I guess I should introduce myself. I am Dr. Alice Lazzarini. I am a mother, a genetic counselor, a Clinical Assistant Professor in Neurology at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a neurogenetic researcher. I raised a family while training to be a genetic counselor, and then finished my PhD at the age of 56. My career has included 11 years coordinating a statewide program serving Huntington disease patients and families—New Jersey’s Huntington Disease Family Service Center, contributing to the literature on neurogenetic disorders such as Huntington’s, Restless Legs, the ataxias and Parkinson disease (PD), and ultimately working on the development of a Parkinson’s drug for a large pharmaceutical company. But now, I have been diagnosed with Parkinson disease. On the other side of the white coat I perceive research with a new urgency! Having once contributed to PD research, I now wait, along with the millions of others with Parkinson’s, for someone else to find answers that will help me!
I will share with you stories from my just released book, Both Sides Now, A Journey From Researcher to Patient: how I went from sheltered childhood to successful career in the male-dominated field of science, how I forged my independence in the face of a disease that portends complete dependency, and how my lifelong fear of birds took on a new perspective when the gene that I helped to discover was found to be responsible for song learning in the male zebra finch.
I hope you’ll post any questions you may have about research breakthroughs that you hear about and I’ll do my best to answer them. Did you see the Siberian Times report of scientists who claim to have a potential cure for PD using a derivative of turpentine (bit.ly/1wdAA4d)? I actually found their initial animal studies in some quite reputable journals, so stay tuned for that one….
Praise for Both Sides Now:
“The irony of a pioneering researcher afflicted with the very disease she sought to eradicate mixed with the very human story of a wife and mother struggling to keep her family together makes for riveting reading. Alice Lazzarini’s story inspires as it informs.” Leslie Chambers, President & CEO, American Parkinson Disease Association
