16) #BlackHistoryMonth Dr. Monica Willis Parker

Dr. Monica Willis Parker is an assistant professor in neurology and leader of the Minority Engagement Core at Emory’s Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. For several decades now Dr. Parker has dedicated her energies to tackling a major challenge in developing therapies and care models for Alzheimer’s disease and improving diversity in clinical trial participants.

She is tireless in her research and advocacy.  I interviewed her for my film In

Our Right Mind and she was adamant about the role of early detection and also lifestyle changes that can make a difference in reducing risks for Alzheimer’s in people of color. And like many, she comes to this with personal experience. Her 96 year old mother who is living with dementia lives with her.