This week we had the privilege to talk to Dr. Elizabeth Head, Professor and Vice Chair for research at the University of California, Irvine in the department of Pathology. Dr. Head has published more than 150 peer reviewed papers and has dedicated over 20 years to the study of aging and Alzheimer’s disease with a focus on people with Down syndrome.

Head Lab: https://sites.mind.uci.edu/headlab/

ABC-DS study - https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/abc-ds

DSConnect - https://dsconnect.nih.gov/

Center for Aging Research – Down syndrome - https://sites.mind.uci.edu/cfar-ds/

Episode Transcript: https://ifweknewthen701833686.wordpress.com/2024/04/27/171-alzheimers-disease-in-people-with-down-syndrome-dr-elizabeth-head/2/

Please follow us on Twitter @ifweknewthenPOD you can drop us a line on our Facebook page @ifweknewthenPOD or visit our website https://www.IfWeKnewThen.com to send us an email with questions and comments. You can join our mailing list there and get alerts of future podcast episodes. Thank you again and we look forward to you joining us on the next episode of IF WE KNEW THEN.

The world lost pioneering Down syndrome advocate Carl Erskine on April 16, 2024, at the age of 97. Carl and his wife Betty, were involved deeply with the Special Olympics and charities which aimed at helping people with developmental disabilities such as his son Jimmy. Carl Erskine was a MLB All-Star, World Series Champion, ally of Jackie Robinson and the last surviving member of the “Boys of Summer” Brooklyn teams of the 1950’s. To honor Carl’s life, we revisit our episode with documentarian Ted Green discussing his film ’The Best We’ve Got: The Carl Erskine Story’. As Ted says in this conversation, Carl and Betty are the perfect embodiment of what is on Jackie Robinson’s tombstone.

“A life is not important except for the impact it has on other lives“.

Godspeed Carl.

Website: https://www.carlerskinefilm.com

Episode Transcript: https://ifweknewthen701833686.wordpress.com/2024/04/21/170-celebrating-the-life-of-carl-erskine-with-ted-green/2/

Please follow us on Twitter @ifweknewthenPOD you can drop us a line on our Facebook page @ifweknewthenPOD or visit our website https://www.IfWeKnewThen.com to send us an email with questions and comments. You can join our mailing list there and get alerts of future podcast episodes. Thank you again and we look forward to you joining us on the next episode of IF WE KNEW THEN.

This week we are fortunate to have Ben Hughes back on the podcast to discuss the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network’s (DSDN) annual “Rockin’ Retreats” that offer our community the connection and respite caregivers truly need.

Retreat information page: https://www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org/dsdn-retreats

Dad's retreat registration page: https://form.jotform.com/DSDN/2024-rockin-dad-retreat

Mom's retreat registration page: https://form.jotform.com/DSDN/2024-rockin-mom-retreat

DSDN website: https://www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org/

DSDN Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DownSyndromeDiagnosisNetwork

DSDN main fundraising page: https://dsdn.networkforgood.com/projects/201851-2024-dsdn-rockin-fundraising

A link to Ben’s personal DSDN fundraising page: https://dsdn.networkforgood.com/projects/207713-ben-hughes-s-fundraiser

Episode Transcript: https://ifweknewthen701833686.wordpress.com/2024/04/14/169-the-annual-dsdn-retreats-with-ben-hughes/2/

Please follow us on Twitter @ifweknewthenPOD you can drop us a line on our Facebook page @ifweknewthenPOD or visit our website https://www.IfWeKnewThen.com to send us an email with questions and comments. You can join our mailing list there and get alerts of future podcast episodes. Thank you again and we look forward to you joining us on the next episode of IF WE KNEW THEN.