Professor Muireann Irish, cognitive neuroscientist at the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney joins me this week. Muireann's research explores memory and imagination and how these processes can break down in dementia. We chat about growing up in the south of Ireland, the impact her granny had on her research interests, her experiences in college and the mentors who kept her motivated to keep going. Muireann chats about her fascinating work into memory and explains that memory is 'who we are, where we've been and where we're going. Why do we need imagination? Why do we daydream? And how are these processes affected in those with dementia.  We also chat about her reentry into academia after a short break and how lucky she was to find a good postdoc mentor, her experiences juggling family life and academia and why is an advocate for girls in STEM. Muireann is just so relatable, humble and honest and such a brilliant representative for Irish Woman in STEM Abroad. I hope you enjoy!   Follow Muireann: Muireann_Irish Follow me: MeganHanlon4 This season is kindly sponsored by Bio-Sciences Ltd, now part of Thermo-Fisher Scientific.