Lauren Miller Rogen, an actress, screen writer and activist committed to raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, has been appointed to the governing Board of California’s stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
Miller Rogen, who was appointed to the Board by Governor Jerry Brown, starred in the movies Superbad and 50/50 and co-wrote and starred in the movie “For a Good Time, Call….”. She is also the co-founder of the non-profit Hilarity for Charity.
“As the founder of Hilarity for Charity, an organization which raises awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease among young people, I am truly thrilled to join the California stem cell agency Board as the Alzheimer’s Patient Advocate,” Rogen Miller says. “To have the opportunity to learn about, and support the research for so many important diseases is such a great honor and responsibility and I look forward to starting.”
Rogen Miller’s commitment to raising awareness about Alzheimer’s comes from her family’s battle against the disease. Her grandfather died of Alzheimer’s and her mother was diagnosed with it when she was just 55 years old.
In an interview with NBC News Rogen Miller said: “Losing your memory to Alzheimer’s means forgetting everything it means to be a person. You lose your mind, your dignity, yourself when you forget how to walk, how to talk, how to brush your teeth, use the toilet, pull up your pants, and eventually, you forget how to chew and swallow food. And all this can happen while your body is perfectly, physically healthy. And it can happen younger than you thought.”