Lauper shows “True Colors” during concert supporting MIND Center

Published on Monday, October 29, 2018

By: Karen Bascom

Cyndi Lauper brought the crowd to their feet – and some onto the stage – at Jackson’s Thalia Mara Hall Oct. 25 during a concert that benefited The MIND (Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia) Center, a national leader in Alzheimer's research and patient care at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

“The MIND Center has some of the largest collaborations and projects in the world looking for risk factors and ways to understand the causes of Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” said Dr. Tom Mosley, Dudley and Robbie Hughes Distinguished MIND Center chair and director during the concert’s sponsor reception. “We’re looking for better ways to treat and ultimately prevent Alzheimer’s as people get older.”

Since 2010, the Center has brought together some of the nation's leading medical institutions to study factors from mid-life that may predict brain and cognitive changes later in life. The MIND Center Clinic offers diagnosis and leading-edge outpatient treatment for patients experiencing memory loss and cognitive impairment.

Proceeds from the concert, sponsored by Trustmark National Bank, will support a new research project, The MIND Center – Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. The study will focus on participants 55 and older of different races and socio-economic backgrounds to determine best practices for healthy aging.

Lauper, a singer and songwriter for more than 35 years, performed her best-known hits, including “True Colors” and “Time After Time.” She also played music she composed for the Broadway musical “Kinky Boots” and the upcoming “Working Girl.” She also displayed her versatility as a musician, playing recorder and dulcimer for a few songs in her performance.

Lauper is known for her social advocacy on issues like youth homelessness, women’s and LGBT rights. She expressed her personal connection to Alzheimer’s and dementia, sharing with the audience that her mother is experiencing symptoms of the disease. She said that she’s glad that there are organizations like The MIND Center working to help those with the disease, especially as these diseases begin to affect people her age.

However, Lauper is still a girl at heart, and some of the youngest concert attendees came on stage to dance to her signature song, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

Prior to the concert, Dr. LouAnn Woodward, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, thanked the attendees for supporting the “wonderful, important and necessary” work that The MIND Center does.

“These events provide an amazing platform to raise funds that support The MIND Center’s groundbreaking research and clinical care services,” said Patricia McClure, chair of The MIND Center events committee. “It is also a perfect opportunity to make our community aware that one of the nation’s leaders in the fight against Alzheimer’s is based right here in Jackson, Mississippi.”