[Healthtech Founder] Detecting dementia early... Doctor turned healthtech entrepreneur.. advice!

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Find Julia on LinkedIn here:   / julia-cooney-zest  
Find Julia on Instagram here:   / dr.juliacooney  
Find Zest on Instagram here:   / zest.science  

From aspiring surgeon to building a test that can spot dementia decades before symptoms. In this episode, Julia shares how she went from junior doctor in Australia to health tech founder in the UK, and why she chose to walk away from surgery to work on preventative brain health.

We dive into how her company Zest pivoted into building PMAZ, a 10 minute digital memory test developed with the University of Cambridge that can detect very early signs of dementia in your 40s and 50s. Julia explains what dementia actually is, why lifestyle matters more than most people think, and how early detection could completely change the way we approach brain health.

Along the way, she talks candidly about:

The moment she realised doctors are often the “least interesting” part of the health tech innovation chain
Why current dementia tests are so limited and how precision memory testing works in simple terms
The 14 key lifestyle factors that can dramatically change dementia risk
What it is really like to pivot a startup, fundraise, and sell into clinics as a non technical founder
The tension between biohacker culture and traditional medicine, and what she saw inside the longevity world
Her advice for doctors who want to move into health tech, portfolio careers, and medical advisory roles
If you are interested in longevity, brain health, or making the leap from clinical medicine to startups, this conversation is for you.