Fiona Clark on why she has launched the Menopause Research and Education Fund

What more fitting way to end this week - which included World Menopause Day - than to release this interview with Fiona Clark, Founder of the Menopause Research and Education Fund.   Fiona is an Australian journalist who previously worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and was a correspondent in the Soviet Union at the time it collapsed. She returned to Australia and worked as a reporter on and then supervising producer of its equivalent of Newsnight before leaving the ABC to move to medical publishing in the early 2000s. She then moved with her family back to Russia for what was supposed to be a year, but ended up being around 10 years. She then moved to London where she set up Harley Street Emporium with the aim of delivering evidence-based information about skincare to women, but which quickly evolved to cover menopausal health and for the last 5 years she has carried out thousands of interviews with menopause experts and many amazing women about their experiences. Most recently she has launched the Menopause Research and Education Fund and that’s why I asked her to come and tell us more about why such a charity is needed and what their plans are for the future.   MREF is fundraising to obtain charity status and its mission is to: - fund independent research into menopause (including topics such as migraine, HRT post-cancer, mental health, joint pain, impact of longer term HRT usage and more) - make sure all healthcare professionals have the education they need to help women adequately and appropriately and, - that all those who go through menopause have the evidence-based information they need so they can make informed decisions.   With so many of us likely to live over a third of our lives in a post-menopausal state, it’s critical for our understanding of long-term health and wellbeing that all aspects of menopause and perimenopause get the independent research that we are crying out for.  To find out more about MREF and donate to their work visit https://mref.uk/ If you enjoyed this epside it would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too!  You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com   Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share  We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/     You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training.  Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources