Four scientists from the UK DRI are amongst the recipients of new global team-based research awards announced last week by the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s Initiative (ASAP), in partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), as part of ASAP’s Collaborative Research Network (CRN). The UK DRI researchers whose teams will collectively receive $36M will address key gaps in our understanding of the development and progression of Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s is one of the fastest growing neurological conditions in the world, yet there are no treatments available that can slow or prevent its progression.
A hallmark of the ASAP's CRN initiative is collaboration-based research through teams formed from different institutions across the world, coupled with open science, to accelerate research progress that will ultimately lead to new treatments.
Prof Miratul Muqit, Director of the UK DRI Parkinson’s Research Centre (PRC), will lead a team that will investigate the role of mitochondria in Parkinson’s. His lab has focused on understanding how mutations in two genes, PINK1 and PRKN, lead to Parkinson’s which has contributed to new therapeutic approaches that are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. In the new ASAP award, he will collaborate with scientists at the University of Dundee (UK), Harvard University (USA), UCLA (USA), and Gottingen University (Germany) to expand on the interplay of mitochondria with stress pathways.
These new ASAP awards are a tremendous opportunity to address critical gaps in our understanding of Parkinson’s disease. The philosophy of ASAP in promoting interdisciplinary team-based science with open science principles aligns extremely well with the mission of the UK DRI and new Parkinson’s Research Centre (PRC) with the common goal of accelerating research to deliver new breakthroughs to the clinic for patients.
Centre Director
Prof Laura Parkkinen, Group Leader at the UK DRI PRC, will be co-Investigator of a team that will investigate the role of the a-synuclein protein and protein misfolding in the development and progression of Parkinson’s. The Parkkinen lab has pioneered research in human neuropathology, with a specific focus on the molecular determinants that drive a-synuclein seeding and how this leads to neurodegeneration in PD. Prof Parkkinen will collaborate with scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and LMU University Hospital (Germany) to expand on mechanisms of a-synuclein-mediated pathology.
Dr Sarah Marzi, Group Leader at the UK DRI at King’s College London, will be co-Investigator of a team that will dissect the role of environmental factors in the causation of Parkinson’s. The Marzi lab studies epigenetics and has a strong focus on how both environmental factors and genetic risk contribute to Parkinson’s disease. In her ASAP award, she will collaborate with scientists at the University of Pittsburgh (USA), University of Alabama at Birmingham (USA) as well as industry partner Acurex to unlock new genetic regulatory programmes in the brain that drive Parkinson’s and how these are affected by environmental factors.
Prof Derk-Jan Dijk, Group Leader at the UK DRI Centre for Care Research & Technology will be co-Investigator of a team that will examine the mechanisms underlying disturbances in sleep and circardian rhythms in Parkinson’s. Prof Dijk will collaborate will scientists at the University of Oxford (UK), Harvard Medical School (USA), and University Hospital Zurich (Switzerland) to identify sleep and circadian mechanisms underlying heterogeneity in non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s such as excessive daytime sleepiness and nighttime sleep fragmentation and whether these mechanisms could be harnessed and exploited as targets for future treatment.
Prof Muqit said:
“These new ASAP awards are a tremendous opportunity to address critical gaps in our understanding of Parkinson’s disease. The philosophy of ASAP in promoting interdisciplinary team-based science with open science principles aligns extremely well with the mission of the UK DRI and the new Parkinson’s Research Centre (PRC) with the common goal of accelerating research to deliver new breakthroughs to the clinic for patients. I share the excitement of my fellow UK DRI colleagues to be part of this global initiative, and to have four recipients from the same institution is a testament to the quality of research within the UK DRI and contributes to our vision to create a world-leading hub of Parkinson’s research at the UK DRI and the PRC.”