What motivated you to study in the field of Parkinson’s?
I first chose to study Parkinson’s because of the potential for regenerative medicine to become a treatment. Transplanting new cells into patients’ brains to replace the lost ones seemed, and still seems, like a fascinating approach. I later realized the incredible clinical diversity associated with this disease, and especially the lack of models for laboratory research. This led me to embark on the development of these tools.
What are the goals of your research project?
I am working with members of my laboratory on the development of a direct cell reprogramming model using patient cells to study the neuroinflammatory component of Parkinson’s disease to identify new pharmacological targets.
