The Parkinson’s Research Podcast: New Discoveries in Neuroscience

Alpha-synuclein plays a key role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease, and researchers have been investigating this protein as a therapeutic target and also as a potential biomarker for the disease. The alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay, developed by Dr. Claudio Soto and colleagues, leverages the self-replicating nature of the misfolded alpha-synuclein proteins that form aggregates in Parkinson's disease. Amplifying misfolded alpha-synuclein can allow researchers and clinicians to detect the presence of the pathological form of the protein in biospecimens, even when the amount of misfolded alpha-synuclein in a sample is very low. In this episode, Claudio discusses his work in this area and how it has opened the doors for a variety of potential uses of the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay, including applications in diagnosis, clinical trials, and drug development for Parkinson's disease.

This year, Claudio received the 2024 Robert A. Pritzker Prize for Leadership in Parkinson’s Research for his substantial contributions to research and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists in the field. Claudio is the Huffington’s Distinguished University Chair, Professor of Neurology, and Director of the George and Cynthia Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston. He is also the Founder, Vice-President, and Chief Scientific Officer at AMPRION Inc.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

To help meet the growing global need for more movement disorders specialists, The Michael J. Fox Foundation created the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders in collaboration with longtime partner the Edmond J. Safra Foundation. This program supports the training of movement disorders specialists who will provide expert care and drive advances in Parkinson's research. The program is positively impacting early-career clinician-researchers, as well as the centers where they train. These impacts will continue to grow over the years as more fellows are trained. In this episode, Dr. Marcelo Merello and Dr. Sergio Castillo-Torres share their insights and perspectives as a Fellowship Director and a Fellow in the program, respectively. 

Marcelo is Director of the Department of Neurosciences and Chief of the Movement Disorders Clinic at the Institute for Neurological Research or Fleni Hospital. He is fellowship Director at Fleni and the University of Buenos Aires. In addition, Marcelo is Principal Investigator with the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research and Professor of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. Sergio is an Associate Professor in Neurology and Internal Medicine at the Dr. Jose E. Gonzales University Hospital of the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon. He was an Edmond J. Safra Fellow in Movement Disorders at Fleni Hospital. Visit michaeljfox.org/fellowship to learn more about the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

Stem cell models derived from patients with Parkinson’s disease are valuable tools that are helping researchers around the world to better understand the underlying causes of neurodegeneration and to develop biomarkers and new therapies. To maximize the potential impacts of these tools, it is critical that they are developed and shared according to the principles of open science. In her interview, Dr. Birgitt Schüle discusses her work developing alpha-synuclein cell lines, challenges and opportunities in the field, and important considerations surrounding open science. She goes in-depth on how the cell lines were developed, characterized, and deposited with the American Tissue and Cell Collection (ATCC) with funding support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation, as well as how these cells can be used to fuel future discoveries. Birgitt is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Neuropathology, and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Core. 

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

New qualitative and quantitative tools are being developed to measure and track changes in proteins relevant for neurodegenerative disease, and these tools have the potential to accelerate drug discovery and clinical trials. In this episode, Dr. Judith Steen discusses her work creating novel qualitative and quantitative tools and workflows at the interface of proteomics and transcriptomics, including their novel FLEXI platform. This platform uses targeted, high- throughput quantitative mass spectrometry to isolate, quantify, and identify molecular changes in proteins. She describes her ongoing project, funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation, to develop FLEXISyn, which aims to track post-translational changes in alpha-synuclein to better understand how the protein becomes dysfunctional and begins misfolding and forming toxic aggregations in Parkinson's disease. Judith is Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, a member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and Director of the Neuroproteomics Laboratory in the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children's Hospital.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

Substantial research has focused on identifying biomarkers for the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) as well as monitoring progression of the disease. In developing these biomarkers, it is critical for scientists to consider how the biomarkers will ultimately be used in the clinic and in clinical trials research. In this interview, Dr. Charles (Chuck) Adler shares his perspectives on how biomarkers are currently being used in clinical and research contexts, and what it would take for him to use them more often in clinical practice. He also discusses how groundbreaking collaborative research studies, including the Arizona Study of Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders and the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), are having major impacts on the field. Chuck is Consultant and Professor of Neurology in the Department of Neurology and The Wayne and Kathryn Preisel Professor of Neuroscience Research at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

Sleep disturbances, such as insomnia, sleep fragmentation, excessive daytime sleepiness, and REM sleep behavior disorder are common in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Poor sleep quality can also impact other domains of function, including motor function. Prior research has shown that a type of photoreceptor cell in the retina, called melanopsin cells, provide the main light signals to the brain to initiate sleep, and function of these cells is impaired in PD. Dr. Beatix Feigl and her colleagues developed a novel light therapy intervention that selectively activates the melanopsin photoreceptor cells, and in this episode, she discusses the results of a recent randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of this melanopsin photoreceptor-directed light therapy on sleep and circadian rhythm, as well as motor behaviors. She also discusses her earlier work on melanopsin cells that led to the development of standard measures to assess their function. Beatrix is an Ophthalmologist and an Associate Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Center for Vision and Eye Research, as well as the Faculty of Health, at the Queensland University of Technology.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

Though existing evidence supports that dysfunction in the clearing of cellular debris plays an important role in the development of Parkinson's disease, many unanswered questions remain regarding the mechanisms of the autophagy-lysosomal pathway involved in this process. In particular, research in the field has been limited by a lack of reliable, quantitative tests for monitoring autophagy-lysosome activity. In this interview, Dr. Zhenyu Yue describes his research investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms for Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on their work examining the regulation of the autophagy-lysosomal pathway, potential therapeutic targets, and MJFF-funded research that aims to develop sensitive, robust autophagy-lysosome assays to facilitate the discovery of biomarkers for PD using stem cell-derived neurons and biofluids. Zhenyu is the Aidekman Research Professor in the Department of Neurology and Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is also the Director of the Center of Parkinson’s Disease Neurobiology and Director of Basic Research of Movement Disorders at Mount Sinai.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

Evidence supports that dysfunction in the homeostasis of iron and other elements likely contributes to the pathophysiological mechanisms of Parkinson's disease, but we have yet to develop suitable elemental biomarkers for use in diagnosing and monitoring the progression of Parkinson's disease. Dr. Paul Lingor discusses his work in this area to identify patterns of bioelements in CSF that could serve as PD biomarkers. Beyond CSF, he is also examining tear fluid as a potential biomarker source that is easier to collect. In addition to work on biomarkers, Paul has been involved in developing and evaluating new treatments for Parkinson's disease. In this episode, he discusses an ongoing phase II clinical trial evaluating the ROCK inhibitor Fasudil, as well as research examining combinations of advanced therapies for people with later-stage Parkinson's disease. Paul is Professor of Neurology at the Technical University of Munich and head of the outpatient clinics for motor neuron disease and co-head of the outpatient clinics for Parkinson’s disease.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

Identifying reliable biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonism would have substantial impacts on clinical trials and clinical practice. A particularly active area of research is the development of novel molecular imaging biomarkers that can be used in combination with common neuroimaging approaches. Dr. Antonio Strafella discusses current practices for using molecular imaging biomarkers in research and in the clinic, the process of developing new biomarkers, as well as promising biomarkers that are in development. He also discusses limitations, implementation challenges, and the potential use of AI to enhance diagnostics in the future. Antonio is the Krembil-Rossy Chair in Molecular Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Professor in the Department of Medicine within the Division of Neurology at the Toronto Western Hospital (University Health Network, University of Toronto). He also serves as Director of Clinical Research and Translation with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University Toronto, and he is a movement disorder neurologist in the Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson’s Disease and Morton & Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic at the Toronto Western Hospital.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.

Prior studies have established links between poor olfaction and Parkinson's disease, and impaired sense of smell is a common prodromal symptom of Parkinson's disease. The causes and mechanisms of prodromal neurodegeneration are actively being researched. However, environmental exposure to pesticides or other chemicals may trigger or modify the course of neurodegeneration, potentially leading to the development of Parkinson's disease over time. In this episode, Dr. Honglei Chen shares his research on environmental causes of neurodegenerative diseases, focusing particularly on evidence linking olfaction, environmental exposure, and Parkinson’s disease. Better understanding how environmental factors may contribute (alone or in combination with genetic factors) to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease may lead to new approaches to prevent or slow the progression of neurodegeneration. Honglei is the MSU Research Foundation Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Michigan State University.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.