The UK Dementia Research Institute Parkinson’s Research Centre - jointly funded with Parkinson’s UK - launched this week. It connects research teams at the University of Edinburgh, UCL, and the University of Oxford to tackle one of medicine’s most stubborn challenges - why, despite scientific advances, there is still no treatment for Parkinson’s that can slow or stop the condition progressing.

The new centre will bring together leading Parkinson’s researchers to investigate why Parkinson’s develops, why it progresses and how cutting-edge science can deliver better diagnosis and treatment.

Parkinson’s affects around 166,000 people in the UK. Someone is diagnosed every 20 minutes.

The centre is led by Professor Miratul Muqit, a practising neurologist and internationally recognised Parkinson’s researcher based at the University of Edinburgh, whose work has helped reveal how changes in key genes affect the health of brain cells. Discoveries from this field are helping pave the way for targeted therapies now being tested in early-stage clinical trials.

Professor Miratul Muqit, Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute Parkinson’s Research Centre, said: “We know more about Parkinson’s than ever before - but people living with the condition are still waiting for effective treatments that can slow, stop or prevent it.

“This centre is built to change the pace of progress. By connecting leading teams across Edinburgh, Oxford and London, we can bring different parts of the Parkinson’s puzzle together - from genes and brain cells to brain circuits and symptoms.

“Our ambition is to make this centre a beacon for open, collaborative science.”

Prof Henry Houlden (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology), who was recently appointed as one of three Group Leaders said: “I am grateful to be part of the Parkinson’s Research Centre. This will help our team to understand the genetic spectrum of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders across all populations. We are very collaborative and look forward to working with new colleagues across the UK DRI. 

“The ultimate aim will be to translate these discoveries into improved diagnostics, more personalised approaches to care and identify novel therapeutic targets that can meaningfully improve the lives of patients and families affected by these disorders.”

Professor David Dexter, Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK, said: “For people living with Parkinson’s, better treatments cannot come soon enough. That is why this centre, and the collaborative philosophy at its heart, is so important. It puts people with Parkinson’s alongside world-class researchers, helping make sure the science is focused on the questions and symptoms that could make the biggest difference to everyday life.”

People with Parkinson’s have helped shape the centre’s direction from the very beginning - including sitting on the interview panels that appointed its first research leaders.

Shafaq Hussain-Ali, who has Parkinson’s, was part of the panel that selected the centre’s Group Leaders and said: “It was a privilege to be involved. The new centre recognises that Parkinson’s research cannot happen without the involvement and participation of the Parkinson’s community. Hearing from the researchers about their passion for transformative science has filled me with hope about what is to come.”

 

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