PEMRIG’s mission is to raise awareness of the latest research which is being done to advance our understanding of Parkinson’s. On this page, we have documented Lab Visits and Interviews with Parkinson’s researchers, all discussing the latest updates to their exciting research.
Professor Jon Lane at Bristol University, hosted a zoom visit to his laboratory on June 12th from 3.00pm to 4.30 pm. Here is a link to the recording of the meeting Jon Lane Zoom Lab Visit June 2023. Jon has a grant from Parkinson’s UK entitled ‘Understanding more about the role of the immune system in Parkinson’s.’ He explains:
‘People with Parkinson’s don’t have enough of a chemical called dopamine because some of the brain cells that produce it have died. We still don’t fully know what causes this, but one hypothesis is that a person’s immune response may play a role. When we get an infection, our immune system responds by recruiting cells and producing signals which fight against it. This is known as inflammation. Sometimes inflammation can be wrongly activated and damage healthy cells, and this might be the case in Parkinson’s. This research aims to understand more about the role of inflammation in brain cell death’.
Jon Lane welcomed PEMRIG to his lab and introduced members of his group. Dr Madhu Kollareddy briefly described his recent work on neuronal stress protection just published in the prestigious Journal of Cell Biology. Research students Shiza (funded by Parkinson’s UK), Beth and David then introduced themselves.
Jon then took us on a virtual tour of his lab area which is housed in a 1970s building which was refurbished 4-5 years ago and is very well equipped. Jon explained that some of the capital equipment is bought on grants but problems arise in finding funds to repair or replace older equipment. Jon’s research is funded by grants from The Wellcome Trust, the BBSRC and Parkinson’s UK.
Here is Martin Rumsby’s more detailed report of the visit at this link:
Jon Lane lab visit with glossary
Professor Flaviano Giorgini University of Leicester hosted a Zoom Meeting on Monday 12 December 2022 starting at 4.00 pm. Flaviano and his colleagues Carlo Bredi and Robert Mason described the results of the study which was successful. A research paper will be produced in 2023 giving more details. Below is a description of the aims of the project.
Professor Giorgini has funding from Parkinson’s UK for a project entitled ‘Unblocking cellular traffic jams as a treatment for Parkinson’s’. Recent studies show that traffic jams inside cells may contribute to Parkinson’s. A small protein Rab39b is involved in the movement of “cargo” within cells. Defective Rab39b is associated with Parkinson’s symptoms and Professor Giorgini and his colleagues have enhanced Rab39b functions to see if this has a beneficial role in Parkinson’s. Here is a report of the meeting by Martin Rumsby.
Online Lab Visit: Professor Lisa Chakrabarti
In August 2022, PEMRIG organised an online visit to the mitochondria research laboratory of Professor Lisa Chakrabarti of the University of Nottingham. The mitochondria in some nerve cells of people with Parkinson’s don’t produce enough energy to power all the reactions going on in these dynamic cells and this lack of energy partly contributes to the death of nerve cells observed in Parkinson’s. To watch the event back click here and use passcode +@9&xLnH. Martin wrote a report to summarise the topics covered by Professor Chakrabarti which can be downloaded via the ‘Download’ button below.
The PEMRIG Interviews: Dr Ian Harrison
Martin Rumsby organised a virtual tour of Dr Ian Harrison’s lab at University College London on 24th June 2021. Dr Harrison spoke about his team’s research on the glymphatic system, and its potential implication in Parkinson’s. This meeting was recorded and is available in the YouTube video adjacent. Martin wrote a short report summarising this meeting, which can be accessed via the ‘Download’ button.
Laboratory Visit: Dr Susan Duty
Martin Rumsby attended a virtual lab tour of Dr Susan Duty’s lab at King’s College London on 13th May 2021. Dr Duty presented several pieces of work including the repurposing of an asthma drug to potentially benefit people with Parkinson’s disease. Please click the download button for a full report on the lab visit and a link to the lab tour.
The PEMRIG Interviews: Professor Flaviano Giorgini
Interview with Professor Flaviano Giorgini, Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester on 22nd April 2021. Professor Flaviano Giorgini has a 3 year research grant from Parkinson’s UK for a project entitled ‘Unravelling the role of RAB39B in Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis’. The grant employs a postdoctoral research associate and expires in January 2022. Click the download button to read a summary of the conversation with Flaviano.
PEMRIG 