Caltech Researchers Team Up to Fight Parkinson’s Disease

A team of Caltech TCCI®-affiliated researchers including Viviana Gradinaru, professor of neuroscience and biological engineering and director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Sarkis Mazmanian, Luis B. and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology and David Van Valen, assistant professor of biology and biological engineering and Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator, among others, has received a major grant from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative that provides more than $11 million to carry out this research.

 Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s, affecting more than 10 million people worldwide. PD is characterized by a decrease in a brain chemical called dopamine and the death of neurons in a part of the brain known as the substantia nigra. The loss of these neurons leads to the characteristic Parkinson’s tremor as well as other debilitating movement symptoms and problems with cognition, mood, and sleep.

 Read more on the TCCI® for Neuroscience site

 Photo credit: Caltech