Stichting ParkinsonFonds awarded €355.710,00 to Prof. Ruud Toonen (FGA & Neurospector) to advance research on genetic forms of Parkinson’s disease.
The mechanisms driving neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s remain incompletely understood, and disease-modifying therapies are still lacking. Although genetic forms of Parkinson’s are rare, they have provided crucial insights into disease mechanisms.
This project will be led by Dr. Ana Carreras Mascaro, who will investigate how specific genetic variants in Parkinson’s disease contribute to neurodegeneration in a physiologically relevant context. Building on Neurospector’s optimized human dopaminergic neuron cultures, she will develop new cell models to study early-onset, genetically driven Parkinson’s.
This research aims to uncover novel pathways involved in neurodegeneration and ultimately support the development of future therapeutic strategies.