Selected Projects
The five projects selected for the SPARK NS 2024 Parkinson’s Disease Translational Research Program are stellar examples of the work underway by academic researchers in the Parkinson’s disease research community. They meet unmet clinical needs, use robust and novel mechanisms or approaches, and have a high probability of achieving translational objectives during the two-year immersive program.
SPARK NS 2024 Parkinson’s Disease Translational Research Program
Reducing Alpha Synuclein Spread in Parkinson’s Disease
Alice S. Chen-Plotkin, MD
Parker Family Professor of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania
Design of Small Molecule Degraders of Synuclein mRNA
Matthew D. Disney, PhD
Institute Professor and Chair, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, University of Florida
Small Molecule for Autophagy Enhancement for Parkinson’s Disease
James H. Hurley, PhD
Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and Kirsch Springer Chair in Biological Sciences, University of California, Berkeley
Preventing Dopamine-Induced Neurotoxicity in Parkinson's Disease
Gary W. Miller, PhD
Vice Dean for Research Strategy and Innovation, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Axonal Reinnervation Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease
David Sulzer, PhD
Professor of Neurobiology, Columbia University
