This informative event will feature presentations and a Q&A session with Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists who are focused on the development of new treatments that slow or stop the progression of Parkinson’s. Speakers will include Viviane Labrie, Ph.D. and Patrik Brundin, Ph.D.

In October, VARI scientists published a groundbreaking study describing the appendix as a potential starting point for Parkinson’s. These findings hold new clues to Parkinson’s earliest stages, how it progresses and how it might be stopped using new, targeted therapies. For the more than 60,000 people in the United States who will be diagnosed with Parkinson’s this year, and the seven to 10 million people worldwide who have Parkinson’s, this study offers new hope for improved treatments.

The event is free to attend with registration online. A boxed lunch is included with registration. For more information and to register, visit: https://www.vai.org/event/public-lecture-series-parkinsons-disease-2018/

About Viviane Labrie, Ph.D. – Dr. Labrie is an assistant professor in the Institute’s Center for Neurodegenerative Science. She studies the dynamic interplay between the human genome and its control system – the epigenome – to understand how neurodegenerative diseases start and progress in an effort to develop improved diagnostics and treatments. Labrie is the senior author on a recently published study that solidifies the role of the gut and immune system in the genesis of Parkinson’s, and reveals that the appendix acts as a major reservoir for abnormally folded alpha-synuclein proteins, which are closely linked to Parkinson’s onset and progression.

About Patrik Brundin, M.D., Ph.D. – Dr. Brundin serves as Van Andel Research Institute’s associate director and the director of the Institute’s Center for Neurodegenerative Science. He investigates molecular mechanisms in Parkinson’s disease, and his goals are to develop new therapies aimed at slowing or stopping disease progression or repairing damage. He is one of the top-cited researchers in the field of neurodegenerative disease and leads international efforts to repurpose drugs to treat Parkinson’s.