Parkinson's

IRP Scientists Win Breakthrough Prize for Parkinson’s Discoveries

Andrew Singleton and Ellen Sidransky Lauded for Genetics Research

Dr. Ellen Sidransky (left) and Dr. Andrew Singleton (right)

Throughout history, some of the most important insights about devastating illnesses have come from identifying genes that contribute to them. Parkinson’s disease, a neurological condition that robs patients of the ability to move, is just one example of this pattern — and one that IRP researchers have made critical advances on in recent years.

Reflecting the IRP’s groundbreaking research on Parkinson’s disease, in September, IRP senior investigators Ellen Sidransky, M.D., and Andrew Singleton, Ph.D., were awarded the prestigious Breakthrough Prize for their research on the genetic causes of the illness. The world’s largest scientific award, the Breakthrough Prize honors “transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life.” Each year, one award in the Life Sciences category is reserved for research on Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Sidransky and Dr. Singleton, along with a third Parkinson’s researcher, Thomas Gasser, M.D., Ph.D., at the University of Tübingen in Germany, will share the $3 million prize.

Toxic Protein and Aging Combine Forces to Drive Brain Disease

IRP Study Suggests New Therapeutic Targets for Pair of Age-Related Illnesses

older man

Aging wears down all parts of our bodies, from our bones to our brains. It’s no surprise, then, that it’s the main risk factor for neurological illnesses like Parkinson’s disease and dementia. However, the precise reason why has long remained a mystery. New IRP research suggests that the aged brain is a fertile ground for the spread of a harmful protein associated with several neurological diseases, and that the toxic protein itself ages immune cells in the brain.

Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Pinpoint Precision

Drug Candidate Could Slow Progression and Reduce Side Effects

dartboard with dart in the bullseye

If you know someone with Parkinson’s disease, you’re probably familiar with the progressive tremors and movement difficulties it causes. Unfortunately, the most common treatment for the disease — a drug called levodopa, or L-DOPA for short — can make some movement problems worse when taken for long periods of time. That’s why IRP senior investigator David R. Sibley, Ph.D., and postdoctoral fellow Amy Moritz, Ph.D., have taken on the challenge of discovering new drugs that could be given to patients in conjunction with existing treatments to more effectively slow the disease’s progression while reducing side effects.

Mouse Study Supercharges Neurons to Detect Parkinson’s Disease

Pushing Cells to Their Limits Could Enable Earlier Diagnosis and Treatment

overloaded lightbulb

If the many stories of mothers lifting cars to save their trapped children prove anything, it’s that we cannot know the true capabilities of our bodies until they are put to the test. This concept, it turns out, could be the key to much earlier diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease. By stimulating specific neurons to push them to their limits, IRP researchers were able to detect Parkinson’s in mice in its very early stages, opening up the possibility that a similar test could one day allow human patients to begin treatment before the disease has caused too much damage.

New Lasker Scholars Begin Breaking New Ground

Early-Career Scientists Power Through Pandemic to Launch Labs

NIH’s 2021 Lasker Clinical Research Scholars

NIH has long prided itself on its ability to accelerate the careers of the brightest young physicians and scientists in the country. One of these many efforts is the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program, which provides a select group of individuals relatively early in their scientific careers with the funding and institutional support to start their own labs at NIH. After five to seven years of independent research in the IRP, Lasker Scholars are given the option to apply for three years of funding for work outside of NIH or to remain as investigators at NIH.

While launching a lab in the midst of a global pandemic is no easy task, five Lasker Scholars have done just that over the past year. Their research on cancer, Parkinson’s disease, childhood blindness, and inflammatory conditions is now well underway and promises to eventually improve the lives of many patients. Keep reading to learn more about how NIH’s newest Lasker Scholars are changing the way we treat those illnesses.

NIH Scientists Redesign Neurons to Enable Targeted Therapies

New Receptors and Radioactively Labeled Molecules Could Provide Useful Tools for Research and Medicine

neurons firing

Genetically modifying neurons to enable scientists and clinicians to influence brain activity probably sounds like the stuff of science fiction. However, the technology has existed for more than a decade, allowing scientists to make important leaps in understanding how neurons communicate with one another in healthy individuals and those with psychological and neurological conditions. What’s more, recent improvements to these tools developed by researchers led by IRP investigator Mike Michaelides, Ph.D., may allow neurologists to use them to deliver drugs to just the right brain cells to treat those ailments effectively without the side effects caused by current treatments.

IRP’s Robert Tycko Elected to National Academy of Sciences

NIH Researcher Recognized for Contributions to Structural Biology Techniques

Dr. Robert Tycko

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), established in 1863, is comprised of the United States’ most distinguished scientific scholars, including nearly 500 Nobel Prize winners. Members of the NAS are elected by their peers and entrusted with the responsibility of providing independent, objective advice on national matters related to science and technology in an effort to advance innovations in the United States.

IRP senior investigator Robert Tycko, Ph.D., was one of two NIH researchers elected to the NAS in 2020, an honor he hopes will give him the opportunity to help other scientists and improve the way science is done.

IRP’s Richard Youle Receives Breakthrough Prize

‘Silicon Valley Nobel’ Recognizes Groundbreaking Parkinson’s Disease Research

Dr. Richard Youle

It can be easy to underestimate the value of so-called ‘basic science’ that doesn’t appear, upon first glance, to have clear therapeutic applications. One of the hidden strengths of this sort of work is its ability to link seemingly disparate areas of scientific inquiry by identifying commonalities between the structure or behavior of different biological molecules. By following these unexpected connections over the course of his career, IRP senior investigator Richard Youle, Ph.D., has made critical discoveries about Parkinson’s disease — research that this year earned him the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

Postbac Poster Day Goes Virtual

Hundreds of Young Researchers Present Their Work Online

Amy Kwarteng

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the way scientists are doing their work. Nevertheless, scientific research is a highly collaborative and interactive enterprise, so it remains essential for researchers to share and discuss their ideas and discoveries.

Every spring, the NIH’s Postbac Poster Day offers recent college graduates participating in the NIH’s Postbaccalaureate IRTA program the chance to show off the fruits of their labors and talk about their projects with both their fellow postbacs and the NIH’s many seasoned scientific veterans. Due to the need to maintain social distancing, the NIH's Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE) went through considerable effort to move this year’s Postbac Poster Day to an online forum. The OITE staff's hard work paid off handsomely, with more than 870 postbacs presenting their research via WebEx on April 28, 29, and 30. Keep reading for a few examples of the fascinating scientific questions NIH’s latest crop of postbacs has been investigating.

Research Symposium Celebrates Graduate Student Science

Event Spotlights Students Completing Their Ph.D. Research in IRP Labs

NIH graduate student John Fenimore

The NIH provides an extraordinarily rich environment for learning and honing the skills needed to pursue a scientific career. It’s no wonder, then, that Ph.D. students from institutions all across the United States and the rest of the world come here to conduct their dissertation research under the mentorship of the IRP’s many renowned investigators.

Nearly 150 of those students presented the fruits of their scientific work at the NIH’s 16th annual Graduate Student Research Symposium on Thursday, February 20. The insights they have produced on topics from cancer to autoimmune disease to environmental contaminants were supremely impressive and will likely contribute to important improvements in medical care in the future. For anyone who missed this exciting event, read on to learn about a few of the many research projects that were on display.