A systematic investigation into the pathogenesis and course of Parkinson's syndrome. (360G-Wellcome-089698_Z_09_Z)

In this ambitious proposal we have assembled a group of world-leading clinical and basic science researchers possessing complementary expertise to identify and tackle the causes of Parkinson's Disease (PD). The overall goal will be a fuller understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of PD as well as improved clinical assessment of the disease prodrome. The main goals of the project are: 1. To undertake comprehensive genetic analysis of a large number of well characterised PD patients to identify rare variants and novel genes that cause and predispose to disease. 2. To perform state of the art molecular and biochemical characterisation of existing and novel PD-causing gene products and their pathways to delineate the regulation and function of these proteins. 3. To clinically dissect the prodrome of PD using a large series of at risk patients. The consortium brings together both established PD researchers and senior researchers from other disciplines whose expertise brings new skills to this programme. This research should yield crucial new knowledge of the molecular pathways leading to neurodegeneration and shed insight into the causation of PD.