Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the deposition of protein clumps in the brain of patients as well as the loss of specific neurons that are important for reward and movement. Our brain is the second richest organ in lipid (fat) molecules and their levels are tightly regulated by our body under healthy conditions. However, it is now well established that the levels of specific lipids are increased in PD patients brains.

My research aims at testing novel strategies to revert lipid changes associated with PD and decrease protein clumps in neuronal cells. First, I will screen different approaches to modulate the activity of proteins involved in lipid synthesis and/or processing to model lipid changes in the opposite direction to those observed in PD patients. Then, I will test successful treatment in patients’ neuronal cells as potential therapeutics capable to both revert PD-related lipid changes and prevent pathological protein clumping.