Parkinson's UK North of Scotland 'meet the researchers' online event

An online research event to mark the launch of the North of Scotland Research Interest Group

You are warmly invited to the official launch of the North of Scotland Research Interest Group (RIG) regardless of where you live! This online event will take place on Zoom, on Saturday 14 November 2020, from 10.30am to 1pm. Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance, one per household.

Speakers will include:

• Dr Maria Doitsidou, University of Edinburgh, 'The role of gut bacteria in Parkinson’s'

• Julie Jones, Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, 'Parkinson's and Exercise'

• Liz Nash, Parkinson's UK Research Support Network Manager

Following the talks and Q&A session, which will conclude around 12.30pm, people from the North of Scotland, Highlands and Islands, who are interested in hearing more about the development of the Research Interest Group (RIG) are invited to stay on for another 15 minutes to learn more.

You can read more about Parkinson's UK's Research Interest Groups programme (including Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow) online here: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/research/local-parkinsons-research-groups

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Liz Nash, Research Support Network Manager, on lnash@parkinsons.org.uk or 0207 963 9398.

Maria Doitsidou is a Chancellor’s Fellow at the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh. Trained as a developmental biologist and a geneticist, her research has focused on the study of dopaminergic neurons in health and disease. During her postdoctoral studies at Columbia University in New York, she studied how the dopaminergic neurons are formed during the development of an organism. In her lab in Edinburgh, Maria and her team investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative conditions, focusing on Parkinson’s. Central to her lab’s research program is the study of gut-brain interactions in Parkinson’s. Her lab uses a microscopic nematode worm, called C. elegans, to understand how gut bacteria affect protein aggregation (the formation of toxic protein clumps) in neurodegenerative disease. Her team recently discovered a probiotic bacterium that protects against the formation of alpha-synuclein aggregation in the worm model. Their plan is to progress to studies with mouse models of Parkinson’s and fast-track human clinical trials.

To find out why the gut is of interest in Parkinson’s and to learn more about Maria Doitsidou’s research, please visit: https://medium.com/parkinsons-uk/whats-the-gut-got-to-do-with-parkinson-s-ask-the-expert-4e1195d5f9c4

Julie Jones is a Clinical Academic Fellow jointly funded by Parkinson’s UK, and the Chief Scientist Office. Julie is a Physiotherapist with a specialist interest in Parkinson’s, and her research focuses on exercise and gait for people with Parkinson’s. Julie is part way through her doctoral study, which explores the feasibility of a multi-component exercise intervention for people with Parkinson’s. Through her involvement in setting up exercise classes for people with Parkinson’s, Julie has seen the breadth of benefits exercise brings, not only in improving the physical symptoms but also some of the non-motor symptoms, in particular fatigue and apathy.

Julie is passionate about improving services for people with Parkinson’s and is actively involved in a number of national committees including the Strategic Advisory Group in Scotland, the Parkinson’s Active project, and the National Excellence Network's exercise hub. Julie is based at Robert Gordon University, as senior lecturer where her role is divided between research, clinical and teaching.