Natalina Salmaso

Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Neurobiology, Carleton University

Pedaling for Parkinson’s Pilot Project Grant

Pilot Project Grant

$45,000 over 1 year

Causes

Carleton University researcher Natalina Salmaso is applying her knowledge of a class of brain cells called astrocytes, which have not previously been considered major players in the development of Parkinson’s disease. By stimulating these cells into action, she hopes to demonstrate the role they play in addressing the effects of this disorder. Her work may point the way to a therapeutic strategy that supports the body’s mechanisms for healing itself.

Martin Parent

Laval University

Pilot Project Grant

$45,000 over 2 years

Complications

Dr. Martin Parent, an associate professor at Laval University’s Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, is studying the cause of dyskinesia, uncontrolled movements that are a side effect of the levodopa therapy that is still the best drug treatment for Parkinson’s disease. He and his colleagues will be using an innovative new gene-editing technology to manipulate the function of a specific gene they regard as a primary cause of this problem.

Caroline Lafrechoux

Laval University

Funded by the Lanka Charitable Foundation

Graduate Student Award

$30,000 over 2 years

Complications

At Laval University, Master’s student Caroline Lafrechoux is investigating how to guide the axons, or the connectors, between transplanted cells in the area of the brain where dopamine-producing cells are dying. If she can find a way to guide the axons to the right locations within the brain, she’ll improve the prospects for brain cell transplantation as a way to replace the damaged and dying cells that are causing Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Susan Fox, Professor

Associate Director, Movement Disorders Clinic Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto

Garden Centre Group Co-op Corp. Pilot Project Grant

Pilot Project Grant

$45,000 over 1 year

Complications

With the legalization of marijuana on the horizon, many people are approaching their doctors to see if the oft-touted benefits of cannabinoids could help them. At the University of Toronto, Professor Susan Fox is conducting a small pilot study to see if applying cannabis oil provides relief from the sometimes sharp, burning pain that people with Parkinson’s suffer.

Anita Abeyeskera

PhD student, Western University

Porridge for Parkinson’s (Toronto) Graduate Student Award

Graduate Student Award

$30,000 over 2 years

Complications

Western University doctoral student Anita Abeyesekera is applying her speech-language pathology and speech science background to open up a new approach to the study of hypophonia, the diminishment of the speaking voice that is often a characteristic of Parkinson’s disease. Her work focuses on understanding the experience people have of hearing their voices as being louder than they actually are, an observation that raises questions about how this disease affects sensory processing in the brain.

Dr. Stefan Lang

PhD student, University of Calgary

Funded by the Lanka Charitable Foundation

Graduate Student Award

$30,000 over 2 years

Cognitive Impairment

At the University of Calgary, Dr. Stefan Lang, a neurosurgical resident and PhD candidate, is using transcranial magnetic stimulation to deliver bursts of electrical pulses to stimulate the frontal lobe of the brain in people with Parkinson’s disease who have mild cognitive impairment. Lang hopes this non-invasive technique will trigger the brain’s plasticity, causing it to rewire the networks involved in judgment, memory and decision-making.

Dr. Anish Kanungo, Clinical Fellow

Clinical Fellow Movement Disorders Neurology, University of Manitoba

Funded by Parkinson Society British Columbia

Clinical Movement Disorders Fellowship

$50,000 over 1 year

Clinical Fellowship

Conventional wisdom suggests that treating people with Parkinson’s disease in a movement disorders clinic staffed by an interdisciplinary team will produce better health outcomes and reduce costs. At the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s Movement Disorder Clinic, Dr. Anish Kanungo, a neurologist and clinical fellow, will study the data to see if there is actually an improvement in health outcomes, and a reduction in hospital, and long-term care admissions for people treated at the clinic.

Simon Wing

Professor, McGill University

Porridge for Parkinson’s (Toronto) Pilot Project Grant

Pilot Project Grant

$45,000 over 2 year

Causes

A gene previously associated with muscle wasting has recently been revealed as a possible key player in the way Parkinson’s disease spreads itself through the brain. Simon Wing, a professor in McGill University’s Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, is examining the possibility that this gene could be a critical target for therapies to treat the progress of this condition by simply halting this spread.

Jean-François Trempe

McGill University

Funded by Peter Cipriano

Pilot Project Grant

$45,000 over 2 years

Causes

Jean-François Trempe, an assistant professor at McGill University’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, is studying a gene that normally assesses the health of cells and signals when unhealthy ones should be eliminated. This regulatory mechanism appears to be distorted in cells affected by Parkinson’s disease. If this gene’s behaviour could be stabilized, the brain cells’ built-in system for keeping themselves healthy might be restored.

Frédérique Larroquette

PhD student, McGill University

Funded by the Quebec Research Fund for Parkinson’s

Graduate Student Award

$30,000 over 2 years

Causes

At McGill University, Frédérique Larroquette, a PhD student, is conducting basic research to determine why only the brain cells that produce dopamine are vulnerable to the stressors that produce Parkinson’s disease. Larroquette is transforming stem cells into dopaminergic brain cells to study the three puzzle pieces known to play some role in the development of the disease: clumps of a protein called alpha synuclein, dysfunctional mitochondria within cells, and the misfiring of neurons.

Dr. Lorraine Kalia

Assistant Professor & Clinician Scientist, University of Toronto

Pedaling for Parkinson’s New Investigator Award

New Investigator Award

$90,000 over 2 years

Causes

At the University of Toronto, Dr. Lorraine Kalia, a neurologist and neuroscientist, is investigating the role that a protein called alpha-synuclein plays in a familial type of Parkinson’s disease caused a by a mutation in the LRRK2 gene. Although large clumps of alpha-synuclein have been incriminated in the death of dopamine-producing brain cells, Kalia is investigating smaller deposits of the protein to see if their misbehavior contributes to the death of brain cells and patient symptoms.

Dr. Philippe Huot

Assistant Professor, McGill University

Pilot Project Grant

$45,000 over 1 year

Causes

At McGill University, Dr. Philippe Huot, an assistant professor, is developing and experimental model of Parkinson’s disease that will allow researchers to investigate changes in brain cells that occur at the molecular level. Huot and his team will be concentrating on alpha synuclein, a critical protein that, when misshapen, prevents them from functioning properly and leads to clumps or aggregates in dopamine-producing brain cells that lead to their death.

Jordan Follett

Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia

Funded by Parkinson Society British Columbia

Basic Research Fellowship

$80,000 over 2 years

Causes

At the University of British Columbia, neuroscientist Jordan Follett is investigating the role of the retromer complex, a sorting network within brain cells that may position particular RNA-binding proteins within cells. Follett’s working theory is that if genes within the retromer complex are mutated, they could be misplacing the RNA within dopamine-producing cells, ultimately causing them to die. If he can validate his theory, it could lead to new avenues for drug discovery.

Dr. Thomas Durcan

Assistant Professor, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University

Pedaling for Parkinson’s New Investigator Award

New Investigator Award

$90,000 over 2 years

Causes

At the Montreal Neurological Institute, neuroscientist Thomas Durcan studies the mechanisms within the human brain that can be exploited to protect it from the impact of Parkinson’s disease. This work focuses on a protein called Parkin, which removes damaged components from cells, as well as a partner enzyme that appears to guide this protein’s activities. He suggests that this enzyme could be a worthwhile target for new drugs or other therapies that could enhance Parkin’s ability to protect against the effects of Parkinson’s.

Alexandre Boutet

University of Toronto (University Health Network)

Porridge for Parkinson’s (Toronto) Graduate Student Award in Honour of Isabel M. Cerny

Graduate Student Award

$30,000 over 2 years

Causes

Alexandre Boutet, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, is using fMRI brain imaging technology to refine the way in which deep brain stimulation (DBS) is adjusted to meet an individual patient’s needs. By mapping out the active centres in a patient’s brain when the DBS device is turned on, he expects to reduce this adjustment period from as long as a year to a single day.

Frédéric Calon

Professor, Université Laval

Funded by the Quebec Research Fund for Parkinson’s

Pilot Project Grant

$45,000 over 1 year

Causes

At Laval University, Professor Frédéric Calon, a biochemist and a pharmacist, is applying new discoveries about the genetics and molecular causes of Parkinson’s disease to a closer study of the substantia nigra region of the brain. By comparing case histories with brain samples from people diagnosed with Parkinson’s before they died, Calon hopes to shed light on different subtypes of Parkinson’s and correlate symptoms to differences in the substantia nigra.

Antonio Strafella

Professor, University Health Network (University of Toronto)

Pilot Project

$45,000 over 1 year

Biomarkers

At the University of Toronto, Dr. Antonio Strafella conducts imaging studies on the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease. He’s using a new tracer, or chemical, that can highlight changes in the brain that show up on Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans. Strafella is studying the density of the synapses, or connections, in brain cells to see if a reduction in that density, measured over time, could serve as a non-invasive tool to diagnose Parkinson’s disease or differentiate between different types of the condition.

Dr. Michael Schlossmacher

Professor, University of Ottawa/The Ottawa Hospital

Pilot Project Grant

$45,000 over 1 year

Biomarkers

At the University of Ottawa, Dr. Michael Schlossmacher and his colleagues have created a mathematical model to enable doctors to predict who will develop Parkinson’s disease, and at what stage of life. If successful, this predictive model will improve diagnosis and treatment once other researchers have developed therapies to slow Parkinson’s progression.

Cricia Rinchon, Graduate Student

Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network

Porridge for Parkinson’s (Toronto) Graduate Student Award in honour of Delphine Martin

Graduate Student Award

$30,000 over 2 years

Biomarkers

Using two techniques for electrically stimulating parts of the brain, Cricia Rinchon is exploring the possibility that if they are stimulated, the cells that make up a network in the brain will work together to correct the damage Parkinson’s disease has done.

Dr. Michele Matarazzo

University of British Columbia

Funded by Parkinson Society British Columbia

Clinical Research Fellow

$100,000 over 2 years

Biomarkers

Dr. Michele Matarazzo, a neurologist with the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, is assembling a database of brain imaging scans to show the progression of Parkinson’s disease in patients over the course of several years. This information, provided by a type of imaging called Positron Emission Tomography, is expected to show patterns of disease development that shed new light on the nature of this condition.

Dr. Johannes Frasnelli

Professor, University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières

Pilot Project Grant

$40,000 over 1 year

Biomarkers

At the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Dr. Johannes Frasnelli is studying a sensory system most people don’t even know they have. He’s investigating the trigeminal chemosensory system, which allows us to detect spiciness, freshness and burning sensations, to see if the system remains intact in people with Parkinson’s disease when they lose their sense of smell. If it does, it could become an important tool for detecting who is at risk of Parkinson’s.

Pierre-Alexandre Bourgouin

PhD student, Université du Québec à Montréal

Funded in partnership with Le Fonds de recherche du Québec — Santé

Graduate Student Award

$35,000 over 2 years

Biomarkers

At the Université du Québec à Montréal, PhD candidate Pierre-Alexandre Bourgouin studies the connection between a sleep disorder called idiopathic REM behaviour disorder and Parkinson’s disease. Bourgouin, a neuropsychologist, uses an imaging technology to search for changes in the white matter in the brains of people with this disorder, which can cause them to be violent during REM sleep. Since 80 percent of those people later develop Parkinson’s, he hopes to discover differences in their white matter—the connections between cells. Those differences could provide clues to how Parkinson’s develops.