UNIVERSITY of Dundee scientist Professor Dario Alessi is to lead a new research programme in hopes of helping with medical advancements targeting inherited Parkinson’s disease.
The program, LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE), is funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation and will receive tens of millions of grant support.
As the name suggests the research will focus on LRRK2, the most common type of inherited Parkinson’s disease.
LRRK2 was discovered as a link to inherited Parkinson’s over 20 years ago but this program will aim to bridge the gap between basic science advances and new results, bringing these advancements into drug development.
LITE leader Professor Dario Alessi is a global leader in his field and is already very involved in Parkinson’s treatment development.
He runs a lab at the University of Dundee focused on kinases, the study of cellular proteins which includes LRRK2.
Professor Alessi said: “LRRK2 presents key opportunities to the field, both for better understanding Parkinson’s and for treating it.”
He also directs the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy, a collaboration between leading researchers in the University of Dundee’s School of Life Sciences and global pharmaceutical companies.
He has also won various awards for studies through his work researching Parkinson’s disease, and just last year he won the 2023 Robert A. Pritzker Prize for Leadership in Parkinson’s Research.
Professor Alessi will be supported by co-principal investigator for the LITE team Dr Esther Sammler, another University of Dundee neurologist with expertise in LRRK2.
The team aim to speed up therapeutic development and lessen the financial risks of further industry investments.
Todd Sherer, PhD, chief mission officer at MJFF said: “Through the initiative, we see the potential for transformative advances in understanding Parkinson’s, intervening in the disease process and, we hope, stopping Parkinson’s disease in its tracks.”
