Tuesday, April 01, 2008
UCMC - APDA's newest Center for Advanced Research
The University of Chicago is the American Parkinson Association Disease Inc.'s ninth and newest Center for Advanced Research. Under the direction of Un Jung Kang MD, the Department of Neurology's Associate Chair and Associate Professor, the center's key personnel are Harriet de Wit PhD, Professor of Psychiatry; Christopher Gomez MD PhD, Professor and Chair of Neurology; and Xiaoxi Zhuang PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology, with seven additional scientists in various multidisciplinary fields of PD research.

The center is interested in finding out how the genetic mutations found in PD kills dopamine neurons. Dr. Kang hopes that these discoveries will provide a clue as to how to prevent disease progression in PD patients.

Another project addresses the molecular mechanism of dyskinesia that PD patients often experience after long term medication treatment. The team is also interested in developing biological tests that can aid in the diagnosis and gauging the severity of PD, which currently relies solely on physician’s clinical judgment.

The fourth project attempts to characterize the recently recognized phenomenon of excessive gambling that some PD patients experience after chronic dopamine agonist therapy.

The center's APDA support is utilized for supporting promising seed projects. Once researchers demonstrate the feasibility of these projects, additional funding can be obtained from other traditional sources such as NIH, thereby leveraging APDA funding into much larger funds that are necessary to complete these large scale projects.

The center is also active in clinical trials and patient care including deep brain stimulation. The clinical team includes Richard Penn MD, an expert in functional neurosurgery, Arif Dalvi MD MBA, a movement disorder specialist, and Joan Young, the center’s coordinator.