Defining cell therapies using CNS tissue sources in living Parkinson’s Disease patients

There is a critical need for new therapies for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a devastating neurodegenerative disease. Current therapies for PD treat disease symptoms, but do not provide a cure. The ability to generate patient brain-derived cells may rapidly advance development of personalized therapies for PD and other incurable neurological disorders. This study will use brain samples from living patients with PD to develop viable human cells specialized to deliver deficient brain chemicals that restore and protect neurological function. The potential clinical benefits of these cells will be tested in animal models of PD. Results of this work support commercialization of new culture products and human brainderived cells for researchers worldwide. This study may further set the foundation for the development of new, innovative, personalized therapies for PD, with potential application in a host of neurological diseases. This work will be performed under partnership with STEMCELL Technologies Inc.

Faculty Supervisor:

Matthew Hebb

Student:

Andrea Di Sebastiano

Partner:

London Health Sciences Foundation

Discipline:

Medicine

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Western University