In Quebec, more than 25,000 people suffer from Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition that manifests itself mainly by tremors, rigidity, postural instability and reduced motor skills.
Thanks to the expertise of the Université de Montréal, several innovative projects are underway to prevent the disease, diagnose it more quickly and identify new treatments and interventions with the aim of slowing its progression.
However, research is currently facing a major challenge: faced with the significant cellular diversity of the tissues they study ─ brain, peripheral nervous system, immune system ─, low-throughput sequencing tools are no longer sufficient. In order to maintain their leadership position, research teams must resort to more efficient systems.
The generous contribution of the donor Céline Hébert, whose husband Louis Hébert, plastic surgeon and graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, died of Parkinson’s disease, comes at the right time to finance the acquisition of highly specialized equipment: a high-throughput cellular and tissue phenotyping, including brain scanning and RNA detection systems. This platform will make it possible to effectively assess the impact of genetic manipulations on cell integrity and gene expression.
Research overview
Furthermore, the3rd GRePSUM Scientific Day(Parkinson and Related Syndromes Research Group of the University of Montreal) will be held on April 11 in the amphitheater of the CHUM Research Center.
About a hundred researchers, graduate students and practitioners in the field will meet to discuss the work in progress in the various environments and laboratories of UdeM and its affiliated research centres.
This event is made possible thanks to theFund Ginette Prémont and Michel Phaneuffor research on Parkinson’s disease.