Grant: Emerging Team Grant: From Genes to Proteins, Cells, Tissues and Patients - LOI

We propose to assemble a research team to work together toward the identification and functional characterization of novel genes causing Parkinson's disease (PD). The team will consist of experts in the fields of clinical neurology, genetics, and cellular and structural biology as well as animal models of PD. The strategy hinges on a coordinated two-pronged approach: First, the availability of a cohort of French-Canadian PD patients will allow large-scale screening of candidate genes in a relatively genetically homogenous population. Second, ongoing work on the biology of known PD genes in the labs of the applicants will provide unique insight to establish a list of 200 candidate genes based on privileged functional data. Most importantly, iterations of the approach, whereby the identification of PD-linked mutations in the genes further guide ongoing functional studies, will provide unique insight into the mechanisms of degeneration in PD, only possible via such a multidisciplinary team strategy.