Stanford Researchers get CIRM Grant to Break Bottleneck in Parkinson’s Disease Research

Two stem cell researchers at Stanford and scientists at the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale, CA, have received a large award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to develop research that may overcome a major bottleneck in Parkinson’s disease (PD) research and drug discovery. These newly created stem cells, which carry the genetic code of known Parkinson’s disease patients, can be grown in such a way that they turn into nerve cells. In some cases, the patients carried genes that cause PD and these cells will likely be affected PD pathology. In other cases, the cause was unknown and the cells will therefore be useful as a model system that allows researchers to study how Parkinson’s disease develops in the first place and to test potential medications for the disorder.“we have put together a team that provides all the necessary elements to use this cutting edge technology in the discovery and application of new treatments for Parkinson’s disease. “