Bringing researchers together to tackle animal models

This week leading researchers came together at our seventh Special Parkinson's Research Interest Group (SPRING) conference in London to debate how we can best use animal models to learn more about Parkinson's (PDF file).

Developing better animal models to study Parkinson's is one of 4 key challenges for research that we're tackling as part of our 5-year research strategy to find a cure for the condition.

The meeting attracted international experts, including Professor Jose Obeso from the University of Navarra in Spain and Professor J Timothy Greenamyre from the University of Pittsburgh in the US.

We also heard a range of stimulating talks with key contributions from Parkinson's UK-funded researchers, including:

• Dr Oliver Bandmann from Sheffield University, who described how his work using zebrafish (PDF file) is helping us understand early onset Parkinson's


• Dr Anton Gartner from the University of Dundee, who explained why tiny worms called C-elegans have a lot to tell us about how our brains work (PDF file)
  


• Dr Alex Whitworth from the University of Sheffield who discussed how studying fruit fly models is helping identify new drug targets for Parkinson's
  

Our Director of Research and Development Dr Kieran Breen comments:

"It was great to see so many Parkinson's UK-funded researchers presenting their groundbreaking work. Accurate models are the key to improved drug screening and swifter movement into clinical trials for the best drugs.

"But we still urgently need better models for Parkinson's that accurately reflect what happens in the human brain to help us investigate the different stages of the condition."