EP 128: Parkinson’s disease and precision medicine with Drs. James Beck and Ignacio Mata
March 28, 2024
Join us as we welcome two familiar faces, Dr. James Beck, Chief Scientific Officer at Parkinson's Foundation, and Dr. Ignacio “Nacho” Mata, Professor at the Cleveland Clinic and Coordinator of the Latin America Research consortium on the Genetics of PD (LARGE-PD).
This pair first appeared on Episode 69 of The Genetics Podcast in September 2021 to discuss the genetics of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the future of precision medicine. Nearly 60 episodes later, Drs. Beck and Mata are back to walk us through updates in the field of PD and precision medicine, increasing diversity in genetic studies, and the potential for prediction and prevention of PD.
You won’t want to miss this insightful episode featuring two of the preeminent experts in Parkinson’s disease and precision medicine.
0:00 Introduction
1:05 Insights into the PD GENEration’s (a programme from the Parkinson's Foundation) milestones and progress points for the upcoming year
3:30 The shifting attitudes and perspectives of neurologists and healthcare workers at the PD GENEration
5:50 Insights into Nacho’s work with the genetics of Parkinson’s disease
10:20 Barriers and facilitators to increasing Latino representation in Parkinson’s disease research, including the return of results process in Latin America
17:30 The PD GENEration’s efforts to increase the participation of ethnic minority groups in genetic studies and research
24:15 How to effectively choose inclusive and accessible clinical sites in Latin America
30:10 Major genes implicated in Parkinson’s disease and the potential for prediction and prevention via screening programmes
36:30 The implications of environmental and genetic risk factors for family members of those living with PD
45:00 Promising programmes in PD research and clinical trials, such as Denali and Biogen’s joint effort to develop small molecule inhibitors of LRRK2
48:40 Best practices for community and patient engagement to speed up the process for clinical trials
54:30 Closing remarks
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