Cynthia Kelm-Nelson, PhD<\/a> was recently awarded two grants that will further her research into Parkinson\u2019s disease, a brain-based disorder that is most commonly associated with movement-related symptoms such as tremors and stiffness. Parkinson\u2019s disease is typically diagnosed in the mid-stage of disease, after significant irreversible damage to the neurons in the brain has already occurred. However, in the decades leading up to diagnosis there are likely a host of early brain-based changes and symptoms that appear. It is this early \u2013 or pre-clinical \u2013 stage of Parkinson\u2019s disease that Kelm-Nelson studies.<\/p>\nMichael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson\u2019s Research Grant: Parkinson\u2019s disease is difficult to study in humans because the age of onset, specific symptoms, progression, and the patient\u2019s environment can vary significantly. Kelm-Nelson\u2019s research evaluates Parkinson-like symptoms in Pink1-\/- genetic pre-clinical models. These models have a genetic deletion to mimic an\u00a0early-onset form of the disease. With a new three-year, $697,000\u00a0grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson\u2019s Research (MJFF), Kelm-Nelson\u2019s team\u00a0will compare a commonly used\u00a0Pink1 pre-clinical model to a novel, updated PINK1 pre-clinical model recently made by MJFF with different genetic engineering technology.\u00a0Ultimately, this\u00a0work will help researchers select the best model to study and learn about the earliest stage of Parkinson\u2019s disease, before it is officially diagnosed.<\/p>\n
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant Renewal: Kelm-Nelson has a particular interest in the vocal communication deficits that impact 90% of patients with Parkinson\u2019s disease. With the support of NIH funding over the last five years, her team found that inflammation affecting the vocal pathways in the brain may be the trigger for the development of these deficits. She recently learned that the NIH\u2019s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is going to renew her funding for an additional five years, providing her with $2.66 million to further study the role of inflammation in the development of vocal deficits. Using the Pink1-\/- rat, Kelm-Nelson\u2019s team will identify the mechanisms by which inflammation impacts vocal pathways in the brain and determine whether existing anti-inflammatory drugs can be used to improve vocal communication dysfunction that is related to this disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cParkinson\u2019s disease is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disorder in the United States, and it\u2019s annual economic burden of $51.9 billion places significant stress on our healthcare system,\u201d explained Kelm-Nelson. \u201cEarlier identification of the signs and symptoms of the disease could help us intervene earlier, reducing both the progression of the disease over time and the burden it places on patients and the economy as a whole. To do that, we need rigorously validated pre-clinical models that we can study, which will in turn help us better pinpoint the origins of early-stage disease. We\u2019re incredibly grateful to both the MJFF and the NIH for their support as we pursue both of these lines of research.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cynthia Kelm-Nelson, PhD Department of Surgery Senior Scientist Cynthia Kelm-Nelson, PhD was recently awarded two grants that will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[200,79],"class_list":["post-100273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genetics","tag-genetics","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Cynthia Kelm-Nelson, PhD<\/p>\n