Featured Companies

Dimitri Krainc MD, Ph.D. is the chair and Aaron Montgomery Ward Professor of Neurology. He has been awarded a Research Program Award grant by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.

This award gives investigators the freedom to pursue long-term research projects, without being restricted by any specific goals. The award provides funding for eight years totaling approximately $9 million.

“This award will help us tackle some key questions in Parkinson’s disease that take more time and resources than what can be done with regular funding,” said Krainc, who is also director of the Simpson Querrey Center for Neurogenetics.

Krainc has been working to identify key molecular pathways and new therapeutic targets in a range of neurodegenerative diseases. Krainc, along with his collaborators, discovered the role of astrocytes and Parkinson's disease. He also used patient-derived neurons in a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Recent studies by the Krainc laboratory, published in Nature as well as Science, have also highlighted the role played by mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. This suggests that there may be an important component to the disease through direct signaling.

Krainc will be able to establish new partnerships between academic institutions and the industry in order to conduct translational science. Krainc said that the prospect of developing a Parkinson's-modifying treatment and how it might impact patients and their families are what motivates him and his collaborators.

“I would like to thank our patients who have and will generously donate their samples for these studies,” Krainc said. “It is the patients who inspire our research and our quest for better treatments.”

Dimitri Krainc was inducted into the Association of American Physicians AAP, a society that honors physicians who have distinguished credentials in basic and translational biomedical research. There are 1,200 active members, 700 honorary and emeritus members, and 700 emeritus members.