Miquel Vila, MD, PhD
Miquel Vila, MD, PhD, received his MD from the University of Barcelona (Spain) and PhD in neuroscience from the University of Paris 6 (France). His PhD work at the Salpêtrière Hospital was devoted to the consequences of dopaminergic neurodegeneration on the functioning of the basal ganglia. He then moved to Columbia University, initially as postdoctoral researcher and subsequently as Assistant Professor of Neurology, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease (PD). He currently leads the Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Group at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Vila’s work in experimental animal models, both genetic and neurotoxic, has shed light on molecular mechanisms underlying PD-linked neuronal dysfunction/degeneration, including mitochondrial alterations, alpha-synuclein aggregation, autophagy deficits, inflammatory changes, and apoptotic pathways. He has originally created novel PD-relevant animal models, such as the one induced by injection of Lewy bodies isolated from PD brains or the first genetic rodent model producing neuromelanin.
Richard Wade-Martins, PhD
Richard Wade-Martins, MA, DPhil, is a molecular neuroscientist with extensive and long-standing research programs in molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease, with a focus on the role of SNCA, GBA, MAPT and LRRK2 in Parkinson’s disease. Previous, highly cited work from his group includes pioneering (a) the development of patient induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived dopamine neurons to uncover cellular pathways driving disease phenotypes, and (b) the use of highly physiological BAC transgenic and knock-out mouse models to understand the role of alpha-synuclein in regulating dopamine neurotransmission. More recently, he has focused on studying mechanisms of Parkinson’s using transcriptomic and proteomic profiling, and exploiting the depth and breadth of his models to provide mechanistic rationale for identifying new drugs and therapeutic targets for Parkinson’s. Since 2010, Richard has been founding director of the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre, a highly multi-disciplinary program spanning from patients cohorts to drug discovery.
Christine Weber-Schmidt, BA
Chrissy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Reed College, where her senior thesis involved optimizing IHC and ISH protocols to visualize neuronal activity and examine the correlation of brain expression and behaviors in cichlid fish. She then transitioned to OHSU working under Dr. Mandel to optimize scoring and behavioral tasks and AAV brain injections in p21 mice developing Rett Syndrome (MeCP2-/-). She also worked on a project to visualize REST transcript in human and mouse brain samples using IHC. In 2017, she shifted focus to type II diabetes and islet metabolism with a group at SIBCR, where she studied amyloid formation in mice over time in the pancreas and tested pharmacological agents in the established models. She was most recently in Dr. Hill’s transplant immunology lab for 3 years focused on T cell immunology and exhaustion in preclinical mouse transplant models focusing on GVHD, leukemia and myeloma. She is current working in Dr. Rui Costa's lab as lab manager.
Thomas Wichmann, MD
Thomas Wichmann, MD, received medical training at the Universities of Münster and Freiburg (Germany), graduating in 1984, with subsequent postdoctoral research training at the University of Freiburg and Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), and neurology residency training at Emory University (Atlanta, GA). He has been a faculty member at Emory University since 1996, specializing in research into the pathophysiology of parkinsonism and the clinical care of patients with Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. He is currently the A. Worley Brown Professor of Neurology, Associate Director of the Movement Disorder division in Neurology, and Associate Director for Scientific Programs at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. His research has been continuously NIH funded, and has been published in high-impact journals. Dr. Wichmann also leads Emory’s NINDS-funded Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson’s Disease Research, and the American Parkinson’s Disease Association’s Center for Advanced Research at Emory University.
