Research events

Nobel Laureate Professor Randy Schekman delivered his lecture 'Parkinson's – Up Close and Personal' on 11 June 2022 at the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh, in partnership with our Scotland Research Interest Groups.

Watch the lecture online here.

This event, held in May 2022, featured evidence-based talks from people with expertise in Parkinson's, Dementia, Psychology and Mental Health and included practical advice on improving wellbeing.

Watch the talk today.

Speakers included:

• Professor Jane Simpson, Lancaster University, 'Psychological Therapies for people affected by Parkinson’s'
• Dr Becky Dowson, University of Nottingham, 'Music and singing for people living with dementia, Parkinson’s and their carers'
• Vanessa King, Action for Happiness, 'Practical Science-based Ideas to Sustain and Boost Wellbeing for People with Parkinson’s and their families'

In May 2022, the group hosted a range of speakers on the topic of technological advances in diagnosis, treatment, and symptom monitoring in Parkinson's. 

Watch the recording here. 

Speakers included:

• Professor David Dexter, Associate Director of Research at Parkinson's UK, 'An Overview'
• Joy Milne, 'The Journey of Smell to Diagnosis'
• Dr Nir Grossman, Imperial College London, 'Non-Invasive Electrical Stimulation for Essential Tremors and Other Neurological Symptoms'
• Luis Carvalho, Senior Research Assistant, Northumbria University, 'A Wearable Device for Cueing for the Management of Drooling and Monitoring of Symptoms'
• Dr Elmar Kal, Brunel University London, 'Weighting for the Beat: Using a Dance Cue to Facilitate Turning in People with Parkinson’s & Freezing of Gait'

Catch up with the Gretschen Amphlet Memorial Lecture, recorded on 24 May 2022. The event celebrates the 5th anniversary of our most ambitious research venture to date - the Parkinson's Virtual Biotech - and champions the partnerships that are driving forward the treatments of tomorrow. The lecture includes a summary of some of the ongoing projects funded by the Virtual Biotech, including the TOP HAT trial and a patient involvement initiative with UCB.

Watch the research lecture

The Northern Ireland Research Interest Group hosted an online research event on 29 March 2022 with speaker Dr Rob Skelly, Consultant Physician, Royal Derby Hospital, talking about his work and current Parkinson’s UK-funded research project looking at the effectiveness of remotely delivered physiotherapy for people with Parkinson's. Watch the talk to learn more about non-drug ways of managing some of the everyday problems of living with Parkinson’s.

The Dundee Research Interest Group hosted an online research event on 31 March 2022 with keynote speaker Dr Tom Gilbertson, Consultant Neurologist at Ninewells Hospital and Medical School and Senior Lecturer in the Medical School at the University of Dundee.

The University of Dundee is the second site in the UK to host a Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) system. This technology will be at the forefront of clinical trials aimed at accurately treating individuals with disabling tremor and may also benefit people with Parkinson’s in the future. Dr Tom Gilbertson discusses how MRgFUS works, how it can be used to treat tremor, and a planned upcoming clinical trial of the technology.

Watch the recording here. 
 

The Wales Research Interest Group hosted an online event on 8 April 2022 with Dr Laurie Mischley, 'The Search for the Secret of Success: The effect of daily choices and therapies on Parkinsonism.'

Dr Laurie Mischley is a physician and conducts research as an Associate Clinical Investigator at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington State, USA. Since 2016, Dr Mischley has been collecting data from people all over the world in her ‘MVP study’, looking at information about diet, social health, financial health, pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, and physical activity.

In this talk, Dr Mischley discusses the study findings to date, highlighting the relationships between lifestyle factors and Parkinson's symptoms and progression, as well as possible strategies for living better.

Watch the talk. 

The Greater Glasgow Research Interest Group (GGRIG) hosted an online research event on 2 March 2022 with speaker Dr Angeliki Bogosian, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology, Health Services Research Division, City University of London. 

In the talk Dr Angeliki Bogosian discusses mindfulness and the development of an app to support mental health, for people with Parkinson's.

Click the link to watch the event recording.

Peninsula Parkinson's Research Interest Group (PenPRIG) recently hosted Dr Camille Carroll, Plymouth University. She talked about the future for digital support of Home Based Care Pathways for Parkinson's and shared the success of digital tools trialled at the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. 

Watch the talk. 

Par-Con 2021 was our online research event for the Parkinson's community. There were 12 sessions, including discussions about diet and nutrition to thoughts on what future treatments might look like.

You can now browse the wide range of talks on our YouTube channel. 

The Devon and Cornwall Peninsula Parkinson’s Research Interest Group (PenPRIG) have been busy hosting a variety of ‘meet the researcher’ events online, and have an excellent range of recordings for you to watch to learn more. 

Topics include:

• Anxiety in Parkinson’s, with Occupational Therapist Chris Lovegrove

• Accelerating clinical trials in Parkinson's, with Dr Camille Carroll

• Artificial Intelligence and Parkinson's imaging, with Plymouth PhD student Megan Courtman

• The award-winning Home-based care pathway for Parkinson’s, with Dr Camille Carroll, Emma King and Emma Edwards from the Plymouth NHS Trust.

All are available to watch on the PenPRIG YouTube channel.

Our East of England Research Interest Group hosted Marta Camacho, University of Cambridge, speaking about gut health in Parkinson's. Marta is researching the main gut problems affecting people with Parkinson’s and whether these play a role in how the condition progresses. Watch the recording here.

Catch-up on a virtual tour of Professor Susan Duty's lab at King's College London, as well as some talks from members of the research team. Watch the recording here.

Watch the Gretschen Amphlet Memorial Lecture, recorded on 24 March 2021, to hear from a range of speakers. The lecture focuses on research that aims to investigate cannabidiol (CBD) for Parkinson's associated psychosis. 

Watch the research lecture.