Research events

On Wednesday 20 September, the Edinburgh branch of Parkinson’s UK and the Edinburgh Research Interest Group held the 2023 annual Edinburgh Parkinson’s lecture.

This year’s lecture, ‘Learning to listen - a patient-centred approach to Parkinson’s care’, was delivered by Professor Camille Carroll, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Newcastle University. Prof. Carroll’s research focuses on disease-modifying treatments and how we can use digital health technologies for monitoring and personalised care for Parkinson’s.

Prof. Carroll was introduced by James Jopling, Scotland Director for Parkinson’s UK. Members of both the live and online audiences asked questions after the Lecture (chaired by Prof Tilo Kunath). The Concluding Remarks were made by Dr Alison Williams, a person with Parkinson’s and Honorary Professor of Creativity, the Centre for Person-Centred Practice Research, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.

Watch the recording.

The PenPRIG team met with Claire Bale, Associate Director of Research; Shona Clegg, Clinical Studies Portfolio Manager; and Jan Kulagowski, Drug Discovery Manager; to learn more about the Parkinson’s UK Virtual Biotech and its drug discovery projects, aiming to bring us new and better treatments, faster.

Watch the talks in the series to learn more.

‘What is the Parkinson's UK Virtual Biotech About? Introduction in plain English’ with speaker Claire Bale

‘A Potential Dyskinesia Drug Gets The Virtual Biotech Treatment’ with Shona Clegg

‘Parkinson's Drug Discovery Gets The Virtual Biotech Treatment’ with Jan Kulagowski

'A Q&A session: News of progress in drug discovery and clinical trials' with the Virtual Biotech Team

These and other research talks are available on PenPRIG’s YouTube channel.

We invite you to listen to the North of Scotland Research Interest Group’s podcast, featuring interviews with Parkinson’s researchers active across Scotland - including Professor Tilo Kunath, Julie Jones, Dr Carl Counsell, and Dr Angus MacLeod.

Each episode lasts approximately 30 minutes, and new interviews are added monthly.

You can listen to each episode by following the links on the group’s PodBean webpage.

Research indicates around 50% of people with Parkinson's will experience pain. The causes can be multiple, and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Dr. Kirsty Bannister, from King's College London, is investigating pain, and working on individual experiences of pain and how to help.

You can watch the recording here. 

The Peninsula Parkinson's Research Interest Group (PenPRIG) hosted Dr Simon Stott, Director of Research at Cure Parkinson's, talking about the latest research into diet and nutrition for people with Parkinson's.

Watch the diet and nutrition for Parkinson's talk. 

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'

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. 
 

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. 

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.