Scientists and people with Parkinson’s are joining forces at a new £10 million research centre, in a push to turn decades of discovery into treatments that could change lives.
The UK Dementia Research Institute [1] Parkinson’s Research Centre, jointly funded with Parkinson’s UK, launches today and connects research teams at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oxford and University College London. Its goal is to tackle one of medicine’s most stubborn challenges: why, despite years of scientific progress, there is still no treatment that can slow or stop Parkinson’s progressing.
Together, the teams will investigate why Parkinson’s develops, why it progresses, and how cutting-edge science can deliver better diagnosis and treatment. Parkinson’s affects around 166,000 people in the UK, with someone diagnosed every 20 minutes.
The centre is led by Professor Miratul Muqit, a practising neurologist and internationally recognised Parkinson’s researcher based at the University of Edinburgh. His work has helped reveal how changes in key genes affect the health of brain cells, with discoveries from this field now paving the way for targeted therapies being tested in early-stage clinical trials.
Speaking about the launch, Professor Muqit said:
“We know more about Parkinson’s than ever before, but people living with the condition are still waiting for effective treatments that can slow, stop or prevent it. This centre is built to change the pace of progress. By connecting leading teams across Edinburgh, Oxford and London, we can bring different parts of the Parkinson’s puzzle together, from genes and brain cells to brain circuits and symptoms. Our ambition is to make this centre a beacon for open, collaborative science.”
Professor David Dexter, Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK, added:
“For people living with Parkinson’s, better treatments cannot come soon enough. That is why this centre, and the collaborative philosophy at its heart, is so important. It puts people with Parkinson’s alongside world-class researchers, helping make sure the science is focused on the questions and symptoms that could make the biggest difference to everyday life.”
People with Parkinson’s have helped shape the centre’s direction from the very beginning, including sitting on the interview panels that appointed its first research leaders. Shafaq Hussain-Ali, who has Parkinson’s, was part of the panel that selected the centre’s Group Leaders:
“It was a privilege to be involved. The new centre recognises that Parkinson’s research cannot happen without the involvement and participation of the Parkinson’s community. Hearing from the researchers about their passion for transformative science has filled me with hope about what is to come.”
What this means for early career researchers
For ECRs working in Parkinson’s, neurodegeneration and related fields, the launch of a centre at this scale is worth paying attention to. A few reasons why:
New training environments. Three-site centres like this one typically open up rotation opportunities, joint supervision arrangements and exchange placements between Edinburgh, Oxford and UCL. For PhD students and postdocs, that means access to techniques, cohorts and equipment that no single lab could offer alone.
A collaborative model worth watching. Professor Muqit has been explicit about wanting the centre to be “a beacon for open, collaborative science”. Open science practices, data sharing and team science are increasingly what funders expect, and ECRs who build careers inside cultures like this tend to be better placed when they apply for their own fellowships.
Patient involvement embedded from day one. People with Parkinson’s helped appoint the Group Leaders. If you are an ECR designing studies, writing fellowships, or thinking about lived-experience involvement, this is a centre worth following for how to do PPIE well in practice.
Funding signals. A £10m joint investment from UK DRI and a major charity sends a clear message about where Parkinson’s research is heading: mechanistic discovery linked tightly to translation. Aligning your work, or your next application, to that direction is sensible career strategy.
Posts for research leaders have been filled, but with a centre of this size there will be PhD studentships, postdoc positions and project opportunities coming through over the next year or two. Keep an eye on the UK DRI and Parkinson’s UK websites for vacancies as they are advertised.
You can read more about the centre at the UK Dementia Research Institute [2] and Parkinson’s UK [3].