This week our host, Kira Dineen, is joined by Dr. James Beck and Dr. Ignacio Mata to discuss Parkinson’s Disease and diversity in genetic Parkinson’s research.

On This Episode We Discuss:

How Parkinson’s Disease (PD) affects the body

Genes that play a role in the development of PD

Genetic testing for family members of patients with PD

The PD GENEration project and how it is helping people with PD

Underrepresentation of Hispanic people in PD genetic research

How to achieve more inclusivity with research in the PD space

Learn more through the “Substantial Matters: Life and Science of Parkinson’s” podcast. Here is a list of episodes specifically about the PD GENEration study we have been discussing.

Check out more about the PD GENEration on the Parkinson’s Foundations website, including how to enroll in the study. If you have questions about enrollment send them to genetics@parkinson.org.

PD GENEration también ofrece pruebas genéticas y asesoramiento en Español. Para más información visite http://parkinson.org/pdgene

To stay up to date on the latest PD news and research follow The Parkinson’s Foundation on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. And be sure to check out Dr. Beck’s, and Dr. Mata’s on Twitter!

Dr. James Beck is the Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at The Parkinson's Foundation. In his role, Dr. Beck sets the strategic direction for the Parkinson’s Foundation research vision, and oversees a portfolio which has guided more than $360 million in research to explore what causes Parkinson’s disease (PD) and how to improve treatments, and he has played an integral role in positioning the organization as a world’s leader in accelerating Parkinson’s research. He is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at the New York University School of Medicine. He holds a BS from Duke University and a PhD from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Dr. Ignacio Mata is a member of the Parkinson’s Foundation Hispanic Parkinson's Advisory Council, which develops strategies to increase clinical research education, awareness and participation among Hispanic people with Parkinson’s throughout the United States. He is also an Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He received his BSc and PhD degrees from the University of Oviedo, Spain. His current research focuses on the identification of genetic risk factors for several quantitative traits involved in cognitive impairment in PD and the identification of novel genes causing familial forms of PD.

Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on December 17, 2021 where we’ll be discussing sequencing to assess inherited cancer risk! New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of the month. In the meantime, you can binge over 160 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. Episodes in 2021 are also recorded with video which you can watch on our YouTube channel.

See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNApodcast.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

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Unfortunately, there is an underrepresentation of people of Non-European descent in genetic studies. We’ve explored this in multiple episodes of DNA Today. Allelica is also very aware of this issue and how polygenic risk scores developed for people who are of European descent cannot be applied to other ancestries without further validations. To directly address this, Allelica developed new models to improve predictive power in Non-European people. Allelica validated their polygenic risk scores in Non-Europeans population to provide ancestry specific genetic risk assessment. Interested in learning more? Visit Allelica.com. Allelica: Empowering the next generation of clinical genomics. (SPONSORED)

Do you have patients with Primary Mitochondrial Myopathy? There is a new clinical study looking for people with PMM to enroll. People with Primary Mitochondrial Myopathy can experience muscle weakness or exercise intolerance. This study is assessing the efficacy and safety of a drug to help patients walk further by improving their muscle function. Find out about the study for Primary Mitochondrial Myopathy and how your patients can participate by going to pmmstudy.com. (SPONSORED)