Working as both a neurologist and a researcher, Prof. Wim Vandenberghe is using stem cells to grow nerve cells in the laboratory to understand how a mutation in the RAB32 gene causes Parkinson’s disease and thereby identify potential new targets for treatments.

How does the brain clear waste during the night, and what does sleep have to do with Parkinson’s? Prof. Moran Gilat of KU Leuven is investigating whether disturbed sleep and the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid play a role in Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease may be linked to a dysregulation of the immune system. Prof. Gaëtan Garraux and his team are investigating whether a drug already used to treat certain rare diseases could help regulate these cells and, ultimately, slow the progression of the disease.