Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center at Emory University

莫里斯K。埃默里大学的Udall帕金森病卓越中心帕金森病研究是一个合作研究计划，其中电生理学家和解剖学家研究帕金森病的病理生理学，并检查和优化现有帕金森病治疗方法的效果。该中心利用埃默里大学基底神经节研究社区的证明能力进行转化研究。尤德尔中心的其他资产是它与埃默里大学临床运动障碍小组的密切联系，以及埃默里大学耶基斯国家灵长类动物研究中心的灵长类动物研究的可用性。埃默里大学坚定地致力于尤德尔中心的研究，并通过资助试点赠款，邀请演讲者以及部分教育和推广计划来支持该中心。 该中心由三个紧密相连的项目和两个核心组成。计划中的研究将揭示丘脑和皮层中与帕金森病相关的活动变化，这反过来将有助于我们更好地了解帕金森病的病理生理学，优化现有的神经调节策略并开发新的策略。项目1（由Jaeger博士领导）将利用啮齿动物的脑切片和体内记录，以及神经计算方法来开发帕金森症中丘脑皮质功能障碍的机制模型。项目2（Wichmann博士）将继续探索帕金森病猴的丘脑和皮质异常，使用选择性激活和失活方法，旨在研究皮质丘脑、苍白球丘脑和丘脑皮质的信息传递。项目3（史密斯博士）将研究帕金森病灵长类动物丘脑和皮层微电路的形态学变化，这是一个目前几乎未被探索的主题，与其他项目中的数据解释高度相关。所有项目都将得到行政核心（Wichmann博士，PI; DeLong博士，Co-I，Smith博士，Co-I，Holbrook女士，管理员）以及解剖学和行为核心（Galvan博士）的支持，该核心将为所有中心项目提供免疫组织化学和电子显微镜服务，并为项目2和3中的灵长类动物实验提供标准化MPTP治疗和帕金森病定量。 除了追求其研究使命（目标1），该中心将帮助年轻科学家发展他们在帕金森病研究（目标2）的职业生涯，并将从事广泛的推广工作，旨在传达该中心的（和Udall中心网络）向公众提供研究结果（目标3），使所有年龄组和背景阶层都能了解，从幼儿园到12年级的孩子到生活辅助设施中的退休人员。作为外展议程的一部分，该中心计划为患者及其护理人员组织年度研讨会。该中心将得到大学的慷慨支持。这些内部支持资金将帮助该中心资助其一些教育和外展任务，以及其试点赠款计划，旨在扩大埃默里大学的帕金森病研究。

The Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Center of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease Research at Emory University is a collaborative research program in which electrophysiologists and anatomists study the pathophysiology of parkinsonism, and examine and optimize the effects of existing treatments for Parkinson's disease. The Center draws upon the proven ability of the basal ganglia research community at Emory to conduct translational research. Other Udall Center assets are its close ties to the clinical movement disorders group at Emory, and the availability of primates for research at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University. Emory is strongly committed to the Udall Center's research, and supports the Center by funding pilot grants, invited speakers, and portions of its education and outreach programs. The Center consists of three tightly linked projects and two cores. The planned research will shed light on the poorly understood parkinsonism-related activity changes in thalamus and cortex which, in turn, will help us to better understand the pathophysiology of parkinsonism, and to optimize existing neuromodulation strategies and to develop new ones. Project 1 (led by Dr. Jaeger) will utilize brain slice and in vivo recordings in rodents, as well as a neural computational approach to develop mechanistic models of thalamocortical dysfunction in parkinsonism. Project 2 (Dr. Wichmann), will continue the exploration of thalamic and cortical abnormalities in parkinsonian monkeys, using selective activation and inactivation approaches which are designed to study corticothalamic, pallidothalamic and thalamocortical information transfer. Project 3 (Dr. Smith) will examine morphological changes in the thalamic and cortical microcircuitry in parkinsonian primates, a topic that is virtually unexplored at this time and of high relevance to the interpretation of data in the other projects. All projects will be supported by an Administrative Core (Dr. Wichmann, PI; Dr. DeLong, Co-I, Dr. Smith, Co-I, Ms Holbrook, administrator), and by an Anatomy and Behavior Core (Dr. Galvan) which will provide immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy services to all of the center projects, and standardized MPTP treatment and quantification of parkinsonism to the primate experiments in Projects 2 and 3. In addition to pursuing its research mission (Aim 1), the Center will help junior scientists to develop their career in Parkinson's disease research (Aim 2), and will engage in extensive outreach efforts, aimed at communicating the Center's (and Udall Center network) research findings to the public (Aim 3), reaching all age groups and background levels, ranging from K-12 children to retirees in assisted living facilities. As part of the outreach agenda, the center plans to organize annual symposia for patients and their caregivers. The center will be generously supported by the University. These internal support funds will help the Center to fund some of its education and outreach missions, as well as its pilot grant program, designed to expand Parkinson's disease research at Emory University.