About us

The Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre (OPDC) is a unique multidisciplinary research centre at the University of Oxford supported by Parkinson’s UK with funds from The Monument Trust, one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.

Established in February 2010, the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre (OPDC) brings together internationally-renowned scientists who work on the genetics of Parkinson’s, the generation of cell and animal models, and the wiring of brain circuits which control movement, with clinical experts in the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s.

Our world-class research centre was formed to understand the earliest events in the development of Parkinson’s and create animal models with greater relevance to the disease, ultimately with a view to identifying the changes which occur before the symptoms become apparent.

Our programme targets the molecular pathways to Parkinson’s in order to:

1. Understand the progression of Parkinson’s
2. Predict the onset of Parkinson’s
3. Identify potential drug targets for Parkinson’s
4. Develop new treatments that will prevent the development of Parkinson’s in at-risk individuals.

• Watch the video below to learn more about OPDC's research

 

Selected Publications

• Roberts BM, Doig NM, Brimblecombe KR, Lopes EF, Siddorn RE, Threlfell S, Connor-Robson N, Bengoa-Vergniory N, Pasternack N,  Wade-Martins R, Magill PJ & Cragg SJ. GABA uptake transporters support dopamine release in dorsal striatum with maladaptive downregulation in a parkinsonism model. Nat Commun 11, 4958 (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18247-5

• Bengoa-Vergniory N, Faggiani, Ramos-Gonzalez P, Kirkiz E, Connor-Robson N, Brown L, Siddique I, Li Z, Vingill S, Cioroch M, Cavaliere F, Threlfell S, Roberts B, Schrader T., Klärner F-G, Cragg S, Dehay B, Bitan G, Matute C, Bezard E, Wade-Martins R. CLR01 protects dopaminergic neurons in vitro and in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. Nat Commun 11,  4885 (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18689-x

• Agarwal, D, Sandor, C, Volpato, V, Caffrey TM, Monzón-Sandoval J, Bowden R, Alegre-Abarrategui J, Wade-Martins R, Webber C (2020) A single-cell atlas of the human substantia nigra reveals cell-specific pathways associated with neurological disorders. Nat Commun 11, 4183 (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17876-0

• Hunn BHM, Vingill S, Threlfell S, Alegre-Abarrategui J, Magdelyns M, Deltheil T, Bengoa-Vergniory N, Oliver PL, Cioroch M, Doig NM, Bannerman DM, Cragg SJ, Wade-Martins R. (2019). Impairment of Macroautophagy in Dopamine Neurons Has Opposing Effects on Parkinsonian Pathology and Behavior. Cell reports, 29(4), pp. 920-931.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.09.029
• Wallings R, Connor-Robson N, Wade-Martins R. (2019). LRRK2 interacts with the vacuolar-type H+-ATPase pump 
• Zambon F, Cherubini M, Fernandes HJR, Lang C, Ryan BJ, Volpato V, Bengoa-Vergniory N, Vingill S, Attar M, Booth HDE, Haenseler W, Vowles J, Bowden R, Webber C, Cowley SA, Wade-Martins R. (2019). Cellular α-synuclein pathology is associated with bioenergetic dysfunction in Parkinson's iPSC-derived dopamine neurons. Human molecular genetics, 28(12), pp. 2001-2013. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddz038
• Condon MD, Platt NJ, Zhang YF, Roberts BM, Clements MA, Vietti-Michelina S, Tseu MY, Brimblecombe KR, Threlfell S, Mann EO, Cragg SJ. (2019). Plasticity in striatal dopamine release is governed by release-independent depression and the dopamine transporter. Nature communications, 10(1), pp. 4263. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12264-9
• Hu MTM. (2019). From dreams to parkinsonism: tracking the journey. Brain : a journal of neurology, 142(7), pp. 1850-1852. doi: 10.1093/brain/awz155
• Kelly MJ, Lawton MA, Baig F, Ruffmann C, Barber TR, Lo C, Klein JC, Ben-Shlomo Y, Hu MT. (2019). Predictors of motor complications in early Parkinson's disease: A prospective cohort study. Movement disorders: official journal of the Movement Disorder Society, 34(8), pp. 1174-1183. doi: 10.1002/mds.27783
• Lawton M, Baig F, Toulson G, Morovat A, Evetts SG, Ben-Shlomo Y, Hu MT. (2019). Blood biomarkers with Parkinson's disease clusters and prognosis: the oxford discovery cohort. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society, doi: 10.1002/mds.27888
• Lang C, Campbell KR, Ryan BJ, Carling P, Attar M, Vowles J, Perestenko OV, Bowden R, Baig F, Kasten M, Hu MT, Cowley SA, Webber C, Wade-Martins R. (2019) Single-Cell Sequencing of iPSC-Dopamine Neurons Reconstructs Disease Progression and Identifies HDAC4 as a Regulator of Parkinson Cell Phenotypes. Cell Stem Cell. 24(1):93-106.e6. PMID:30503143