J. Wolbert (Jolien)

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a well-known brain disease, marked by movement disabilities and cognitive abnormalities. At a cellular level, PD is hallmarked by damage to neurons caused by toxic accumulation of the protein α-Synuclein (αSyn). Early PD pathology was originally thought to be confined to specific areas in the brain. However, clinical observations suggest a disease origin outside the brain as intestinal disturbances and αSyn accumulations are found decades before diagnosis. These findings highlight a potential involvement of the gut in early onset PD.

With my work I aim to study the progressive cellular and molecular processes of pathological αSyn transmission and neuro-inflammation, by recreating the gut-to-brain connection on a microfluidic chip, employing human pluripotent stem cell-derived technology.  

This project is funded by NWO-Veni (TTW) 2024

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University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20), room ZH126
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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