SPARK NS Projects

The SPARK NS Translational Research Program is dedicated to helping academic principal investigators more effectively advance their discoveries in autism and Parkinson’s disease from the lab to the clinic. Participation in the program lasts two years, during which each project receives the resources and support needed to achieve their translational objectives.

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SPARK NS Translational Research Program,
2026 Cohort

Targeting Neuroinflammation for Parkinson's Disease

Veerle Baekelandt, PhD

Professor, Head of Laboratory for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy, KU Leuven

About Veerle Baekelandt

A Therapeutic for Shank3-related Autism (PMS)

Tobias Boeckers, MD

Professor, Head of the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University; Group Leader, Translational Protein Biochemistry, DZNE, Ulm Site

About Tobias Boeckers

RNA Targeted Small Molecule Therapeutics for Autism

Joseph D. Buxbaum, PhD

Professor, Psychiatry, Genetics, Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

About Joseph Buxbaum

Targeting Neuroinflammation for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

Pamela M England, PhD

Professor, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco

About Pamela England

Targeting Lipid Metabolism for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

Saranna Fanning, PhD

Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital

About Saranna Fanning

Modulating GABAergic Transmission for the Treatment of Autism

Antonio Hardan, MD

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University

About Antonio Hardan

A Human Genetics-driven Approach for Disease Modification in Parkinson's Disease

Michael Johnson, DPhil, FRACP, FRCP

Professor of Neurology and Genomic Medicine, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London

About Michael Johnson

Enhancing the Autophagic-Lysosomal Pathway in Parkinson's Disease

Joseph R. Mazzulli, PhD

Dimitri Kranic Professor of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

About Joseph Mazzulli

Gene Therapy Targeting CTNNB1-linked Autism

Špela Miroševič, PhD

Founding President, CTNNB1 Foundation

About Špela Miroševič

SPARK NS Translational Research Program,
2025 Cohort

Development of a Small-Molecule Therapy for Treating Parkinson’s Disease

David S. Eisenberg, DPhil

Paul D. Boyer Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California, Los Angeles

About David Eisenberg

An Integrated Approach to Identifying Pharmacological Stabilizers for Parkinson’s Disease

Mark Henderson, PhD

Group Leader, Biology, National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS/NIH)

About Mark Henderson

Targeting the Integrated Stress Response Pathway to Boost Mitophagy for Parkinson’s Disease

Miratul Muqit, MBChB, PhD

Professor of Experimental Neurology, University of Dundee

About Miratul Muqit

Restoring Mitochondrial Function in Parkinson’s Disease

Michael P. Rapé, PhD

Professor of Molecular Therapeutics and Investigator, HHMI, University of California, Berkeley

About Michael Rapé

A Bioenergetic Activator for Parkinson’s Disease

Timothy A. Ryan, PhD

Professor of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine

About Timothy Ryan

Stimulating Endolysosomal Function for Parkinson’s Disease

David K. Simon, MD, PhD

Professor of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School

About David Simon

A Disease Modifying Gene Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease for Multimodal Patient Benefit

Kathy Steece-Collier, PhD

Professor, Department of Translational Neuroscience, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

About Kathy Steece-Collier

Development of a Calcium Channel Inhibitor to Slow Parkinson’s Disease Progression

D. James Surmeier, PhD

Nathan Smith Davis Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

About D. James Surmeier

SPARK NS Translational Research Program,
2024 Cohort

Reducing Alpha Synuclein Spread in Parkinson’s Disease

Alice S. Chen-Plotkin, MD

Parker Family Professor of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania

About Alice Chen-Plotkin

Design of Small Molecule Degraders of Synuclein mRNA for Parkinson’s Disease

Matthew D. Disney, PhD

Institute Professor and Chair, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, University of Florida

About Matthew Disney

Small Molecule for Autophagy Enhancement for Parkinson’s Disease

James H. Hurley, PhD

Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and Kirsch Springer Chair in Biological Sciences, University of California, Berkeley

About James Hurley

Preventing Dopamine-Induced Neurotoxicity in Parkinson's Disease

Gary W. Miller, PhD

Vice Dean for Research Strategy and Innovation, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

About Gary Miller

Axonal Reinnervation Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease

David Sulzer, PhD

Professor of Neurobiology, Columbia University

About David Sulzer