Tremendous progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the neuropathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the past 20 years since researchers discovered the first mutation in a gene called SNCA (which encodes α-Synuclein) that gives rise to familial form of this disorder. Aside from genetic mutations, current clinical diagnosis is mainly based on physical examination, and measures to predict and stop disease development remain elusive. Discovery and validation of biomarker(s) that can serve as an indicator of pathogenic process and/or evaluate therapeutic efficacy of drug treatments is a high priority area of research for PD.

Join our free webinar ‘Parkinson’s Disease: The Search for Biomarkers’ on September 13, 2017, 2:30 PM EDT, presented by our panel of experts, to learn about their experience with biomarker discovery and validation, as well as their predictions for this as yet untapped market.

Join the webinar here.

About the speakers:

Dr. Brit Mollenhauer, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neuropathology
University Medical Center, Goettingen, Germany
Paracelsus-Elena-Klinik, Kassel, Germany

Dr. Brit Mollenhauer received her medical degree from Georg-August-University, Goettingen, Germany, in 2000 followed by residency training in neurology until 2005. She then studied biomarker development and cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School from 2005 to 2007. Dr. Mollenhauer is currently an assistant professor in Neurology at Georg-August-University and the Movement Disorder Paracelsus-Elena-Klinik in Kassel, Germany. She also holds a degree in neurochemistry and has established her research team focusing on human body fluid biomarker detection and assay development for improving diagnosis of movement disorders. Dr. Mollenhauer established a single-center cohort on de novo PD and healthy controls and subjects with idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder in Kassel (DeNoPa-cohort), which is followed biannually. She has authored over 70 original and 20 review articles and is a member of the executive steering committee of the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative from The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Dr. Hugo Vanderstichele
Co-founder and Chief Integration Officer, ADx NeuroSciences
Founder, Biomarkable bvba

Dr. Hugo Vanderstichele, earned a PhD in endocrinology in 1990 (Topic: Steroid metabolism in the brain) and has coordinated national and international projects to identify novel factors involved in fertilization and embryogenesis. He has worked in the field of neurodegeneration since 1995 and was involved in antibody generation, biomarker selection, assay development, and validation, as well as market integration of single or multiplex biomarker assays for use in diagnosis or clinical trials. In 2011, Dr. Vanderstichele became a founder of Biomarkable and a co-founder of ADx NeuroSciences (Belgium), whose mission is to provide first-in-class technology platforms for the in vitro diagnosis market to support patient management. He is an active member of international consortia aimed at assay standardization and qualification of protein biomarkers. He is an author on several patent applications and publications.

BioLegend is proud to announce that Gene Lay, our President and CEO, has been selected by Ernst and Young as a candidate for 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year. He is one of 17 finalists for this prestigious honor, recognizing business leaders in the San Diego area. View KUSI's news coverage of the event. Tune in after June 20 to find out if he is one of the 5 winners.

As a leader in advancing research in oncology, BioLegend is proud to announce our partnership with The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, a consortium of leading companies, nonprofits, and cancer centers, all coming together to maximize immunotherapy's unique potential to tranform all cancers into manageable diseases, saving millions of lives.

Announced April 13, 2016, The Parker Institute is an unprecedented effort to dramatically accelerate research breakthroughs and hasten the delivery of better treatments to patients.

As part of the Parker Institute, we will work together to enhance access to cutting edge tools and technology, and provide resources to help speed the discovery and development of treatment options.