Solve Parkinson’s

Imagine you had a bioscan to predict what is going awry in a patient and precision drugs to fix the glitch before it spirals out of control. Rather than treating patients as if they were the same, our research targets the specific disease driver in a person. Instead of scrambling to play catch-up, our goal is to prevent disease from progressing.

Invent the future of healthcare for Parkinson’s

We aspire to invent the healthcare of the future for Parkinson’s: Parkinson’s Precision Health. Our unique platform allows us to predict and discover targets for precision drugs and biomarkers directly from people with Parkinson’s. At the core of this Parkinson DiscoveryEngine are massive genome, transcriptome, biome and health data streams of thousands of people with Parkinson’s.

Our investigators collaborate to characterize new disease mechanisms using human stem cell technology and genetically engineered rodents, flies, and yeast. We develop novel therapies with partners in biotech and in virtual clinical trials.

Groundbreaking advances are being made through the work of Clemens Scherzer,  Dennis Selkoe, Mel Feany, Matt LaVoie, David Walt, Jarrod Marto, Reese Cosgrove, Peter Wayne, Tracy Young-Pearse and other principal investigators participating in the Center.

Excitingly, the future has already begun. Dr. Anne-Marie Wills is enrolling patients for one of the first trials precisely targeted to patients with a specific driver gene, GBA.

Think outside the box

Innovation comes from ingenious people and ideas that defy conventional boxes and silos. Our Center brings together 27 world-class scientists, physicians, and engineers from across the fields of neuroscience, genomics, deep learning, and movement disorders, within the Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  They include physicians and investigators from the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases and the Departments of Neurology, Neuropathology, Medicine, and Neurosurgery. These leaders have one shared passion: to solve Parkinson’s disease.

Be nimble

With our amazing patient community and the support of the American Parkinson Disease Association, philanthropy, and funding agencies, we are building a vibrant hub for ingenuity, research, education and clinical activities.

Our research is lean, nimble, and fast-paced. We see ourselves as a start-up embedded in academia. Every contribution from you is critical for solving Parkinson’s disease. Starting with small steps, modest funds, but big hearts, we’ll relentlessly reach for this worthwhile goal.


Clemens Scherzer, MD

Founding Director
Center for Advanced Parkinson Research