Expert Briefing: Understanding Gene and Cell-Based Therapies in Parkinson’s

Dr. Roger Barker is the Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and Consultant Neurologist at the Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge. He is a PI in the MRC-Wellcome Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge and Director of the MRC funded UKRMP Stem and Engineered cell hub.

He trained at Oxford University and St Thomas Hospital Medical School before qualifying in 1986. He completed his medical training before undertaking a PhD in Cambridge on neural grafting for Parkinson’s Disease. He then completed his neurology training in Cambridge, London and Norwich before setting up his own research group in 1997.

His research seeks to better define the clinical heterogeneity of two common neurodegenerative disorders of the CNS- namely Parkinson’s (PD) and Huntington’s disease (HD). This has helped him define the best way by which to take new therapies into the clinic including novel experimental therapeutics such as cell and gene therapies as well as drug repurposing trials.