Speaker Series: Dr. Jennifer Johnston PhD

September 13, 2022 - 7:00 PM EDT

Exciting Advances in YOPD Genetic Research and Related Treatments

Dr. Jennifer Johnston PhD, member of the Michael J. Fox Scientific Advisory Board, will be sharing genetic testing options, challenges specific to the Young Onset patient and other topics.

About Dr. Jennifer Johnston PhD

Dr. Johnston has been studying neurodegerative disease for the last 20 years, starting with her work with Dr. R. Kopito at Stanford which resulted in the discovery and description of aggresomes. This discovery provided the first example of cellular proteostasis and demonstrated a link between the proteasome pathway and canonical neurodegeneration pathology phenotypes. Her research resulted in more than ten patents and over 40 publications. 

At Elan Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Johnston directly applied the tenets of aggresome biology, protein folding, and cellular proteostasis to basic research and drug discovery for Parkinson's disease and neurodegeneration in general. Dr. Johnston leads the Parkin Project, a drug discovery program and is the Co-founder/CEO of NysnoBio, a biotech company focused on the modulation of the parkin enzyme pathway for critical unmet medical needs in neurology and oncology. She has served as a reviewer for multiple scientific journals and is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for over 15 years.