Pharmacy professor awarded $2.4M NIH grant to further research for possible treatment for Parkinson's disease

Eunsook Lee, a professor of molecular neuroscience and neurotoxicology in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, has secured a $2.4 million R01 federal research grant to further investigate the causes and treatment of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. 

The five-year grant will allow Lee and her co-collaborators to test if a gene called REST (Repressor Element1 (RE1)-Silencing Transcription factor) can be neuroprotective from Mn neurotoxicity.   

“Manganese is an essential trace element in our body, but its overexposure from the environment such as air pollution and contaminated water as well as occupational settings such as welding causes a neurological disorder, similar to Parkinson’s disease, referred to as manganism,” said Lee, who has been researching this area for 15 years. 

“Since manganese is considered a significant contributing factor to Parkinson’s disease development, and given the similarities between manganism and Parkinson’s, investigating REST’s protective mechanism against Mn neurotoxicity will also aid in Parkinson’s disease therapeutic research in addition to intervention of manganism,” Lee said. “We hope to obtain solid and promising findings on the neuroprotective role and mechanism of REST in Mn neurotoxicity from this grant.”