Core Team:
- Talene Yacoubian, M.D., Ph.D.
- Adam Gerstenecker, Ph.D.
- Jonathan McConathy, M.D., Ph.D.
- Natividad Stover, M.D.

“Heart” of the Alabama Udall Center
Will recruit 60 patients with newly-diagnosed PD and 60 age- and sex-matched controls
Data to be collected will include:
- Detailed clinical characterization, including studies of cognitive functioning
- Blood and CSF samples (by lumbar puncture)
- Brain imaging with [18F]-DPA-714 Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
- MRI imaging
- Participants will be followed through annual visits for the duration of the project
- All data is deposited in NIH-sponsored public databases

Core Team:
- Laura Volpicelli-Daley, Ph.D.

Primary goal is to ensure the animal models used in Projects 2 and 3 produce high quality data with minimal variability
Uses primarily the alpha-syn fibril model of PD in rats
Core is responsible for preparing fibrils, injections, and histological analysis of endpoints in rat models.