Luxembourg celebrates 10 years as a world renowned Parkinson’s research centre

NCER-PD marks a decade of excellence in Parkinson’s research with a symposium of international experts, community partners, and government representatives

• Parkinson’s Disease
• Transversal Translational Medicine (TTM)

On October 16 & 17, the Luxembourg research community celebrated ten years of the National Centre for Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s Disease (NCER-PD). Funded by the National Research Fund (FNR), the programme was launched in 2015 to accelerate scientific discoveries and improve the lives of people living with Parkinson’s.

Under the title “Advancing from Precision-Medicine towards Prevention in Parkinson’s disease: Celebrating 10 Years of NCER-PD”, the symposium highlighted a decade of achievements in research, clinical practice, and community engagement. An address was also given by Dr Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Research and Higher Education, underscoring the importance of NCER-PD as a cornerstone of Luxembourg’s continued commitment to understanding and preventing Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Renowned international experts in Parkinson’s research, many of them collaborators of NCER-PD, presented the latest advances and shared insights on the future of prevention, precision medicine and digital health. Speakers included Prof Nobutaka Hattori (Juntendo University, RIKEN, Japan), who addressed recent progress in biomarkers and early diagnosis, Prof Roger Baker (University of Cambridge, UK), who discussed the future of cell-based therapies, and Prof Andrew Singleton (Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program, US), who highlighted global results that are unravelling the genetics of Parkinson’s disease. The programme also featured a special session showcasing the work of outstanding young scientists, dedicated to Prof Rudi Balling, founder and the first coordinator of NCER-PD.

With the invaluable support of the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), NCER-PD has brought together Luxembourg’s leading clinical-scientific institutions: the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and its Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg (IBBL), the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg, the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), and the Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS). Together, these partners have established worldwide cohorts of people living with Parkinson’s disease, those at increased risk of developing such a disease, and healthy volunteers wishing to support research in this area. Their contributions help make the development of new biomarkers for earlier diagnosis of the Parkinson’s Disease and the discovery of important underlying neurodegenerative mechanisms possible.

NCER-PD has grown into a strong and exemplary alliance of translational research and clinical care for Luxembourg and beyond. Looking ahead, while we will continue to develop disease-modifying therapeutics, we will also focus on personalised prevention, putting people with Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases at the centre of our work. We will continue to ensure that people with Parkinson’s disease have access to the best possible therapy via the close collaboration between Luxembourg’s research institutions and its hospitals (CHL, HRS, CHEM, CHdN), as well as with outpatient care within the framework of the Réseau de Compétences Maladies Neurodégénératives / ParkinsonNet,

said Professor Rejko Krüger, Coordinator of NCER-PD.

The conference particularly acknowledged the contribution of more than 20,000 study participants that have supported NCER-PD research projects across various studies over the past 10 years, as well as the dedication of researchers and professionals in Luxembourg’s healthcare sector. Their commitment has enabled NCER-PD to move from precision medicine toward its next goal: the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.