🇬🇧 Celebrating 10 Years of NCER-PD: Driving Innovation. Advancing Understanding. Empowering People. » Luxembourg Institute of Health
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🇬🇧 Celebrating 10 Years of NCER-PD: Driving Innovation. Advancing Understanding. Empowering People.

16/10/2025 08:15 to 17/10/2025 16:45

Join us at the conference on 16th and 17th October 2025 in Luxembourg

In 2015, the Luxembourg research community launched an ambitious initiative to transform the landscape of Parkinson’s disease research: the National Centre for Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s Disease (NCER-PD), initially funded by the Fonds National de Recherche (FNR). In 2025 we proudly celebrate a decade of groundbreaking science, clinical innovation, and close collaboration with people living with the disease, the people that support them and the wider community.

Over the past decade, NCER-PD has united Luxembourg’s top research institutions, including the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg (IBBL), and the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL). Together, we have built one of Europe’s most comprehensive Parkinson’s cohorts, developed new biomarkers for early diagnosis, and uncovered insights into mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s.

This 10 year anniversary is not just a celebration of scientific milestones, but a tribute to the hundreds of study participants, researchers, and healthcare professionals whose continuous contributions make progress possible. As we look to the future, we remain committed to pushing the boundaries in precision medicine, digital phenotyping, and personalized care, up into first nation-wide precision prevention programmes –  always keeping needs of patients at the heart of what we do.

More Info & Registration

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More Info & Registration

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Location

Maison du Savoir, Auditorium A.3500,
2, avenue de l’Université,
L-4365 Esch-sur-Alzette,
Luxembourg

Partners

Agenda

Day 1, 16 October 2025

TIMEPROGRAM 8h15-18h30
08:15 –  08:45Registration & Welcome coffee
08:45– 09:00Welcome address by organizers:
Prof. Rejko KrĂĽger, LIH, LCSB, CHL
Minister Dr Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Research and Higher Education in Luxembourg
Dr. Frank Glod, Deputy CEO, Luxembourg Institute at Health
Prof. Simone Niclou, Vice-Rector for Research, University of Luxembourg 
09:00 – 09:40Keynote Speaker: Prof. Roger Barker, The current status and future of dopamine cell-based therapies for Parkinson’s, University of Cambridge, UK
Session 1: Clinical, Molecular and Pathological Stratification of PD
Chair: Prof. Dr. Nico Diederich, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg

09:40 – 10:05Prof. Kathrin Brockmann, Clinical and molecular stratification in preparation of clinical trials. University Tübingen, DE
10:05 – 10:30Prof. Dr. Per Borghammer, Brain first and body first PD – evidence and
implications, Aarhus University Hospital, DK
10:30 – 10:55Prof. Enza Maria Valente, Multimodal stratification of GBA-PD, University of Pavia, IT
10:55 – 11:25Coffee break with exhibition and poster session
Session 2:  Patient-derived cellular modelling of neurodegeneration Chair: Prof. Dr. Anne GrĂĽnewald, University of Luxembourg
11:25 – 11:50Prof. Céline Galvagnion, Disruptions in lipid levels associated with Parkinson’s Disease and alpha-synuclein pathology. University of Copenhagen, DK
11:50 – 12:15Prof. Dr. Lena Burbulla, Investigating key players of neurodegenerative diseases using human disease modeling, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, DE
12:15 – 12:40Prof. Dr. Edward Fon, Using functional genomics and iPSC models to understand the biology of Parkinson’s disease. McGill University, CA
12:40 – 13:40Walking lunch with exhibition and poster session
Session 3: Therapeutic innovations for Precision Medicine in PD Chair: Dr. Frank Hertel, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg
13:40 – 14:05Prof. Dr. Thomas Gasser, Emerging therapies for genetically defined subgroups of PD, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research University of Tübingen,
14:05 – 14:30Prof. Dr Andrea Kühn, New avenues for neuromodulation in PD for improved treatment and disease modification, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, DE
14:30 – 14:55Prof. Dr. Werner Poewe, Targeting alpha-synuclein for disease modification in PD. Medical University in Innsbruck, AT
14:55 – 15:25Coffee break with exhibition and poster session
Session 4: Dissecting the Genetic Architecture of PDChair: Dr. Patrick May, University of Luxembourg
15:25 – 15:50Prof. Andrew Singleton, The Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program: progress and future. Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program, US
15:50 – 16:15Dr. Manu Sharma, From Mendelian genes to polygenic risk scores:
Widening the arc to understand disease risk and causality, University TĂĽbingen, DE
16:15 – 16:40Prof. Dr. Vincenzo Bonifati, Update on novel genes involved in PD pathogenesis, Erasmus University Rotterdam, NL
16:40 – 17:00Closing remarks, Prof. Dr. Rejko Krüger, LIH, LCSB, CHL, LU
17:00 – 18:30Networking time with poster session and industry exhibition

Day 2, 17 October 2025

TIMEPROGRAM 8h00-16h40
8:00 – 8:45Welcome coffee
Session 5: Cognition and Precision Prevention in PD Chair: Prof. Dr. Anja Leist, University of Luxembourg
8:45 – 9:10Prof. Dr. Elke Kalbe, Prevention of cognitive decline in people with
Parkinson´s disease: A call for action, University Hospital of Cologne, DE
9:30 – 10:00 Dr. Niels Janssen, Dementia risk reduction: from evidence to implementation. Maastricht University, NL
Session 6: Rudi Balling Session for Young ScientistsChair: Dr. Gloria Aguayo, Luxembourg Institute of Health
9:35 – 10:053 * 5+5 min (young researcher presentation based on abstract selection)
10:05 – 10:35      Coffee break with exhibition and poster session
Session 7: Biomarkers and biological classification of PD Chair: Prof. Dr. Enrico Glaab, University of Luxembourg
10:35 – 11:00Prof. Dr. Joaquim Ferreira, Defining the riddle in order to solve it: there is more than one Parkinson’s disease. University of Lisbon, Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, PT
11:00 – 11:25Prof. Dr. Christine Klein, New biological classification of Parkinson’s disease – implications for diagnostics; University of Lübeck, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein; DE
11:25 – 11:50Prof. Dr. Brit Mollenhauer, Update on emerging biomarkes in PD, Paracelsus-Elena Klinik, DE
11:50 – 12:15FNR presentation TBC
12:15 – 13:15Walking lunch with exhibition and poster session
Session 8: Epidemiology and Exposome in PD Chair: Dr. Brice Appenzeller, Luxembourg Institute of Health
13:15 – 13:40Prof. Dr. Pille Taba, Does epidemiology lead to prognostic clues for PD? University of Tartu, ES
13:40 – 14:05Prof. Mohammed Salama, Advances in technology used for environmental exposure assessment. American University in Cairo, EG
14:05 – 14:55Prof. Dr. Alexis Elbaz, Improving causal inference in epidemiologic studies of Parkinson’s disease. PitiĂ©-SalpĂŞtrière Hospital, INSERM, FR
Opening Remarks to the next sessions
14:55 – 15:10Minister Ms. Martine Deprez, Ministry of Health and Social Security in Luxembourg 
Special session: International cohorts for Precision Medicine in Parkinson’s diseaseChair: Prof. Dr. Jochen Klucken, University of Luxembourg
15:10 – 15:35Dr. Kenneth Marek, Parkinson Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) – Driving
biologic definition and Neuronal Synuclein Disease staging to accelerate
therapeutic development for PD and related synucleinopathies. Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders, US
15:35 – 16:00Prof. Asha Kishore, Clinical phenotypes and risk factors for Parkinson’s disease in India, Aster Medcity, Kochi, IN
16:00 – 16:25Prof. Dr. Nobutaka Hattori, Innovations from molecular phenotyping of Parkinson’s disease for diagnosis and treatment, Juntendo University, RIKEN, JP
16:25 – 16:40Closing remarks

Participants are hereby informed that photographs and/or videos will be taken during the event and that they are likely to appear on them. The photographs and/or videos taken during the event are intended to be published on LIH website and social media channels. If you do not wish to be photographed/filmed or having your photo/video published, please alert the photographer and the event organiser(s). Further information about the processing of your personal data by LIH can be found on our website.

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