BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/Detroit X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Detroit BEGIN:VEVENT UID:494@parkinsonswm.org DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20210421T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20210421T200000 DTSTAMP:20210314T211228Z URL:https://parkinsonswm.org/events/the-next-generation-of-pd-researchers/ SUMMARY:The Next Generation of PD Researchers DESCRIPTION:\n\nThe Parkinson's Association of West Michigan is holding a s eries of VIRTUAL events in April 2021 to commemorate Parkinson's Awareness Month.  Attendance is FREE.  Advance registration is required.  Contac t our President\, Kim Cousineau at pawmboard@gmail.com or 616-954-8077 for any questions.\n\nThis event registration link is for the April 21 event only.  (Please use the individual respective links provided to register f or each event.)\nThis is the third of three (3) in the 2021 PAWM webinar s eries:  April 21\, 6:00 pm: “The Next Generation of Parkinson’s Resea rchers”\n(CLICK HERE for the list of other webinars in this series.)\n\n Join us to hear from new local talent making a difference in Parkinson’s research and treatment today and who will help continue to lead the way i n the future. This exciting research that is impacting the world is taking place right here in our West Michigan community!  Join us to hear from new local talent making a difference in Parkinson’s research and treatme nt today and who will help continue to lead the way in the future.\n\n&nbs p\;\n\nRushna Ali\, M.D. - Spectrum Health\n“Surgical Management of Par kinson’s Disease”\n\nDr. Rushna Ali is a fellowship-trained functional neurosurgeon with a clinical specialty interest in stereotactic and funct ional neurosurgery including DBS\, epilepsy surgery\, and advanced surgica l treatments for chronic and cancer-related pain. She is a member of sever al national and international neurosurgical societies and geared towards e ducating the next generation of neurosurgeons. Her research interests incl ude studying the association of genetic variations in patients with Parkin son’s Disease and their role in responsiveness to DBS. She is a passiona te patient advocate and strongly believes in empowering patients with the knowledge they need to make the best decisions for their treatment plan.\n \n \;\n\n \;\n\nMatthew Benskey\, Ph.D. - Michigan State Universi ty\n“Neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s Disease”\n\nMatt Benskey is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscien ce at Michigan State University. Dr. Benskey investigates the molecular ne urobiology of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease\, with a spe cific focus on the neuroinflammatory response to protein aggregation in th e nervous system. Dr. Benskey’s research has been funded by the Parkinso n’s Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Outside of the lab Dr. Benskey has a wife and daughter\, loves painting\, playing the guitar \, and all things art\, nature and music. Dr. Benskey hopes that by provid ing a better understanding of what goes wrong in disease\, we can develop targeted therapeutics to improve the quality of life of the millions affec ted by these devastating disorders.\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\nXi Chen\, Ph. D. - Van Andel Research Institute\n“Understanding the genetics of Parki nson's disease”\n\nXi Chen is a Research Scientist at the Van Andel Res earch Institute. Her research focuses on the inherited form of Parkinson ’s disease and how genetic mutations and faulty molecular interactions may transform healthy\, functioning neurons into diseased ones and contr ibute to Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Chen’s research has been funded by the American Parkinson Disease Association and Parkinson’s Foundation. Outside the lab\, she enjoys art\, yoga\, kickboxing\, hiking\, travell ing\, and reading. Most recently Dr. Chen was selected to be a Science Amb assador for the World Parkinson’s Congress. Dr. Chen is eager to pass a long her knowledge and encouragement to others and hoping her skills and experience from a scientific perspective will intersect help to smash gl obal barriers in terms of reducing the stigma and raising awareness of Pa rkinson’s disease. CATEGORIES:Parkinson's Awareness END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Detroit X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Detroit BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20210314T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR