To fight Parkinson’s disease and find a cure, there must be contributions from researchers, medical experts, and countless other passionate individuals. One such group is The McGovern Institute for Brain Research. This community of MIT neuroscientists is committed to meeting the challenges of modern science by developing a deeper understanding of how the brain works, and simultaneously working to discover prevention or treatment methods for brain disorders like Parkinson’s. Discover more about this group and their role in the fight against Parkinson’s below.

A Guide to the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT & Their Contributions to Fight Parkinson’s

History of the McGovern Institute

The McGovern Institute was established in 2000 by technology entrepreneur Lore Harp McGovern and the late Patrick J. McGovern, former chairman of International Data Group. While it began with six founding faculty members, it has expanded to a team of more than 20 distinguished investigators. Among the Institute’s contributors are six members of the National Academy of Sciences and one Nobel laureate.

The McGovern Institute’s Purpose

The scientists from the McGovern Institute leverage technology to gain insight as to how the brain works, including how it learns, perceives the world, and remembers. In their research, they make discoveries as to how these critical processes become disrupted by disease, thereby uncovering potential treatment methods.

Work Currently Being Done by the Group

According to the institute’s director, Robert Desimone, a major goal for the group is to enhance its basic research capability. This will facilitate a deeper understanding of brain systems and how they’re affected by disease, which will pave the way for superior methods of therapy. Researchers are also implementing new imaging technologies to unlock unprecedented insights into the interactions between genes and the brain. Cutting-edge genetic tools allow them to manipulate brain activity with the utmost precision. However, to fight Parkinson’s and other brain diseases, the brain must be studied at many levels, and the different aspects of these studies must be brought together to form a comprehensive whole. This is what they are currently striving to achieve.

Connecticut Advocates for Parkinson’s believes that we need to aggressively pursue a cure for this debilitating disease that affects over one million people in the U.S. alone. To make this goal a reality, our Cure Now:PD initiative has partnered with both Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The MIT Parkinson’s Research Initiative potentially fills a gap in existing research using nanotechnology and cutting-edge tools, found only in the labs of MIT. To take action in our search for the cure, visit CureNowPD.org/MIT to learn more about our out-of-the-box research at MIT, and support our work with a donation.