University of Minnesota, Van Andel Institute receive two-year, $5.8M grant to study Parkinson’s disease and cellular senescence

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (April 14, 2025) — Aging is the most important risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease. However, the connection between aging and Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases is not fully understood. Studies show that a cellular process — known as cellular senescence — is a major driver of the harmful effects of aging.

A collaborative team of researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School and Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, recently received a two-year, $5.8 million grant from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative in partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The research team will examine if cellular senescence is linked to the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease.

“Aging’s role in Parkinson’s disease is a great scientific mystery. Our work shows that Parkinson’s pathology and senescence amplify one another,” said Michael Lee, Ph.D.,  professor of Neuroscience and Institute for Translational Neuroscience Scholar at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “We believe our work will not only lead to a deeper understanding of Parkinson’s disease, but may establish senescence as a novel target to treat Parkinson’s disease.”

The research project has been ongoing since 2020, and this new funding will extend the study to a new phase. Team Lee will continue this work as part of ASAP’s Collaborative Research Network, an international, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional network of collaborating investigators who are working to accelerate the pace of discovery for Parkinson’s disease and drive new ideas into the research and development pipeline.

“Aging is a nuanced, complex process that likely increases Parkinson’s risk in many different ways. By detangling these important threads, we hope to find new ways to slow disease progression. We are grateful to ASAP for its support and excited to continue this collaborative work,” said Darren Moore, Ph.D., the Jay Van Andel Endowed Chair in Parkinson’s Disease Research at Van Andel Institute.

The research team aims to:

• Define the molecular changes associated with Parkinson’s disease in models of senescence
• Define, via genetic approaches, cause and effect relationships between Parkinson’s disease-associated neurodegeneration and senescence
• Determine the common pathogenic pathways in senescence models

Learn more about Parkinson’s research at VAI ➔

The study combines four labs — two Medical School faculty labs led by Dr. Lee and Laura Niedernhofer, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Masonic Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism; and two VAI Department of Neurodegenerative Science faculty labs led by Dr. Moore, and Associate Professor Michael Henderson, Ph.D.