Professor Heather Mortiboys and Parkinson's Research
From Professor Heather Mortiboys
Ensuring my research has real-world impact is important to me. Every day, I come to work to make a meaningful difference for people living with devastating neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.
For the 10 million people estimated to be living with Parkinson's worldwide, the reality isn't just a diagnosis - it’s the daily, slow erosion of control: the tremor, the debilitating fatigue, the loss of independence. Our mission at Sheffield isn't just to manage symptoms, but to slow or even stop the disease's progression entirely.
My research focuses deep inside the cell, on the mitochondria - the tiny batteries that power our neurons. By studying the molecular mechanisms that cause and drive Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and motor neuron disease, we are building a clear picture of what goes wrong at the cellular level. Crucially, we do this using robust, patient-derived samples, ensuring we are studying the disease's effect on patients, not just a model.
This is where the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) proves its power. We don't just aspire to translate research from lab bench to bedside; we've built the physical and collaborative infrastructure to achieve it quickly.
SITraN is across the road from a Teaching Hospital, bringing scientists, clinicians, and patients under one roof. This physical proximity means our teams can walk minutes, not miles, to collaborate, allowing us to move a promising lab discovery into a potential clinical trial quickly. We can identify potential therapeutic targets at a molecular level and then test them directly on patient samples supplied by our clinical colleagues.
This seamless connection is what makes our research so powerful. It enables true collaboration and keeps us relentlessly focused on patient benefit.
A prime example of this in action is our drug repurposing program. We rigorously screen existing, licensed drugs to see if they can restore cellular function in patient cells. Why start from scratch when we can test drugs that are already proven safe in humans?
This approach led us to UDCA, a drug originally used for liver disease. After showing promise in our lab screens, it quickly moved into clinical trials for Parkinson’s and is now advancing into an innovative Phase III trial.
Working closely with partners like Parkinson’s UK and Cure Parkinson’s ensures that every step of our research is aligned with what will make the biggest difference to patients. At SITraN, discoveries don’t stay on the lab shelf - they move quickly toward hope.
