Group News
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Recent updates
The Movers & Shakers Podcast have released their latest Parky Profile and this week it's with Professor Roger Barker!
Roger shares with his journey to medicine and neuroscience, and the theory behind his groundbreaking work into the use of foetal and stem cell transplants to treat Parkinson's.
He is also one of the drivers and creators of the lauded World Parkinson's Congress, and discloses his thoughts on this year's event.
Listen to the full episode now wherever you get your podcasts
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/g4Rv5MHK
Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gbJ5qD7D
We're delighted to share some great news from the lab!
A huge congratulations to our PhD student, Angelica Guiloff, who has been selected for the Genevia Single-Cell Mentorship Program 2026.
The program provides six months of expert mentorship (October–March), which Angelica will be using to support the analysis of her single-cell data. We're excited to see how this collaboration helps move the project forward.
We were especially pleased to hear the feedback from the Genevia team:
"Selecting the winners was not easy, but in the end, we believe that your project, combined with our expertise in single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, holds great promise — we look forward to making some exciting discoveries together!"
Congratulations again, Angelica!
Great to catch up with Claire Clelland last Thursday 16th July, as she was in Cambridge with her family.
Claire worked with us a few years ago on research around neurogenesis as part of her PhD and MPhil, so it was fantastic to see her again and hear about everything she's been doing since.
Here we are enjoying the UK weather!
Claire is now at UCSF, where she's doing incredible research in gene editing with the potential to transform how we treat certain brain diseases.
Congratulations to our Academic Clinical Fellow, Rosana-Bristena Ionescu, on being awarded an Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) Research Grant for the IMUN-HD project!
IMUN-HD is a collaborative research project investigating the role of the immune system in Huntington’s disease using cutting-edge single-cell sequencing and advanced proteomic profiling. By integrating these complementary approaches, the project aims to generate new insights into disease biology and identify potential biomarkers and candidate therapeutic targets.
We are delighted to see ACT supporting innovative translational neuroscience research and look forward to following the progress of the project.
Congratulations, Bristena!
A great few days at the ISSCR Annual Meeting in Montreal.
Roger delivering his plenary lecture, sharing the latest progress from stem cell trials for Parkinson's disease. It's exciting to see how far the field has come and the potential these advances hold for patients.
It was also a pleasure to catch up with colleagues from around the world, including Zoe Hewitt, who now leads the Regen CTC in the UK, and Jihwan Song from Seoul, whose research is focused on developing new treatments for Huntington's disease.
Big news for stem cell-based therapies in Parkinson’s disease today!
A landmark study led by Lund University in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, reports the first clinical results from the STEM-PD trial. The study shows that transplanting stem cell-derived dopamine progenitor cells into the brain is feasible.
Eight people with Parkinson’s disease received the transplanted cells, and no serious side effects linked to the cell product were observed during the first year of follow-up.
See here the link to the published paper!
Roger is in Montreal at the annual ISSCR meeting where he is discussing dopamine cell therapies in Parkinson's disease including the Lund-Cambridge Stem PD trial.
He is giving a plenary talk on Saturday presenting the data from this and other published trials using this approach - exciting times!
Congratulations to our PhD student Sophie on being awarded a completion grant from Newnham College, Cambridge! This is a well-deserved recognition of her commitment, dedication, and excellent work as she enters the final stage of her doctoral research and prepares to submit her thesis this summer.
It is wonderful to see Newnham’s continued support for our students, helping to provide the encouragement and resources that enable them to complete their research at this important milestone in their academic journeys.
We wish Sophie every success with her thesis submission and look forward to celebrating this next achievement!
Roger in Barcelona for exciting Parkinson's research
On 16th June 2026, Roger joined international colleagues in Barcelona for the ASAP meeting to explore new ways of understanding what may go wrong in Parkinson's as we age. This could pave the way to an entirely new treatment approach for this condition. We're looking forward to seeing where this work leads!
We're pleased to share our new article, "Safeguarding Advanced Therapies—The Dangers of Therapeutic Neuroabandonment: How Should We Ensure Patient Safety and Scientific Integrity When a Commercial Clinical Trial Sponsor Becomes Insolvent?"
Written by Roger Barker, Saeed Kayhanian, and Simon Rowe, the paper explores an important but often overlooked challenge in advanced therapy research: what happens to patients, data, and long-term follow-up when a commercial trial sponsor becomes insolvent?
As gene and cell therapies continue to advance, ensuring patient safety and protecting the scientific value of these studies must remain a priority.
Episode 418 of The TogetherForSharon Podcast is now live on Spotify!
Roger joined George, Sharon’s son, for a Q&A on stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease and the World Parkinson Congress.
Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6qv6SaWc7vCcak9NDjMaUf?si=Z_ziYGNCTB-c5jdgDm9umA&nd=1&dlsi=c69ce4f3da214635
Roger and Claire Henchcliffe discuss the development, goals, and educational value of International Society for Stem Cell Research's new stem cell medicine course for Parkinson disease!
Now live, Inside the Development of ISSCR’s New Parkinson Disease Stem Cell Program:https://www.neurologylive.com/view/inside-development-isscr-new-parkinson-disease-stem-cell-program
Really pleased that our partnership with London South Bank University has helped us host 4 fantastic students for work experience placements in Roger’s group over the last two years.
Even better — 2 of those students have now gone on to fully funded PhDs!
Both were also the first in their families to go to university, and both said their time in Cambridge really helped build their confidence and shaped what they wanted to do next. We are very proud of their achievements.
Big thanks to Alison Alvarez for all her help in making this happen!
Trial report published in Movement Disorders Journal
Our report on the OXB-102/Axo-Lenti-PD trial had now been published.
Thank you to all who contributed to the study and write up, and especially to the participants involved!
Beyond the “Breakthrough”
“I don’t think we need a cure. If you can slow it down by 50 percent and pick people up early on, you’ve probably done it.”
A thoughtful new article from The Initiative explores Roger's work, perspective, and the future of Parkinson’s research beyond the headlines and hype.
See below:
https://theinitiativemagazine.com/en/article/roger-barker-profile
Huge congratulations to Roger on receiving two 2026 Editor of Distinction Awards from Springer Nature!
Roger was recognised with both the Editorial Contribution Award 2026 and the Author Service Award 2026, highlighting his dedication to authors, excellence in peer review, and commitment to advancing discovery.
A fantastic and well-deserved achievement!
Roger attended the departmental PI retreat on Thursday 21st May at Madingley hall in Cambridge. Great day was had by all as the department gels in its work and ambitions!
A fantastic start to the 7th World Parkinson Congress in Phoenix, Arizona!
A special moment seeing Roger open #WPC2026 as President of the WPC — and marking what will be his final duty in the role.
We’re also very proud of our PhD student James, who presented his poster at the congress this week!
Looking forward to more great conversations, science, and collaboration over the next few days #WPC2026
Roger and Katie held a dissemination event last Tuesday 19th May for our FELL HD participants to present the results of the trial. The event was well received with some great questions! Thank you to all those who attended!
We plan to send out a paper summary to all those who could not attend and will be publishing the results publicly later this year, results will also be included in our 2026 annual newsletter.
Great day at Cambridge Dementia Research Day on 28 April — really inspiring to see so many people in one room thinking about how we can move dementia research forward.
Zanna spoke about “can we leverage sleep to prevent dementia?” and Roger did a brilliant patient-facing interview that really brought the human side of the research into focus!
Great to be in Edinburgh for the 39th EFI/BSHI Conference 2026!
Roger gave a plenary lecture on dopamine cell therapies in Parkinson’s disease as part of the conference theme, “From Genes to Grafts: Where Innovation Meets Medicine.”
More about the conference here: https://efi-conference.org/
Today, on International Huntington’s Disease Awareness Day, our team is wearing purple for Juvenile HD and blue for Huntington’s Disease awareness!
May marks Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month, providing an opportunity to increase understanding, support affected individuals and families, and recognise the importance of ongoing research and care.
Learn more about Huntington’s Disease and the support available through the Huntington’s Disease Association and their HD Awareness resources
#InternationalHDAwarenessDay
Barker Lab retreat 2026
A big thanks to everyone who joined us for this year’s Barker Lab retreat!
Three great days of talks from across the groups, loads of useful feedback and discussion, a very competitive quiz, and an excellent pub dinner to finish things off.
Special thanks as well to Roger and our external SAB members — Johan Jakobsson, Josef Priller, and Ed Needham — for all their advice, support, and insightful discussions throughout the retreat.
Already looking forward to the next one!
Had a great time at the CCTU Neuroscience theme event on Thursday!
Roger & Katie presented FELL-HD, Saeed shared STEM-PD, and Zanna showcased DORA-HD. We heard results from completed trials, saw some brilliant flash presentations, and wrapped up with a really insightful panel discussion with trial participants. Such a great event—big thanks to Emma Cutting and the team for pulling it all together!
Exciting News: Roger has ranked29 in UK and 208 in the world for the 2026 Edition of Best Scientists in the field of Neuroscience by Research.com!
The ranking is based on a Discipline H-index metric, which includes papers and citation values. There is an article summarizing the statistics and trends from the ranking here.
ISee the full world ranking here: https://research.com/scientists-rankings/neuroscience
See the full ranking for UK here: https://research.com/scientists-rankings/neuroscience/gb
Big news! I am thrilled to share that my team has been selected to join the Collaborative Research Network (CRN), powered by the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) and The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Together, this network is working to map the biological blueprint of Parkinson’s disease and accelerate the path to new treatments.
Over the next three years, our team will be investigating: Aging and the Heterogeneity of Parkinson’s disease – The role of heterochromatin erosion.
Explore our project and all CRN teams at asapcrn.org.
#CRNFundingOpportunity, #FundingOpportunity, #Grants, #ParkinsonsDisease #CollaborativeResearchNetwork
Roger is giving a plenary lecture today on dopamine cell therapies in Parkinson's disease at 39th EFI/BSHI Conference 2026 in Edinburgh!
From Genes to Grafts: Where Innovation meets Medicine, see more about the conference here.
We are delighted to announce the publication of “Stem cell treatments and Parkinson's disease: Science and misconceptions” in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. The article by Athena Stamper, Harry Bulstrode and Roger Barker can be found here.
Welcome Rosana-Bristena Ionescu to the Barker Lab!
Bristena will be joining us as a Clinical Research Fellow for the next 2 years. She will do a joint project between the Barker and Jones laboratories using cutting-edge single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to explore how the immune system shapes the course of Huntington’s disease.
Check out this great new webinar by The Huntington's Disease Foundation featuring a presentation from Zanna!
The Huntington's Disease Foundation have just released a new webinar episode called What Your Blood Tells Us: The Science Behind HD Biomarkers with Lauren Byrne and Zanna Voysey presenting.
It is available now to watch for free on YouTube.
The Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit Neuroscience Theme Event is back!
Join online or in person on Thursday 30th April 13:00-16:00, to hear results from completed trials, flash presentations, and a panel discussion with trial participants!
Registration is required so if you wish to attend, please register here.
Roger was honoured today to give a talk virtually at the Cambridge Nanjing forum on cell therapies for Parkinson's disease!
Roger delivered a lecture online entitled 'Taking Dopamine Cell Therapies to the Clinic in Parkinson's Disease', in which he systematically reviewed the development of dopamine cell therapies for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. He noted that although early transplant studies using human fetal midbrain tissue succeeded in restoring dopaminergic innervation to the striatum in some patients, clinical benefits varied significantly between individuals and there was a risk of graft-induced dyskinesias. Currently, several clinical trials using dopamine neurons derived from human pluripotent stem cells are underway, with preliminary results suggesting that the approach is generally safe; however, graft survival, consistency of clinical efficacy and immunosuppression regimens still require further optimisation.
Last Wednesday 18th March Roger did a talk on the value and misconceptions of dopamine cell replacement therapy as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
If you would like to view the talk please see here! (the link will only work for registered users but creating an account is free)
This talk was based on Saeed & Roger's manuscript which was published at the end of last year: “Clinical Trials Highlights” in the Journal of Parkinson’s disease! See the manuscript here.
HD Gratitude Day: 23 March 2026
Today is HD gratitude day!
A day to celebrate and express appreciation for the partnership between families, scientists, and clinical professionals working together to advance research, treatments, and care for Huntington’s disease.
We want to take a moment to recognise the incredible families and participants who contribute to research—thank you for everything you do.
As part of #HDGratitudeDay, we’ll be sharing posts with brief summaries of our current research. Stay tuned!
See our LinkedIn or Facebook for the posts.
HD Gratitude Day: 23 March 2026 – European Huntington's Disease Network
Excited to announce that we have been successfully awarded the European Huntington's Disease Network (EHDN) Lesley Jones Seed Fund Program!
Using this fund, we will explore the possibility that transposable elements, normally silent parts of the human genome, become activated in brain cells in Huntington's disease. This activation leads to problems within these cells by expanding the genetic CAG abnormality and driving inflammation. This work will involve detailed analyses of human post-mortem brains and will bring together our team in Cambridge and Johan Jakobsson and his team in Lund, Sweden.
The Tulip Fun Run and Walk is Back!
Get ready to run, walk, and have fun while supporting the Parkinson’s UK Cambridge Branch at the Tulip Fun Run 2026. Our PhD student James Shonhard helped organise the event.
Whether you’re running for a personal challenge or simply enjoying a walk with friends and family, this event is about coming together as a community and making a real difference.
See here how to register and fundraise
A special Cambridge moment: Angelica train-bearing for the Chancellor's installation at senate house!
Chris Smith, Lord Smith of Finsbury, has been formally installed as the 109th Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, following his election in July 2025. The ceremony in the Senate-House included choral and brass music, a Latin oration, the putting on of the black and gold-laced robe of office, and a speech from the Chancellor. An amazing moment for our PhD student Angelica who was the train-bearer for the Chancellor!
Watch the full 40-minute ceremony on YouTube
Excited to share that the ISSCR course Stem Cell Medicine: Parkinson’s Disease has just launched!
I had the opportunity to contribute to this open-access program, jointly provided with Harvard Medical School, exploring the science behind dopamine neuron replacement therapies and the clinical research moving the field toward real clinical impact.
The course includes six short modules on the scientific rationale for stem cell-based treatments, clinical trial progress, and future directions of stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s. It also features a powerful conversation between me and Andrew Cassy who received one of these therapies in the STEM-PD trial!
The course is free, available globally, and includes captions translated into six languages. Explore the course and share with colleagues help support responsible clinical practice in stem cell medicine.
I am excited to announce that I am a member of the ISSCR Education Committee!
Learn more about our work and my fellow colleagues:
Huge congratulations to Saeed for smashing the Cambridge Half Marathon with an incredible 1:18 finish time!
Happy International Women’s Day (8th March)!
We celebrate the incredible women working in neurodegenerative research who dedicate their time, talent, and passion to understanding diseases that affect millions of lives.
In the Barker Group, we’re proud to work alongside inspiring women PhD students, Postdocs, Clinicians, Trial Coordinators, Managers, and Research Associates who help drive our work forward every day.
A big shoutout to all the amazing women in the Barker Group — thank you for everything you do!
HD clinic update
Our Wednesday Huntington's Disease clinics are changing from full days to half days (9am - 12.30pm) from mid April 2026! Any questions please get in touch with our HD clinic coordinator.
The road ahead for uniQure: FDA says more data needed for AMT-130 gene therapy. The FDA wants more data before approving AMT-130 for Huntington’s disease in the U.S. On March 2026, uniQure shared in an update that current Phase 1/2 data weren’t enough for the agency. A new randomized, sham-controlled trial may be required.
Read the full article here: The road ahead for uniQure: FDA says more data needed for AMT-130 gene therapy – HDBuzz
Watch your step, Mr Parkinson! by Frank Snowy Stinson
We kindly received Watch your step, Mr Parkinson! by Frank Snowy Stinson
This book is a personal story of life with Parkinson’s. It is educational, encouraging and honest, touching on many issues of relevance to all those who are impacted by 'Parkee', but most importantly written by those directly touched by the disease.
Find the book here: Watch your step | Book store for parkinson's disease
We had our annual Parkinson's Disease Open day on Saturday 14th February, which was a great success! We had talks about ongoing research projects, ways to get involved, and a patient perspective. A huge thank you to everyone involved with set up, speakers and all who attended!
See here all the Parkinson's UK Cambridge Branch activities for 2026.
DIARY DATES | Cambridge Branch
Roger will be talking at the Branch on 28th August 10:30 – 12:30! Do come along, all are welcome!
International Society for Stem Cell Research 2026 Annual Meeting
Registration and abstract submission are still open for the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting! It will take place in Montréal, Canada, 8-11 July 2026.
Roger has now joined the Plenary Speaker line-up, He will be talking in 'Plenary IV: clinical advances and the promise for patients'. This session brings together scientists, clinicians, and industry leaders to share advances in cell therapy, gene editing, and transplantation, including a real-world patient perspective.
For more information see here.
The WPC research spotlight series is back!
On Tuesday 27th January Roger undertook the first of the Research Spotlight series with the WPC, chatting to Simon Lewis about his research on Freezing of Gait. See the interview here.
This newest WPC Research Spotlight series has six outstanding scientists from four countries lined up to talk about a wide range of very exciting research, if you are interested then do go to the website and have a listen: WPC Research Spotlight 2026 - World Parkinson Coalition
Roger spoke for Cambridge Neurological Society on Tuesday!
He discussed how to take dopamine cell therapies to the clinic in Parkinson's Disease.
Follow Cam Neuro Soc (@camneurosoc Instragram) to get updates on monthly talks, all neurology and neurosurgery related.
Roger was a keynote speaker at the Open Targets Science Symposium being held at the Wellcome Genome Campus on Tuesday 10th February. He was talking about the trials and tribulations of dopamine cell therapies for Parkinson's disease at this hybrid meeting and had a wonderful time discussing all this with a highly interactive audience.
Sadly one of our patients Sally Beaman died. She had had Parkinson's disease and over £6000 was raised for research for Parkinson's UK in memory of her.
I also just wanted to say from my perspective that Sally was one the kindest and least complaining patients that I have ever had the pleasure of looking after in over 40 years of medical practice. She was always such a delight to chat to and I shall greatly treasure all the poems she sent me as well as the odd photo. She always cheered and brightened up my day and taught me so much about how to deal with medical problems. I shall always remember her with great affection.
Great session at the EHDN Platform Meeting - Is it time to target inflammation in Huntington's disease?
Roger gave an excellent presentation on “Inflammation in Huntington’s disease – Is there a case for it?”, which paired well with a fantastic talk on Biomarkers from Niels Henning Skotte. This set the scene for a great expert panel discussion chaired by Prof. Maria Björkqvist.
If you’re interested, check out our paper on inflammation in Huntington’s disease:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13543784.2024.2348738
#HuntingtonsDisease #Neuroinflammation #EHDN #Neuroscience
Roger is speaking in the upcoming AD/PD™ Live Research Spotlight: "Phase I trial of hES cell-derived dopaminergic neurons for PD"!
- 29 January at 16:00 CET
- Free and open to all healthcare professionals.
- Register via link in bio: https://invt.io/1fxbcn6lk1z
This session highlights early clinical trial evidence on stem cell–derived dopaminergic neuron transplantation for Parkinson’s disease and its potential to transform treatment.
#ADPDEducation #ADPDonUNLOK #AlzheimersDisease
The recording for AD/PD™ Live Research Spotlight: "Phase I trial of hES cell-derived dopaminergic neurons for PD" is now available!
To watch first create an account: https://unlok-education.com/ad-pd
Then follow the link: https://adpd.unlok-education.com/#/online-courses/362a72fd-d001-465e-b065-dcc9fd0efe1a
You can keep up to date with the World Parkinson Coalition with eNews, see here the January eNews!
It has community updates and updates on the 7thWorld Parkinson's Congress happening in Phoenix in May 24th to 27th this year, anyone with an interest in Parkinson's is encouraged to come along!
See more details on the WPC here
See here the BBC news article about The Bio-Hermes-002 study!
Alzheimer's finger-prick blood test could transform diagnosis, experts say - BBC News
Roger is not involved in this study but as the Chair of Neurodegeneration at LifeArc he is excited to hear about this.
There is a new book out that discusses a patients journey with Parkinson's with a foreword by Roger!
The book: Dancing with Parkinson’s Disease - Embracing Life After Diagnosis: A Practical Guide and Toolkit for Living Positively From Early Symptoms by Ian Guest
Journal of Neurology review
See here a new review article completed by Will and Roger! Eye manifestations in Huntington’s disease: an update on the potential of ocular biomarkers - really great work Will!
Advances in Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Article
Zanna's review article with Greg Elder and others is now out! They discuss consumer-grade sleep wearables (eg. FitBits) and whether we should be using them in sleep research. Well done Zanna!
Stem Cells and Parkinson’s: How Close Are We?
On Monday 8th December Roger presented a live webinar with No Silver Bullet 4PD. In this session Roger separates hope from hype, guiding us through the history and future of repairing the brain in Parkinson’s. He discusses the shift from fetal cell transplants to the cutting-edge stem cell trials now underway and provides a realistic outlook on their potential to restore dopamine and reduce medication.
It is now available as a Podcast on all major Podcast providers!
One of our patients has kindly knitted Roger a brain (to help with his work ;))!
Recently published Trial Protocol!
We are delighted to announce the publication of the STEM-PD trial protocol: a multi-centre, single-arm, first-in-human, dose-escalation trial, investigating the safety and tolerability of intraputamenal transplantation of human embryonic stem cell-derived dopaminergic cells for Parkinson’s disease.
Roger is talking at the Parkinson's UK Royston and District Parkinson’s Group New Year Seminar next Monday 12th January 2026!
The day will be 10am to 3pm with presentations by Roger, John Moylneux and Linda Bance.
See details on the poster, all welcome!
Serenata Female Voices - Sunday 21st December in aid of Parkinson's UK
Many of us were at this magnificent concert in Trinity college chapel on the 21st December which was raising awareness and money for Parkinson's UK. A special shout out for Florence and Jamie who helped with it!
Last Friday our group went to The Green Man in Trumpington for a lovely Christmas meal!
WPC Research Spotlight series
On Tuesday 2nd December Roger undertook the last of the Research Spotlight series with the WPC, this time chatting to Dr David Standaert and Dr Karen L. Eskow Jaunarajs about Levodopa-induced dyskinesia's and Parkinson's. See the interview here.
The research spotlight series involves interviews with six outstanding scientists from four countries to talk about a wide range of exciting research. The recordings are out and if you are interested then do go to the website and have a listen: WPC Research Spotlight 2025 - World Parkinson Coalition
Clinical Neurosciences Away Day 15th December
Our group attended the department of Clinical Neurosciences Away day on Monday 15th December. Well done Sophie and Angelica for such great presentations and posters at the Away Day! And special congratulations to Angelica for winning 2nd prize for her poster!
Rowing the Atlantic for Cure Parkinson's
Thomas Clowes, a friend of the Barker / Williams-Gray group, is fundraising for Cure Parkinson’s to support a friend recently diagnosed with PD. He and 3 other friends are doing the Talisker Rowing Challenge (The Toughest Rowing Race in the World!). Rowing the Atlantic Ocean, 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua!
See the full story and the donations page here.
Stem Cells and Parkinson’s: How Close Are We?
On Monday 8th December Roger presented a live webinar with No Silver Bullet 4PD. In this session Roger separates hope from hype, guiding us through the history and future of repairing the brain in Parkinson’s. He discusses the shift from fetal cell transplants to the cutting-edge stem cell trials now underway and provides a realistic outlook on their potential to restore dopamine and reduce medication.
Interested in listening, watch the webinar recording here.
Check out these images created by our PhD student Jana!
These are neurons extracted from brain tissue from surgery at Addenbrooke's hospital. She cultured the sample for 2 weeks and they have regrown neurites. Neurites are the long thin extension / projection of a neuron that allows communication.
In the first photo there are three projections from the cell body of the neuron, and in the second & third photo you can see two projections.
The green colour highlights the neuron (TUJ1 protein) and the blue colour highlights DNA (DAPI).
Parkinson's UK Newsletters
Our PhD student Jamie has been working with Parkinson's UK editing and writing the last 3 bi-monthly newsletters for Parkinson's UK!
Follow the link below to see the most recent newsletter and get updated on Parkinson's UK's events, research and key PD information:
September - November Newsletter
The entire catalogue of newsletters can be found here.
'Is it time to target inflammation in Huntington’s disease?'
Save the date for EHDN's next platform meeting: Friday 30 January 2026, 13:30-15:00 CET!
Roger will be presenting, as well as Dr Niels Skotte then an expert panel discussion, chaired by Prof. Maria Björkqvist.
All are very welcome to attend and ask questions! Register here!
Cambridge Stem Cell Institute Seed Funding Scheme 2026
Congratulations Jana for winning the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute Seed Funding Scheme 2026! The project is titled 'expanding multiplexing capabilities of confocal imaging systems using average arrival time-gating acquisition and unmixing'. We wish you all the best with the work and look forward to seeing it develop!
Phosphoproteomic profiling reveals post-translational dysregulation in Huntington’s disease patient-derived neurons
I’m happy to share that the preprint for “Phosphoproteomic profiling reveals post-translational dysregulation in Huntington’s disease patient-derived neurons,”is now live on Biorxiv.
Thank you to all involved for the incredible teamwork and contributions in this paper, a collaborative effort!
Our very own Sophie has just returned from an exciting research visit to our collaborators at the Jakobsson Lab in Lund University, Sweden!
During her month stay, Sophie carried out Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing experiments as part of her PhD project - an opportunity made possible through the BRC NDD Pump Priming Grant, which she secured in late March this year.
Huge thanks to the Jakobsson Lab for being such wonderful hosts, and congratulations again to Sophie for making the most of this fantastic opportunity!
The Parkinson's Plan
The Parkinson's Plan by Michael S Okun and Ray Dorsey. From cause to care— everything we know about Parkinson's disease, and what we can do next.
Roger helped contribute to the book by completing an interview with Michael and he kindly sent him a signed copy with a lovely message!
Clinical trials highlights published
Saeed and Roger's manuscript has just been published in the “Clinical Trials Highlights” of the Journal of Parkinson’s disease!
In this paper they have summarised the landscape of ongoing and recently completed clinical trials of dopamine cell replacement therapy for Parkinson’s disease.
Ernest Arenas Memorial Lecture
Roger was in Stockholm on Tuesday 25th November at the Karolinska Institute giving the first Ernest Arenas Memorial Lecture. This was delivered in the Nobel Forum.
Ernest sadly died last year (see article here from Karolinska Institute) and was a long term collaborator and colleague of Roger. They worked on 4 EU consortia and wrote 8 papers together and shared many projects around Parkinson's disease.
The talk on cell therapies for Parkinson's Disease by Roger, also included personal reflections on Ernest from roger
Here are some photos from the event.
Honorary Doctor at Lund University
Prof Roger Barker has been appointed as an honorary doctor by Lund University Faculty of Medicine.
See here the article with more details: A philosopher, a journalist, and a leading neuroscientist appointed new honorary doctors | Faculty of Medicine, Lund University
Lund University November 2025 Newsletter: International newsletter November – Lund University Faculty of Medicine
Such fantastic news, congratulations Roger!
Parkinson's Disease Second Edition
Roger and Saeed were approached to write a chapter in Parkinson's Disease Second Edition, Cold spring harbour perspectives in medicine. See the copy here, their chapter discussed Dopamine Cell-Based Replacement Therapies in PD. Huge congratulations Roger and Saeed!
World Parkinson Congress 2026
I am thrilled to be speaking at the 7th World Parkinson Congress #wpc2026 in Phoenix Arizona, taking place May 24-27, 2026.
I hope to see you there.
Register at WPC2026.org
Roger spoke at the French Movement Disorder meeting on Thursday 20th November in Toulouse
He gave a remote talk updating the conference on recent trials in stem cell derived dopamine cell transplants in Parkinson's.
Roger spoke on Monday 17th November at the Bury St Edmunds Parkinson's UK branch on new advances in dopamine cell therapies in PD and this included chatting to Andy from the Stem-PD trial - a year on from his transplant and also a year on from when we spoke together at this branch meeting before. Great turnout and questions!
See here more details on what the Bury St Edmunds PD support group have on.
Roger attended a workshop and then the grants committee for MyName'5Doddie Foundation last week!
The event brought together leading researchers, clinicians, industry partners and people affected by MND to shape the future of the Discovery Network.
To find out more about the foundation see their website here.
Serenata Female Voices - Sunday 21st December in aid of Parkinson's UK
A host of sparkling Christmas songs and carols in celebration of the festive season at Trinity College Chapel in Cambridge, come along!
On 19th November Tom, Sarah and Roger went to a reception at the Houses of Parliament organised by the HDA and hosted by the MP Helen Maguire.
It brought together patients and their families, the HDA, MPs, clinicians and scientists with a series of talks, mainly around the UniQure gene therapy trial in HD, as well as an opportunity to network.
Here we are in the Great Hall in Westminster!!
Roger spoke on Tuesday 18th November at a meeting of the U3A. He gave the Norah Boyce Science lecture to an audience of over 150 people on line about "where are we with repairing the brain in Parkinson's Disease?". Wonderfully interactive audience with lots of great questions.
NoSilverBullet4PD live webinar 8th December 2025 7.30pm
“Stem Cells and Parkinson’s: How Close Are We?”, presented by Professor Roger Barker
In this session, Professor Barker will review the latest global developments in stem cell research for Parkinson’s disease. He will also address key questions from the audience, a rare opportunity to hear directly from one of the world’s leading experts in the field.
This webinar will explore where the research truly stands today and how close we might be to seeing real therapeutic benefits.
Please register for this free event here!
Recently published article
We are excited to announce the recently published paper 'Chromatin accessibility during human first-trimester neurodevelopment' in nature!
Mannens, C.C.A., Hu, L., Lönnerberg, P. et al. Chromatin accessibility during human first-trimester neurodevelopment. Nature 647, 179–186 (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07234-1
Find the link to the paper here
Doctoral Training Programme symposium at Clare college
Jamie and Jana attended the School of Clinical Medicine Doctoral Training Programme symposium at Clare college yesterday! Jamie presented his work on PSP and CBD and was also part of the organising committee for the event. He helped with the planning, running of the event and chaired the career panel session (see photo).
Recently published article!
We are delighted to announce the publication of our recent review on 2 innovative papers by the Cattaneo group (University of Milan) and the Xiong group (Fudan University), who studied stem cell transplants in Huntington’s disease animal models.
Title: Cell transplantation therapies in Huntington’s Disease – Current status and future directions
UK & Ireland HD Network Meeting Birmingham 6th & 7th November 2025
Tom, Katie and Amy attended the UK & Ireland HD Network meeting in Birmingham this Thursday & Friday. They enjoyed listening to the research and clinical trials updates and breakout sessions with colleagues from other HD sites. Even managed to have a wander around the Christmas Markets!
HD BUZZ have released a new article regarding the UniQure press release on 3rd November. UniQure and FDA No Longer in Alignment on Approval Pathway for AMT-130, the article states “Big Picture: This is a regulatory misalignment, not a scientific setback. It reflects the slow, iterative nature of drug development. Progress continues, just on a different timetable.” Read the full article here.
See here a recent Alzforum article ‘Trials Rekindle Interest in Cell Replacement for Parkinson’s’ featuring our recently published TransEUro paper!
Trials Rekindle Interest in Cell Replacement for Parkinson’s | ALZFORUM
WPC Research Spotlight series
Last Tuesday 21st October Roger undertook another Research Spotlight with the WPC, this time chatting to Professor Lynn Rochester from Newcastle about her life in research and the work she has done on digital monitoring and gait in Parkinson's.
The research spotlight series involves interviews with six outstanding scientists from four countries to talk about a wide range of exciting research. The recordings are out and if you are interested then do go to the website and have a listen: WPC Research Spotlight 2025 - World Parkinson Coalition
Clinical Neurosciences Postgraduate Seminar
Jamie, one of our 1st year PhD students, presented at the Clinical Neurosciences Postgraduate Seminars on Friday 24th October! His presentation is titled Using Transcriptomics to Understand the Role of Neuroinflammation in Early Parkinson's and Atypical Parkinsonian Disorders PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) & CBD (Corticobasal Degeneration).
Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) meeting
The ARIA team within Rogers group were at a meeting last Friday in London. They met up with teams from UPenn and imperial to discuss their projects. Today they (Roger, Xiaoling and Sarah Howlett) are meeting locally to discuss in more detail the project they are involved with which is led by George Malliaras in Cambridge and involves Clara from the group of Malin Parmar in Lund.
Gordon Research Conference, Tuscany Italy
Angelica and Sophie attended the Gordon Research Conference in trinucleotide expansion disorders in Tuscany Italy during May this year! They both presented posters and had a lovely time exploring Italy!
International Society for Stem Cell Research 2026 Annual Meeting
Registration and abstract submission are now open for the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting, co-sponsored by STEMCELL Technologies! It will take place in Montréal, Canada, 8-11 July 2026. Explore the program, speakers, and all the opportunities the meeting offers!
Head to their website to find more information of sign up, link here.
Clare Hall hosts the Cambridge-Fudan Meeting on Neurology and Old Age Psychiatry
Roger and Zanna went to an exciting meeting at Clare Hall in Wednesday 15th October where a team of researchers from Cambridge neuroscience met with a like minded team from Fudan University in China. Organised by Barbara Sahakian, Roger talked about the work of our group including the exciting and evolving sleep studies in HD being led by Zanna.
See article by Clare Hall here
Roger is in Luxembourg talking at a meeting celebrating 10 years of the National Centre for Excellence in Research on Parkinson's Disease (NCER-PD) - for which he was part of their SAB. The meeting is entitled Advancing from Precision Medicine towards Prevention in Parkinson's Disease. He gave the keynote lecture this morning on dopamine cell therapies in Parkinson's.
See more about the conference here - Luxembourg celebrates 10 years of Parkinson’s research
Great seeing Andy and Nicola on Tuesday for our STEM-PD visit. After Andy and Roger completed an interview for a new ISSCR teaching module which includes the patient perspective on participating in research and experimental stem cell trials for Parkinson’s Disease! This should be released in the first half of next year.
In the meantime check out Andy’s blog ‘Parkinson's with a Purpose’ which talks about his experience with Parkinson’s Disease and research:
Parkinson's with a Purpose Blog
CSCI postgraduate symposium
Postgraduate students of the Barker lab had a great time at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute Postgraduate symposium on the 13th and 14th of October! Our final year PhD students Jana and Athena gave a talk on their work and 2nd year PhD student Angelica presented a poster.
Chiara Properzi graduated!
Huge Congratulations to Chiara who graduated on the 24th of September, she is officially a Doctor of Medicine & Surgery! She completed her research project with us from May to August this year, investigating speech alterations in patients with Huntington’s disease using AI-based algorithms. You may have seen her whilst attending our clinic over the summer. We are so pleased for her and excited to see what will come next, yay!
Emma Cutting - Senior Trial Coordinator
Emma is back! After her time away, we are all so delighted to see her!
Article published in BRAIN by Oxford University Press
Stem cell-derived dopamine cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease: what have the first trials shown?
Roger and Malin Parmar (his long standing colleague from Lund) have just published this invited short commentary on the recent stem cell dopamine cell therapy trials that were published in Nature earlier this month!
PhD Celebration - Zanna & Miriam
In the Barker Group we’re friends as much as colleagues, and horse riders as much as scientists. Zanna and Miriam cranked things up a notch and took things international to Morocco to celebrate completing their PhD's in a horse riding adventure!
Parse Biosciences - Neuroscience Single Cell Grant Winners
Congratulations Saeed for winning the Parse Neuroscience Single cell grant program!!
Saeed will use this grant to better understand how human microglia interact with allogeneic dopaminergic neurones
Neurodegenerative Disease Research Conference in Phoenix
Roger is out talking at the Arizona State University - Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Conference in Phoenix. While out there he met Eli from the World Parkinson's Congress (WPC), where she is Executive Director and he is President. They went for an early morning walk and discussed the 7th WPC Congress that will be happening in Phoenix next May to which anyone with an interest in Parkinson's is encouraged to come along!
World Parkinson's Congress May 24th to 27th 2026
Head to their website to find more information or sign up, link here.
Roger responds to exciting trial news on HD as reported on the BBC
Expert reaction to announcement by uniQure of topline results from a phase I/II study of a gene therapy to slow Huntington’s disease progression
Science Media Centre rapid reaction Wednesday 24th September
Prof Roger Barker, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Honorary Consultant Neurologist, University of Cambridge, said:
“The results are encouraging but it is early days and we have been here before with other similar therapies for Huntington's disease [1]
“The trial involves injecting the therapy directly into the brain using a special technique into the striatum on each side of the brain- so its widespread adoption across neurological centres will not be straightforward if it is shown to truly work.
“The striatum is the area that has the greatest pathology in HD, which is why it was targeted in this trial and is known to mediate many but not all the features of HD and the data as reported shows improvements across a number of measures including a proxy marker of nerve cell loss called neurofilament light.
“Whether injections restricted to specific brain sites can slow down the disease across the whole brain is still unclear but the data from this trial is much better than anything we have seen before so this looks good- but currently does depend on brain surgery for delivery which is not without risk.”
See all reactions in Science Media Centre here
Advanced research and Invention agency
Roger was at a workshop over the last 2 days in London run by ARIA exploring novel ways to treat disorders of the brain including devices. A great mix of clinical people, biologists and engineers.
Pub dinner with Jihwan Song
Roger met with his long standing friend Jihwan Song from Seoul last week when Jihwan was passing through the UK. Jihwan works on stem cells and Huntington's disease and Roger took him out to a traditional pub!
Institute of Regenerative Medicine Zurich
Roger was in Zurich yesterday on an appointments committee for a new Professor of Neuroregeneration at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine (background in picture)!
World Sleep Conference in Singapore
Well done Mehak! Today she presented our HD sleep qEEG work at the World Sleep Conference in Singapore. The qEEG (quantitative electroencephalogram) measures electrical activity in the brain.
Her poster was titled 'sleep dysfunction is associated with greater cognitive and affective deficits in neurodegeneration: a 12-year qEEG study in Huntington's Disease'
Tulip Fun Run - Parkinson's UK
Congratulations Jamie!
Jamie Shonhard helped to organise and run this year's Tulip Fun Run/Walk for the Parkinson's UK Cambridge Branch. The mayor of Cambridge councillor Dinah Pounds attended to commence the run, and the 20 participants helped raise over £6,000 for the local branch. A HUGE thank you goes to every runner, walker, donor, and volunteer who helped make the day such a success!
The 2026 Tulip Fun Run is proposed for Sunday 12th April, the day after World Parkinson’s Day. We hope to see you there!
The Mayor, Runners, Walkers and Volunteers for the 2025 Tulip Fun Run
8th Cambridge Neuroscience Symposium - Interventions & Recovery
See here Prof Roger Barker completing his talk at the 8th Cambridge Neuroscience Symposium - Dopamine Cell Therapies for people with Parkinson’s Disease - Have we succeeded?
Please see the link here to find out more information about the symposium!
Parkinson's UK newsletters
Our PhD student Jamie has been working with Parkinson's UK editing and writing the last 3 bi-monthly newsletters for Parkinson's UK!
Follow the links below to see his great work and get updated on Parkinson's UK's events, research and key PD information:
The entire catalogue of newsletters can be found here.
8th Cambridge Neuroscience Symposium - Interventions & Recovery
This will take place on September 10-11th 2025 at the West Road Concert Hall at the University of Cambridge.
This international gathering is dedicated to exploring the latest advancements in cell and gene therapies, pharmaceutical innovations, and cutting-edge neurotechnology aimed at addressing neurological diseases. Featuring a diverse lineup of expert speakers and interactive sessions, the conference provides a platform for researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders to share insights, discuss challenges, and collaborate on pioneering solutions to improve nervous system health. Attendees will engage with the latest research and practical applications that promise to reshape the future of treatment for various neurological conditions.
Many members of our group are attending and group leader Prof Roger Barker is talking on 10th September at 11:25, his presentation titled Dopamine Cell Therapies for people with Parkinson’s Disease - Have we succeeded?
Please see the link here to find out more information!
Congratulations Zanna Voysey for these fantastic articles featuring her recently published sleep paper! Follow the links below to read!
When the Brain’s Clock Breaks: Sleep Disruption and Circadian Chaos in Huntington’s Disease
Sleep in Huntington’s disease is a much-discussed albeit under-researched topic.