UNILAG Researchers Partner Consortium on Parkinson’s Genetic Risk Factor

A team of  researchers from the University of Lagos, Nigeria Parkinson Disease Research (NPDR) network,  International Parkinson’s Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC)-Africa, University College London, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) US, and 23andMe, have uncovered a genetic variant that increases the risk of Parkinson’s Disease in Africans and African admixed populations.

The study was part of a Global

Parkinson’s Genetics Programme (GP2) funded by the Michael J Fix Foundation for Parkinson’s research.

The NPDR network and UNILAG team were led by a professor of neurology in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine,  Njideka Okubadejo, who acknowledged the crucial role  the supportive research environment at the university and the commitment of the national and international partners played in the success of the study

Other members of the UNILAG team collaborating with the consortium include Dr. Oluwadamilola Ojo (associate professor and site lead investigator, Faculty of

Clinical Sciences (FCS), Dr. Osigwe Agabi (FCS), Prof. Francis Ojini (FCS),  Dr. Ismail Ishola (Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences).

Others include Dr. Francisca Nwaokorie (associate professor, FBMS), Mr. Roosevelt Anyanwu (Central Research Laboratory CMUL), and Dr. Arinola Sanyaolu (FBMS).

The variant on the GBA1 gene was identified by the GP2 researchers as part of efforts to galvanise international and collaborative research into the genetics of Parkinson’s disease as well as revolutionise treatment for the African and African admixed population.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, congratulated the UNILAG team on the GP2

project for their impact in the latest discovery.

She noted that the UNILAG team’s input and impact on the GP2 further accentuates the

its fast migration into a future-ready institution with imprints in various fields including science.