Esteban Luna, MD, PhD

2026 Next Generation Research Grant in Lewy Body Diseases

Examining the Role of Immunity in Parkinson’s and Other Lewy Body Diseases

Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Project Summary: Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy are conditions that result due to abnormal accumulations of the protein alpha-synuclein.

Dr. Luna will investigate whether this accumulation is associated with decreased expression of the gene MPEG1 in microglia (the brain’s immune cells), as some of his previous observations suggest. He will analyze post-mortem samples from patients who had Parkinson’s disease and compare data from mouse models of the disease.

This research will provide crucial data to help determine if targeting MPEG1 could be a therapeutic approach for treating Parkinson’s and other conditions that result from alpha-synuclein aggregation.

This research is funded by the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Brain Foundation.