Dr. McFarland is an active member of the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CTRND) which aims to bring the bench closer to the bedside. His research focuses on understanding the pathological mechanisms of Parkinson disease and related disorders, and in particular the role of alpha-synuclein in cell toxicity and neurodegeneration. His current studies utilize both cellular and preclinical models to study genes and molecules that may affect brain pathology. A primary goal of his research is to identify and to develop potential novel therapeutics for Parkinson disease and related disorders. His research extends also to the clinic where he is actively involved in multiple clinical trials for atypical Parkinson disorders and Huntington disease.
This is a Phase 3, open-label study to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of valbenazine, and to provide participants continued access to valbenazine for the treatment of chorea associated with Huntington disease.
The Parkinson Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) is a longitudinal, observational, multi-center natural history study to assess progression of clinical features, digital outcomes, and imaging, biologic and genetic markers of Parkinson's disease…
Enroll-HD is a longitudinal, observational, multinational study that integrates two former Huntington's disease (HD) registries-REGISTRY in Europe, and COHORT in North America and Australasia-while also expanding to include sites in Latin America.…
96 publications
2025
JAMA neurology
•2025
NPJ Parkinson's disease
•2025
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
•2025
Scientific reports
•2025
Neurobiology of disease
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