Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s remain some of the most pressing challenges in medicine. Despite decades of research, their root causes and progression pathways are still not fully understood. But what if the key to decoding these diseases lies in cellular reprogramming — transforming one cell type into another to model the brain in a dish?
In a recent feature from Cellular Reprogramming’s “Reprogramming Stars” series, Dr. Janelle Drouin-Ouellet, Associate Professor at the Université de Montréal and Canada Research Chair in Direct Neural Reprogramming, shared her journey and insights on how reprogramming is helping scientists unlock the mysteries of neurodegeneration.
From Montreal to Sweden to the UK — and Back
Dr. Drouin-Ouellet earned her PhD in neurobiology at Université Laval before pursuing postdoctoral training at the University of Cambridge in the UK. She later continued her research in Sweden at Lund University, where she developed innovative methods for transforming patient-derived skin cells into brain cells.
Her work focused on modeling Parkinson’s disease — capturing what happens when vulnerable neurons begin to degenerate. By applying cellular reprogramming, her team could generate patient-specific neurons and glial cells in the lab, providing powerful new tools to study disease progression.
Why Reprogramming Matters for Parkinson’s Disease
One of the central questions in her lab today is whether Parkinson’s is simply accelerated aging, or whether specific age-related processes are disrupted. Reprogramming allows researchers to directly capture these cellular changes by turning fibroblasts from patients into neurons and astrocytes, enabling comparisons that were impossible just a few years ago.
This approach provides a unique advantage — it bridges the gap between cellular aging and disease onset, making it possible to test anti-aging or neuroprotective strategies with unprecedented precision.
Building Patient-Specific Models of the Brain
At the Université de Montréal, Dr. Drouin-Ouellet’s lab is pushing reprogramming further. They combine reprogrammed patient-derived neurons with cutting-edge techniques such as:
- Super-resolution microscopy to track fine cellular changes.
- Single-cell sequencing to capture transcriptional diversity.
- Functional assays to study neurotransmitter release and synaptic function.
Together, these methods create powerful platforms to test new therapeutic hypotheses — from restoring mitochondrial health to reducing oxidative stress and promoting neuronal resilience.
Looking Ahead
Dr. Drouin-Ouellet emphasizes that understanding the cellular basis of neurodegeneration isn’t just about replicating disease in a dish. It’s also about finding opportunities for repair. Reprogramming-based systems can reveal how neurons lose their identity, why they become vulnerable, and — most importantly — how we might intervene.
As she puts it, “Our work is not only about modeling disease. It’s about exploring the boundaries of cellular plasticity and finding ways to tip the balance back toward health.”
Read more about it here.