In this interview, Simon Lewis speaks with Professor Nic Dzamko, the BioBanking Lead for the Australian Parkinson’s Mission, about how blood samples collected from participants could transform Parkinson’s disease research. Professor Dzamko explains that one of the major goals of the Australian Parkinson’s Mission is to identify “biomarkers”, measurable signs in the body that can reveal what is happening inside a person with Parkinson’s disease. While blood tests are already used in conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, Parkinson’s currently lacks reliable biological tests that can show whether someone is developing the disease, how quickly it is progressing, or whether a treatment is working.
To tackle this, researchers are collecting blood from participants throughout the clinical trial. These samples act like snapshots of what is happening in the body over time. By analysing them repeatedly, scientists hope to uncover biological clues linked to disease progression and treatment response. Professor Dzamko says this approach is especially important because people with Parkinson’s do not all respond to treatments in the same way. Some patients improve with a drug, while others may see little benefit. Biomarkers could help researchers understand who is responding, how well they are responding, and whether a drug is actually affecting the biological pathway it was designed to target.
He acknowledges that participating in these studies requires a significant commitment, including regular visits, tracking symptoms, and repeated blood tests. However, he emphasises that this long-term collection of samples is what makes the Australian Parkinson’s Mission unique. Unlike many traditional studies that only collect information at one point in time, this project follows people over months and years while they are taking different treatments. This creates a powerful dataset that may reveal patterns researchers have never been able to study before.
The interview also highlights the international interest in the project. Professor Dzamko explains that organisations such as the Michael J. Fox Foundation are closely watching the research because it could influence how future Parkinson’s trials are conducted around the world. Finally, the discussion turns to “precision medicine”, the idea that Parkinson’s treatment may need to be tailored to each individual rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach. Because Parkinson’s is complex and may involve different biological pathways in different people, biomarkers could eventually help doctors identify which treatments are most likely to work for each patient. Professor Dzamko says this personalised approach is already changing cancer care and may soon reshape Parkinson’s treatment as well.
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